iPad Air fourth-gen to get display increase to 11-inches, Apple A13 Bionic SoC

Apple’s current iPad Air is arguably the sweet spot in Apple’s current iPad line up sporting a winning combination of price and performance. However, as is often Apple’s want, it is encased in a rehashed 10.5-inch iPad Pro case and as such, features thicker bezels than Apple’s more recently redesigned iPad Pro line up. Gelling with a previous rumor indicating the same, a fresh rumor coming out of China suggests that Apple will increase the display size to 11-inches and bring with it narrower bezels.

However, rather than replicating the iPad Pro design language, the new fourth-generation iPad Air due sometime this year will use the same case but extend the display further to the edges reducing the size of the bezels in the process. Like the iPad Pro line, the new iPad Air will also replace the Lightning connector with universal USB-C standard, which should also help to increase its usefulness as proper laptop replacement.

The new iPad Air is also expected to pick up the powerful Apple A13 Bionic SoC found in Apple’s flagship iPhone 11 range as well as the new, and much cheaper, iPhone SE. This would help to move it into a similar performance league as the recently refreshed iPad Pro range which is powered by an Apple A12Z Bionic chipset. Any refresh to the iPad Air, however, would then necessitate an upgrade of the Pro line to an A13X Bionic chipset which is expected early in 2021. This could give a hint as to when we the new Air might also make an appearance.