The iPad Air 6 is finally here! Apple launched the new iPad Air as part of its special ‘Let Loose’ event on May 7, confirming that the latest model will ship in not one, but two different screen sizes for the first time in the line’s history.
The iPad Air 6 – which can also be thought of as the iPad Air (2024) – will be available in 10.9-inch or 12.9-inch configurations, and other headline features include a MacBook-level M2 chipset, a landscape-oriented front-facing camera and landscape stereo speakers with spatial audio.
For iPad Air fans, it’s been a long old wait for a new model, with the previous iPad Air, the iPad Air (2022), having landed way back in March 2022. Below, you’ll find a comprehensive roundup of everything we know about the iPad Air 6 so far. We’re updating this guide as new details emerge, so stay tuned for more.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple’s latest mid-tier tablet
- When is it out? Announced May 7
- How much will it cost? Likely around $599 / £569 / AU$929
iPad Air 6: predicted release date and price
Apple has announced that it’s holding an event on May 7, so this is almost certainly where we’ll see the iPad Air 6. This Apple event is scheduled to kick off at 7am PT / 10am ET / 3pm BST, or May 8 at 12am AEST.
Although the iPad Air 6 was previously expected to arrive in March and April, new tidbits of information, such as fresh iPad model numbers being spotted on the Bureau of Indian Standards website, all point towards an imminent May launch for the iPad Air 6 and new iPad Pros.
We’ve also heard that stock of the current iPad Air is dwindling in some stores, which further points to an imminent launch. As does the fact that you can already buy cases for the iPad Air 6.
Regarding the price, the iPad Air 6 will likely cost the same as the iPad Air (2022) – that model started at $599 / £569 / AU$929, with the cost rising for more storage.
iPad Air 6: rumored design and display
The big news when it comes to the iPad Air 6’s display is that there might be two new iPad Air models, with the second sporting either a larger screen or superior specs.
Of those two options, a screen size increase is looking more likely, as a second source has since said a larger 12.9-inch iPad Air is on the way, and more recently another source has also now mentioned a 12.9-inch iPad Air 6, claiming that both this and the expected 10.9-inch model will launch. So, it’s possible you’ll have more mid-range iPad choice than usual soon.
More recently still, we heard that panels for a 12.9-inch iPad Air started shipping in December. So, this model sounds very likely to exist.
All that said, a more recent leak suggests that there might not be a 12.9-inch iPad Air 6 at all, with the source claiming they can only see signs of a 10.9-inch model in the works.
The upcoming iPad Air 6 doesn’t seem to have a significant redesign, except for the addition of a new landscape selfie camera. According to my source, only one size has been seen, which is 10.9 inches. So there likely won’t be a bigger size available. pic.twitter.com/xkjo4waNpOMarch 18, 2024
Beyond the possibility of this larger model, we’re not expecting much change to the screen. The addition of ProMotion panels with mini-LED technology on the iPad Air 6 would be a nice touch, but these Pro-level features would inevitably cause the mid-range iPad’s price to skyrocket.
Indeed, according to one source, the next iPad Air will just have “bumped-up specifications.” But for our money, the iPad Air 5 already boasts a good enough design and display for its mid-range price point, anyway.
One source had in fact claimed that a mini-LED screen was planned for the iPad Air 6, but has since backtracked and said they now don’t expect the iPad Air 6 to have this upgrade.
One small design change could come in the moving of the selfie camera to a long edge, so it’s positioned well for landscape orientation. The source who said this has also claimed that the iPad Air 6 will probably come in the same colors as the iPad Air 2022 (meaning Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue), except that either the Pink or Blue shade might be ditched (and presumably replaced with something else).
And we’ve now heard possible dimensions for this 12.9-inch iPad Air 6. It will apparently be 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.0mm. For reference, the iPad Air (2022) is 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm, so that would make this marginally slimmer than that already very thin tablet. The other leaked iPad Air 6 dimensions are larger, but that’s unsurprising given the screen is apparently larger too.
Cases for the iPad Air 6 have also been spotted online (see them below), and they list the screen size as 12.9 inches but otherwise show no design changes, including no change to the front-facing camera, so that might not be on a long edge after all.
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iPad Air 6: rumored cameras and battery
We haven’t heard much about the cameras or battery on the iPad Air 6, though reportedly it won’t have major design changes in either department. So, a single-lens camera on the back again is likely, and since the specs of this camera haven’t leaked, there’s a good chance that it’ll be a 12MP one again.
The front camera may also be 12MP again, but one leak suggests that the iPad Air 6 will have a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, rather than the portrait orientation of its predecessor.
We don’t know much about the battery either, but according to one source, the rumored 12.9-inch iPad Air 6 will have an oxide backplane for its screen, which should mean less power draw, and therefore better battery life.
iPad Air 6: rumored specs and features
One of main rumors we’ve heard surrounding the iPad Air 6 so far concerns its processor, which we expect to be Apple’s M2 chip.
Tipsters including Revegnus have claimed that Apple’s next-gen iPad Air will swap the M1 chip boasted by its predecessor for the M2 chip currently found in some of the best MacBooks and the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022), meaning it’s safe to expect significant performance improvements from the iPad Air 6.
We’re not yet sure whether Apple will ship the iPad Air 6 with an 8- or 10-core GPU (as in the latest iPad Pro), but given that the iPad Air is positioned as Apple’s mid-range iPad option, opting for the former GPU size could keep costs down.
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 space 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 disingenuous, too – sure, the $599 / £569 / AU$929 entry price seems low, but if you’re only getting a little storage space for that money, no-one will buy another iPad Air 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, per say, 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 of the iPad Air to use a bigger battery – perhaps alongside some optimizations to squeeze the most out of that power – to ensure it has a chance of landing on our list of the best iPads.
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