In 2020 we are expecting a lot of news from Apple. One of them is the all-new iPad Air, which will bring an edge-to-edge display with a built-in Touch ID (without Face ID). We created a concept in which we tried to apply this information. This is what the iPad Air 2020 would look like according to the leaks!
iPad Air and a completely new design
If Apple really decided to go for the edge-to-edge display, it would change the current design of the device, which dates back to 2018. Let’s face it, it was quite obsolete at that time.
Of course, the iPad Air and iPad Pro must be two visually independent devices. A thin frame around the edge-to-edge display in white (for silver and gold versions) could solve this. In the front part of the aluminum body, we also kept the typical sharp edge of this tablet and used a slight rounding at the back. iPad Air should give the impression that it is thin and light.
Apple will most likely enlarge the display to 11″. We also followed this when creating our concept. The current iPad Air has a 10.5″ display, but it can be expanded at the top and bottom by eliminating wide frames.
It’s hard to say whether Apple will choose OLED or LCD, but we prefer the second variant. It should be cheaper to produce, which will be crucial in the case of a more affordable tablet. In addition, it creates a bigger difference compared to the iPad Pro.
Of course, the new iPad Air will have full Apple Pencil 2nd generation support, as well as the ability to charge it wirelessly thanks to the port, on the right side (when viewed from the front). We do not expect 4 speakers for this model (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom). The product is likely to retain the same concept as its predecessor, where a pair of speakers is located only at the bottom, at the charging connector. By the way, it should be an USB-C.
One camera and unlocking with a fingerprint
As we wrote above, we do not expect unlocking with Face ID biometric sensors. We are more in favor of the leak, which was published a few weeks ago. It claimed that the iPad Air 2020 will use a Touch ID, which will not be in the Home Button but directly in the display. After all, Apple has patents on this technology, so it shouldn’t be a problem. If this prediction is fulfilled, we can expect Touch ID in the display of the iPhone 12.
Thanks to the presence of only one camera module on the front and at the same time a sensor monitoring the light intensity, the frame between the display and the body of the device can be slightly thinner than on the 11″ iPad Pro 2020. From a visual point of view, it will be much more beautiful. Apple will also be able to use the popular white color here.
And as for the back of the device, there are no wonders in the form of a LiDAR scanner or a second camera lens. The lens could remain recessed exactly as the iPad Air 2018 has. However, we assume that at least an LED could finally be added to capture the image in poor lighting conditions.
Price availability and other leaks
As we mentioned at the beginning, in this case it is only our concept and not a visualization of the leaked device. Thus, there may certainly be several changes in reality that we did not expect or estimate correctly.
On the other hand, we think that Apple will be more modest with technology and will focus primarily on a new display layout (edge-to-edge), which should be the biggest benefit. An Apple A12X Bionic processor (from iPad Pro 2018) and 4 GB of RAM may appear under the “hood”.
Analysts estimate that the news will come on the market in the third quarter of 2020. The fact that Apple has not updated the iPad Air since 2018 also says that this information is relevant. The current generation is sold in Europe from € 549. We expect its successor to use a higher price tag, but not with a dramatic difference. The basic model with 64 GB of memory could start at € 599. Would you buy it?
