For the first time in over a decade, Apple might not launch any new iPad for a whole year. According to multiple tweets by reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Cupertino firm has no tablet planned for the next 9-12 months, as the iPad mini, the model that needs an update the most, won’t get an update until 2024.
He writes:
There may be no new iPad releases in the next 9-12 months as the iPad mini refresh is more likely to begin mass production in 1Q24. Thus, I’m taking a cautious apporach to iPad shipments for 2023, predicting a YoY decline of 10-15%.
Kuo is now adjusting an analysis he wrote at the end of 2022. Previously, he said a new iPad mini would come at the end of 2023 or in the first quarter of 2024 – which now he thinks is the latter.
According to him, this new iPad mini will have a new processor as the “main selling point.” Since Apple recently offered a redesign to this tablet with the best processor available, it’s unclear how better a new chip can be.
Although he didn’t say much in his latest analyses, BGR believes Apple could plan to add an M-chip to the iPad mini rather than keep adding the A-series processors to it. With that, this tablet would join the iPad Air and the iPad Pro models to feature a processor as powerful as the ones available on a Mac.
The 2024 iPad mini is just the beginning
With Apple pretty much forgetting about the iPad line in 2024, there is a lot to be excited about 2024. Apart from a new iPad mini with a hardware spec bump, the Cupertino firm is reportedly announcing the first OLED iPad Pro by ditching the miniLED technology from the 12.9-inch model.
In addition, the company is also rumored to announce a new foldable iPad, which will not replace the iPad mini but will begin a new, unexplored market by Apple.
Lastly, upgrades to the entry-level iPad and a revised iPad Air could also be in the works.
