9to5Mac has published some rumors about the “upcoming” iPad Air 3 which could be true… and they could not be true. However, other websites like Mac Rumors and Cult of Mac haven’t really spoken about it too much. And it’s no wonder why – the iPad Air 3 is very confusing at this point. In fact, I was planning on not writing about it at all, but I feel as though I should probably at least touch on the situation. After all, MBEDDED did used to be strictly Apple news. So what the heck? Let’s jump into it!
Rumor 1: iPad Air 3 will debut at a March 2016 keynote
This is very hard to tell at this point in time. There were reports back in 2015 that the Air 3 wasn’t gonna make it to the shelf that year caused by Apple cancelling plans to introduce it and that we might have to wait until this year to get our hands on it. But honestly, that’s all we saw. We didn’t really see anything other than that report. All we’ve been able to do is just speculate what the new tablet would look like and feature. And since it’s less than two months until March, an argument raises; either Apple kept the Air 3 so under wraps that it’s stopped even Chinese sites from leaking information (which is highly unlikely, by the way) or it’s simply just not coming. However, you really shouldn’t jump to any conclusions just by reading this little snippet of a report. I’m not saying there aren’t rumors about the device, because there sure are (just scroll down and you’ll find them), there just isn’t anything significant right now to base the latest rumors off of.
So my final verdict on this rumor is there’s probably around a 65-70% chance we’ll see this new iPad be unveiled this March. But only time will tell if I’m wrong or not.
Rumor 2: Apple will give iPad Air 3 a 4K display
This has to be a hoax, right?
Apple’s iPad Pro has a display resolution of 2732 x 2048, which, if you know your resolutions well, isn’t 4K. And they sell the mega-tablet for near $1000. If Apple were to implement a 4K display in the new iPad Air 3, where would the Pro stand? That would create a very awkward and non-practible situation for Apple’s iPad lineup. Not saying they aren’t willing to take risks with the stuff they offer (I’m looking at you, 2015 MacBook), but if they’re smarties, they’re gonna try every way to increase sales of the iPad, as this is one of the products they offer that’s declining fast. And besides, we should feel lucky that we have iMacs with 4K displays now. Let’s not push our luck and relationship with Apple, because they won’t like it. Believe me.
My final verdict is that this is highly unlikely, so I’ll give this a 10-20% chance of happening.
Rumor 3: iPad Air 3 will pack 4GB of RAM
Tell me I’m dreaming – oh wait, I’m not dreaming… 9to5Mac is. Never mind…
C’mon guys, let’s be realistic. We’re luck the iPad Pro has 4GB of RAM. If we get 3GB of RAM in the Air 3, I’ll fall out of my chair. Besides, this is another situation where the Pro will be placed in an awkward position. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be welcome, because it sure would, but if Apple wanted to put 4GB of RAM in the Air 3, they wouldn’t’ve released the Pro. Think about it. We’re all fine with the 9.7 inch screen the Air has. We can all multitask like Pros (pun intended) on that baby using iOS 9’s new features, and it’s gonna just get better with future versions of iOS. But not to make this about the Pro, I really don’t think Apple’s gonna put 4GB of RAM in the Air 3. Unless they wanted a smaller version of the Pro, which could happen at some point, but that’s another conversation for another day…
Here’s my verdict: you’ve probably got like a 10% chance it’ll happen. I know I’m being harsh, but you need to look at it from a history point of view.
Rumor 4: iPad Air 3’s gonna have a better battery
Now this rumor has a better chance of happening… sort of. You see, if Apple were to make the battery bigger, they’d probably either have to increase the thickness of the tablet itself (which is something they might do since they did it with the iPhone 6s to fit in the 3D Touch panel) or they’d have to get rid of a component inside the tablet. Or, for all you dreamers out there, they could use their contour battery technology which would allow them to stack in sheets of battery into the body of the Air 3, however at this time it doesn’t seem likely that this will come soon.
But even if they don’t increase the battery size, isn’t 10 hours of battery enough? Besides, lots of people report that they can get through a few days on a single charge with moderate use. Unless you’re a heavy gamer or something, you probably agree with me.
But with all of that arguing taken into consideration, I’d give this rumor a 50% chance of happening. And I say this only because of the possibilities.
Rumor 5: Apple’s giving iPad Air 3 4 speakers
This is one of those rumors where you really wish it will happen, then you realize it won’t, but then Apple does it anyway. That’s how I feel about this one. I really want stereo speakers like on the iPad Pro on my 9.7 inch tablet, but in a week a report will come out stating that it won’t happen. But while I’m watching the Apple March 2016 event on my MacBook, I’ll probably see/hear Apple announce that the Air 3 has a set of 4 speakers to create a wider stereo field, just like the Pro. So right now, I’m actually kinda scared of touching on this rumor too much, because someone’ll probably find a way to message me and yell at me why they’re right.
My verdict on this one is…well… I don’t know. It could happen, it couldn’t happen. I guess then it’s 50-50, huh?
I’m actually really looking forward to the March 2016 event. I’m like 90% sure it’s gonna happen. I know for a fact that the iPhone ‘5se’ is coming, and so are new Apple Watch models and accessories. I just don’t know about the iPad Air 3. What’s your opinion? Do you agree with me? Leave a comment and let me know! I’ll try to respond to as many as I can!
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