iPad Air

Apple phases out iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 2

Apple today bid farewell to both the 9.7-inch iPad Air 2 model and its smaller, older brother—the 7.9-inch iPad mini 2.

As of today, neither iPad Air 2 nor iPad mini 2 are available to purchase from Apple. Earlier this morning, the Cupertino firm announced a new 9.7-inch tablet model, called simply iPad.

Simultaneously, the company phased-out the 32-gigabyte edition of iPad mini 4 while giving the iPad mini 4 lineup twice the storage without increasing prices.

Apple announces new $329 9.7-inch iPad, replacing iPad Air 2 & launching this Friday

Aside from announcing a beautiful new (PRODUCT)RED finish of the iPhone 7 series, Apple today unveiled a new, more affordable 9.7-inch iPad model, its most popular-sized tablet. Featuring a brighter 9.7-inch Retina display and Apple’s previous-generation 64-bit A9 chip, the 9.7-inch tablet will be available this Friday starting at $329 for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model, its most affordable price ever.

Everything we expect from Apple’s ‘Let us loop you in’ event on Monday

As you know, Apple has scheduled a media event on its Cupertino campus on this coming Monday, March 21. Earlier this month, the company sent out its predictably cryptic invites with the “Let us loop you in” tagline to select members of the press.

It looks to be a pretty significant event.

On top of an all-new four-inch iPhone model, we’re expecting other announcements like a smaller 9.7-inch iPad Pro, new Apple Watch bands—including a black edition of the Milanese Loop—and a bunch of enhancements for Apple’s operating systems.

New iPad model rumored to start at $599, same 32/128GB tiers as iPad Pro

According to a fresh new rumor based on sources familiar with the matter, Apple’s upcoming iPad model, describes as either a third-generation iPad Air with the A9X chip, Smart Connector and Apple Pencil support or a smaller 9.7-inch iPad Pro, is expected to start at $599 for a baseline Wi-Fi-only model with thirty-two gigabytes of storage. In addition, as reported by 9to5Mac, the device should be offered in the same 32/128GB configurations as the iPad Pro.

Apple sends out invites for March 21 event: “Let us loop you in”

Following weeks of speculation, Apple on Thursday sent out invites for a media event later this month that should serve as a launchpad for new iPhone and iPad models, Apple Watch bands and possibly more.

The press event will be held at Apple’s Cupertino campus on Monday, March 21, 2016, at 10:00am PT, and will be live-streamed using HTTP Live Streaming.

As you may have guessed, iDownloadBlog will continue covering everything there’s to know about about Apple’s product refreshes.

Claimed iPad Air 3 case has holes for quad speakers, Smart Connector and more

After posting images of a purported iPhone 7 case with holes for a pair of speaker grilles and dual cameras on the back, gadget leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer today posted on Twitter images of a claimed iPad Air 3 case.

Corroborating the notion that Apple’s third-generation iPad Air is basically a smaller, 9.7-inch iPad Pro with the same A9X processor, Smart Connector and a four-speaker setup like the iPad Pro, the images show off openings in the right places for quad speakers and the Smart Connector.

iPad Air 3 and iPhone 5se will run A9X and A9 chips

A third-generation iPad Air will run an ‘A9X’ processor and an ‘iPhone 5se’ will be outfitted with Apple’s ‘A9’ chip, according to Bloomberg Bussinessweek’s profile of Johny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies.

“In March, Apple intends to announce an updated iPad and smaller-screen iPhone featuring the latest A9x and A9 chips, according to a person familiar with the plans, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly,” reads a passage from the Bloomberg article.

Twelve South updates BookBooks for iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4, previews BookBook for iPad Pro

Premium, Apple-exclusive accessory maker Twelve South has refreshed its lineup of vintage leather cases that offer both protection and nice disguise with two new versions, one for the iPad Air 2 and the other for the iPad mini 4. In addition, the company has previewed a BookBook case for the iPad Pro, which will be shipping this Spring.

BookBook for iPad Pro will have “features that complete your iPad Pro,” including a display stand, a built-in sketching angle and an integrated pocket to protect and store your Apple Pencil.

Apple said to unveil new 4-inch iPhone 5se, iPad Air 3 and new Apple Watch bands on March 15

Apple is currently planning to hold a media event on Tuesday, March 15, to formally unveil a rumored new four-inch iPhone 5se, a third-generation iPad Air and new Apple Watch band options, according to a report this morning by 9to5Mac’s reliable Mark Gurman.

“As the scheduled event is still a month-and-a-half away, the date could conceivably still shift or turn into an online announcement,” cautioned Gurman.

New iPad Air 3 design drawing reaffirms quad speaker and Smart Keyboard rumor

Another iPad Air 3 design drawing, published Monday by Engadget, seems to support the thesis that the forthcoming device refresh will be outfitted with four speakers and include support for the Smart Connector. As you know, both of these features have made their debut with last fall’s release of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The alleged design drawing follows a similar image which the French blog NowhereElse.fr posted a week ago. That drawing gave us our first glimpse into the Smart Connector and four speakers, both of which are now believed to be in tow for the iPad Air 3.

iPad Air 3 rumored to have 4K screen, 4GB of RAM and improved battery

Apple is widely expected to announce a third-generation iPad Air at a March event in a few weeks time and the latest supply chain chatter has it that the device will come outfitted with an ultra sharp display boasting a 4K resolution, or nearly four times the pixels of Apple’s current-generation 9.7-inch 2,048-by-1,536 pixel Retina display.

According to Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, it’ll also have an improved battery life and feature four gigabytes of RAM versus the iPad Air 2’s two gigs of RAM.