It's fair to say we were pretty impressed by the iPad Air 4 when it was announced last September. The all-screen design brought it in line with the iPad Pro, and that super-powerful processor is so fast that it's practically a rival to the higher-end device. And if new leaks are to be believed, the Air is about to reach new heights.
Seasoned Apple leakers Mac Otakara have reported that the iPad Air 5 will feature a similar design to the 2021 iPad Pro, complete with a new dual camera setup and potentially even a LiDAR scanner for enhanced AR. But there's one much-rumoured feature the report doesn't mention – and its absence could hurt the new iPad Air's chances of hitting our best drawing tablets roundup. And if you want to make the most of your new iPad, look into the best iPad keyboards too.
The new iPad Air could look even more like an iPad Pro (Image credit: Apple)
As spotted by MacRumors, Mac Otakara claims the new iPad Air will retain the same impressive 10.9-inch display, as well as Touch ID. This has proved a popular feature during the pandemic, since Face ID doesn't exactly play nice with face masks (no wonder it's rumoured to be returning to the iPhone soon).
And as well as the improved camera setup (you'll only find one camera on the iPad Air 4), the new Air will feature an A15 chip, 5G capabilities and four speakers – twice the amount found on the current model.
Touch ID, one of the most popular features of the iPad Air 4, is likely to return (Image credit: Apple)
And now for the bad news. The report makes no mention of an OLED display, the one rumoured feature we'd really like to see. The benefits of an LED iPad Air for creatives are obvious, offering brighter colours and bolder contrast. The 12.9-inch M1 iPad is currently the only Apple tablet to carry the tech, but we'd love to see it available in a more affordable package. But it would surely become a headline feature of the iPad Air 5, making its absence from this latest report rather notable.
The report also makes no mention of a release date, although previous rumours have suggested the iPad Air will return in 2022. This makes sense, seeing as the most recent model was released two years after 2019's iPad Air 3. Thankfully, you don't have to wait another year to get hold of an incredible iPad – check out today's best iPad Air and iPad Pro deals below, and be sure to visit out main Apple deals page for more brilliant offers.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
