Apple will finally launch new iPads in early May. according BloombergIt's Mark Gurman. A new iPad Pro with an OLED display and a faster iPad Air are expected, including a 12.9-inch model for the first time in that lineup. Details of the upcoming iPad models have been constant and circulating through rumors since last year.
The new iPad Pro models will reportedly add OLED displays (offering deeper blacks and richer colors) and will be powered by the new M3 chip, already found in several Macs. The new tablets are said to launch alongside a redesigned Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. Aside from a white color option, the latter has remained unchanged since its arrival four years ago.
Meanwhile, the iPad Air will supposedly be powered by a new processor. Bloomberg didn't specify which one, but considering the current model uses the M1, and Apple probably wants to reserve the M3 for the more expensive Pro, the M2 seems like a safe bet. The 12.9-inch screen option would mark the first time the iPad Air line offers a screen larger than 10.9 inches. Although Apple will charge more for that model than its smaller brother is expected to be, that would be the cheapest way yet to get a large iPad screen.
Gurman said earlier this month that the new tablets would launch alongside the MacBook Air M3, but the laptop arrived without an iPad. He now reports that Apple's release schedule was delayed to finish working on the devices' software and troubleshoot the “complex new manufacturing techniques” they require.