iPad Air 4 Manual Leak: Mid-Tier Tablet Could Gain iPad Pro Features
As more Apple leaks surface ahead of its annual event, the news has been mostly about the iPhone 12, Apple Watch 6 and the Apple Watch SE, a potential new budget watch. Fans of tablets will also be anticipating new iPad models. Some rumors have been coming in that regard, but nothing solid had surfaced until a recent leak which appears to draw information from a manual for the unreleased iPad Air 4.
Apple dominates the tablet market, just as it does the smartwatch market, with an overwhelming share of all tablets sold. Apple has taken advantage of this fact by introducing more variations and more models each year, to reach a wide variety of consumers. In 2019, three models were released, up from the usual two per year. Sizes included the 8-inch iPad mini, 10.2-inch iPad, 10.5-inch iPad Air and the iPad Pro with 11-inch and 12-inch screens.
Within the next two months, at least two new iPad devices will be announced. This is confirmed since seven models have passed through EU Commission testing recently. Each device typically has two to three model numbers, since 'Wi-Fi only' and 'Wi-Fi + cellular' are counted separately, and a third model for China. One of these devices is expected to be a new iPad Air and a leaked user manual reveals interesting details about the upcoming tablet. The leak was provided by the DuanRui Twitter account.
Since the manual shows illustrations of both the front and back, and lists features, quite a few new details can be identified. First, note from the back that a single rear camera is shown. This means it isn't simply an iPad Pro manual. However, a Smart connector is shown and the caption mentions the Magic Keyboard which was previously exclusive to the iPad Pro and available in 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes. This suggests the iPad Air 4 will be an 11-inch tablet.
Moving on to the front, the manual shows no home button and references Touch ID. So this is shaping up to be a reuse of the 2018 11-inch iPad Pro case and screen, which had a single rear camera, but reserving Face ID for the iPad Pro price tier. The caption that mentions Touch ID also references that it works with the top button, which is the power button. This is something new for Apple. Some speculate that the iPad Air will ship with the newest A14 processor, but it may be more likely to move to the A13, leaving room for differentiation with the iPad Pro tablets. It's beginning to seem like a year of big announcements from Apple, expanding and upgrading various products in leaps and bounds.
Source: DuanRui/Twitter