We know that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently started producing a more durable Touch ID sensor set to make its way into Apple’s sixth-generation full-size iPad – call it the iPad Air 2, if you will.
We’re also familiar with a bunch of meticulously created dummies based on the rumor-mill reporting, having shown you several photographs that highlight minor design changes spotted on iPad Air 2 dummy units floating around out there.
And now, a high-quality video by TLDToday has arrived, showing off possible changes in the layout of the iPad Air 2’s physical buttons, speaker grille and more…
Again, pay attention to a slightly thinner appearance (6.5mm vs 7.9mm), the slightly redesigned speaker grille at the bottom (a single row of larger holes vs two rows of smaller holes) and the Touch ID ring around the Home button.
Here it is.
The video was first discovered by French blog NowhereElse.fr [Google translate].
Again, this is just a dummy – that is, an elaborate yet crude mockup based on unreliable supply chain leaks and rumors. Crude as in, “I’m missing a mute/rotation lock switch on the side. Whichever way you look at it, it appears that the next iPad Air won’t be such a radical departure from the existing form factor and design (that’s a good thing, methinks).
Chinese outlets report that it will be a specs upgrade sporting a marginally faster and significantly more power efficient A8 chip, Touch ID, a better eight-megapixel camera on the back versus the five-megapixel one on the current lineup, perhaps a slight megapixel increase on the front-facing shooter and more.
We’re expecting new iPads at a dedicated media event in October, shortly following the purported September 19 iPhone 6 launch and iOS 8 release.