Apple's next-generation iPad Air and entry-level iPad models have seemingly been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass.
In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning unreleased 11-inch iPad Air, 13-inch iPad Air, and iPad 11 models. It is unclear where this information was obtained from, but Blass has a pretty good track record with leaks. In 2020, for example, he revealed marketing images for the iPhone 12 lineup and HomePod mini a few hours before those devices were announced.
Notably, the leak reveals the next iPad Air models will apparently be equipped with the M3 chip. There had been speculation that Apple might use the iPad Pro's M4 chip for the next iPad Air models instead, in a move away from chips manufactured with TSMC's expensive and lower-yield first-generation 3nm process, known as N3B. There was a six-month period in 2022 where both the iPad Pro and iPad Air had the M1 chip, so there is precedent for such a thing. Nonetheless, it appears the iPad Air will use the M3 chip.
The leak does not mention which chip the iPad 11 will use, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously said the device will be equipped with the A17 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM to enable Apple Intelligence support on the entry-level iPad.
The leak also seems to confirm the widely-rumored iPhone SE 4.
iPad 10 models have an A14 Bionic chip and 4GB of RAM.
Apple unveiled the iPad 10 in October 2022, with pricing starting at $449 at the time. Apple lowered the iPad 10's starting price to $349 in the U.S. in May 2024. It is unclear if the iPad 11 will start at $349, or if pricing will return to a higher level.
Apple last updated the iPad Air in May 2024 with the M2 chip, and it also introduced the first-ever 13-inch iPad Air model at the time.
Apple will likely announce these new iPads by March or April this year. No major design changes have been rumored for the devices.
The new iPads are expected to be accompanied by new Magic Keyboards too.
