Even though the newest iPad Air is only a couple of months old, we're already looking towards the future and towards the next version of Apple's mid-range tablet.
This isn't the next iPad on the way - there's the iPad (2022), iPad Mini (2022) and iPad Pro (2022) that will likely all come first. But the Air line is popular for lots of people who might not want those other devices.
Apple's iPad Air tablets sit below the Pro line, bringing svelte designs but with not-quite-top-end displays and processing power. They're good options for people who want a premium tablet but don't quite need everything the Pro offers - or don't want to spend that much.
As we've said, we saw one iPad Air launch at the beginning of 2022, but Apple is likely working on its sixth-gen version already - it could come in 2023 but more likely later than that. Here, we'll detail everything we know and what we want to see.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple's next mid-tier tablet
- When is it out? Likely in early 2024
- How much will it cost? Around $599 / £569 / AU$929
iPad Air 6 release date and price
We haven't heard any confirmed or even rumored information on when the next iPad Air could come along or how much it could cost, but we can make some good guesses.
The fourth- and fifth-gen iPad Airs came two years apart, so it stands to reason that the next one will too. That'd make the release window the first half of 2024 - quite a while away!
Regarding the price, it'll likely cost the same amount as the last one - that started at $599 / £569 / AU$929 but the cost went up for more storage.
iPad Air 6: what we want to see
1. A more distinct identity
The biggest problem with the 2022 iPad Air is that it's just too close to the iPad Pro. Most buyers will struggle to know which to buy, or which is best for them - in fact, it makes the Pro a little redundant thanks to its lower price.
Apple is going to have to work out a better way to make the next iPad Air unique, so that it's not too similar to the Pro.
Perhaps we could see it get a more mid-range specs sheet as well as a lower price, to make it more accessible.
2. More storage
The current iPad Airs start with 64GB storage which, for a tablet with a top-end chipset, simply isn't enough.
That's not enough to have many games downloaded, or to have loads of files to work on or edit, and so it's not really clear why this version even exists.
It makes the price seem a little disingenous too - sure, the $599 / £569 / AU$929 entry price seems low, but if it's for little storage space, no-one will actually buy it at that price.
3. A bigger battery
An issue we found in the last iPad Air - and most other iPads, if we're being honest - is that the battery life wasn't amazing. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good either.
If you're wanting to wander around coffee shops to do work, or take your iPad to your studio to use as a second screen, you really want a device that'll last a long time. Current iPads don't always do that.
We'd like the next-gen version to use a bigger battery - perhaps alongside some optimizations to squeeze the most out of that power - to ensure this has a chance of landing on our list of the best iPads.
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