KGI: 3D Touch-less iPad Air 3 due in H1 2016

iPad Air 2 touch id gold

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared some interesting predictions for 2016 iPhones and iPads in a note sent to clients this morning, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors.

For starters, Kuo is adamant that the third-generation iPad Air will be arriving in the first half of next year. The tablet won’t be outfitted with a pressure-sensing screen due to alleged production issues related to building a 9.7-inch 3D Touch sensor array.

For the time being, 3D Touch remains “one of the most severe production bottlenecks in iPhone 6s supply chain,“ the analyst wrote.

As for Apple’s iPhone 7, Kuo expects the smartphone to arrive around the September timeframe with 3D Touch that should have “similar technology and structure” as the iPhone 6s.

Although fans were expecting the third-generation iPad Air at Apple’s fall event this year, the company instead unveiled the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and the fourth-generation iPad mini.

Truth be told, the current-generation iPad Air 2, which is now more than a year old, continues to benefit from the speedy A8X chip with two gigabytes of RAM, twice as much as the previous models.

iOS 9’s Split View and Slide Over multitasking modes work without a hiccup and most graphics-intensive games deliver console-grade graphics on the iPad Air 2.

Should Apple entice existing iPad Air 2 owners to upgrade to the iPad Air 3, it better offer a substantial speed increase and some compelling new hardware features. In its current form, the iPad Air 2 is more than capable of supporting existing App Store applications, games and iOS 9 features.

Source: MacRumors