Sketchy Report Claims No New iPad Air in 2015, One Last iPad Mini

With Apple said to unveil its long-rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro in November, many assumed that both the iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2 would see refreshes as well. However, a new report from Economic Daily News [Translation] (via Macotakara [Translation]) says that no new iPad Air will be revealed.

ipad-air-2-group
While the iPad Air 2 may not see a refresh, the iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro will see introductions. Liaoxian Li, investment advisor at Fubon Hardware, tells Economic Daily News that Apple may want the attention on the new iPad Pro and thus will let its main assembly plant for iPads, Foxconn, focus on the Pro to maximize deployment capacity. Li believes a new iPad Air might not be released until 2016. Economic Daily News has a mixed track record on rumors and the accuracy of this particular analyst isn't known.

Additionally, the report claims that the new iPad mini might be the last one as the Apple wants to focus on the two larger iPads in the future. Many people were disappointed with the iPad mini update in 2014, which essentially added Touch ID to the existing iPad mini 2. The next iPad mini will likely be more of an upgrade, with a rumored rear shell featuring iPad Air 2 design elements already making the rounds.

While it's possible Apple won't upgrade the iPad Air 2 this year, the company has been constraining supplies of the iPad Air to third-party retailers, suggesting the iPad Air 2 would become the lower-cost option as an iPad Air 3 slots into Apple's tablet lineup. However, it's possible Apple introduces an iPad Air 3 with minimal additions, as it did with the iPad mini 3.

Related Roundups: iPad Air , iPad mini, iPad Pro
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

thevofl Avatar
115 months ago
I don't understand the hate towards the mini. I love mine. It is way more portable than when I had an iPad. Why can't we have three?
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DancingTiger01 Avatar
115 months ago
Getting rid of the iPad Mini would be a mistake
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CmdrLaForge Avatar
115 months ago
If Apple wants to make sure the iPad continues to decline then it's a hell of a good idea not to release an update for another year.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dampfnudel Avatar
115 months ago
I hope the iPad mini 4 gets an A9 with 2GB of RAM and a better display.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nigameash Avatar
115 months ago
If Apple kills the iPad Air or disregards it like it did with the iPad Mini, I'm going to be really disappointed. But again it's a sketchy report :P
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sketchguy Avatar
115 months ago
Hmm. Any chance we might see an official Apple pressure-sensitive stylus to go with this iPad "Pro"? Because, you know, us "Pros" who like to use the iPad for sketching/drawing would love something that actually works, with palm recognition and Wacom-like functionality. Or, when will Apple just up and buy Wacom?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
Provenance Emulator

PlayStation and SEGA Emulator for iPhone and Apple TV Coming to App Store [Updated]

Friday April 19, 2024 8:29 am PDT by
The lead developer of the multi-emulator app Provenance has told iMore that his team is working towards releasing the app on the App Store, but he did not provide a timeframe. Provenance is a frontend for many existing emulators, and it would allow iPhone and Apple TV users to emulate games released for a wide variety of classic game consoles, including the original PlayStation, SEGA Genesis,...
apple vision pro orange

Apple Vision Pro Customer Interest Dying Down at Some Retail Stores

Monday April 22, 2024 2:12 am PDT by
Apple Vision Pro, Apple's $3,500 spatial computing device, appears to be following a pattern familiar to the AR/VR headset industry – initial enthusiasm giving way to a significant dip in sustained interest and usage. Since its debut in the U.S. in February 2024, excitement for the Apple Vision Pro has noticeably cooled, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On...