iPad Air 6: latest news, rumors and everything we know so far

The iPad Air 6 could finally be landing soon, with numerous leaks pointing to a March launch.

For iPad fans, this will have probably felt like a long wait, given that the previous model – the iPad Air (2022) – landed way back in March of 2022. So it will have been two years since that tablet, and well over a year since we saw any new iPads at all.

This new iPad Air might be worth the wait though, because rather than it simply being a small spec bump, there's talk that it could have a larger 12.9-inch screen among other upgrades – though a 10.9-inch model might still launch as well.

Below, you'll find full details of all the iPad Air 6 leaks and rumors we've heard so far, including the possible specs, design changes, and the likely release date and price.

We'll update this article whenever we hear anything new too, so keep this page bookmarked if you want to stay in the loop.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? Apple's next mid-tier tablet
• When is it out? Likely early May
• How much will it cost? Around $599 / £569 / AU$929

iPad Air 6: predicted release date and price

Going by the rumors so far, the iPad Air 6 is likely to launch  early May, at least that's according to serial Apple tipster Mark Gurman. Previously though to arrive in March and April, new tidbits of information, such as fresh iPad model numbers on the Bureau of Indian Standards website, all point towards a May launch for the iPad Air 6 and new iPad Pros. 

Regarding the price, it'll likely cost the same amount as the last one – that started at $599 / £569 / AU$929, but the cost went up for more storage.

iPad Air 6: rumored design and display

The big news when it comes to the iPad Air 6's display is that there might be two new iPad Air models, with the second sporting either a larger screen or superior specs.

Of those two options, a screen size increase is looking more likely, as a second source has since said a larger 12.9-inch iPad Air is on the way, and more recently another source has also now mentioned a 12.9-inch iPad Air 6, claiming that both this and the expected 10.9-inch model will launch. So it's possible you'll have more mid-range iPad choice than usual soon.

More recently still we heard that panels for a 12.9-inch iPad Air started shipping in December. So this model sounds very likely to exist.

All that said, a more recent leak suggests that there might not be a 12.9-inch iPad Air 6 at all, with the source claiming they can only see signs of a 10.9-inch model in the works.

Beyond the possibility of this larger model, we're not expecting much change to the screen. The addition of ProMotion panels with mini-LED technology on the iPad Air 6 would be a nice touch, but these Pro-level features would inevitably cause the mid-range iPad's price to skyrocket. 

Indeed, according to one source, the next iPad Air will just have “bumped-up specifications.” But for our money, the iPad Air 5 already boasts a good enough design and display for its mid-range price point, anyway. 

Though one small design change could come in the moving of the selfie camera to a long edge, so it's positioned well for landscape orientation. The source who said this has also claimed that the iPad Air 6 will probably come in the same colors as the iPad Air 2022 (meaning Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue), except that either the Pink or Blue shade might be ditched (and presumably replaced with something else).

And we've now heard possible dimensions for this 12.9-inch iPad Air 6. It will apparently be 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.0mm. For reference, the iPad Air (2022) is 247.6 x 178.5 x 6.1mm, so that would make this marginally slimmer than that already very thin tablet. The other leaked iPad Air 6 dimensions are larger, but that's unsurprising given the screen is apparently larger too.

iPad Air 6: rumored cameras and battery

We haven't heard much about the cameras or battery of the iPad Air 6, though reportedly it won't have major design changes, so a single-lens camera on the back again is likely, and since the specs of this camera haven't leaked, there's a good chance it will be a 12MP one again.

The front camera may well also be 12MP again, but one leak suggests that the iPad Air 6 will have a landscape-oriented front-facing camera, rather than the portrait orientation of its predecessor.

We don't know much about the battery either, but according to one source the rumored 12.9-inch iPad Air 6 will have an oxide backplane for its screen, which should mean less power draw, and therefore better battery life.

iPad Air 6: rumored specs and features

One of main rumors we've heard surrounding the iPad Air 6 so far concern its processor, which we expect to be Apple's M2 chip. 

Tipsters including Revegnus (below) have claimed that Apple's next-gen iPad Air will swap the M1 chip boasted by its predecessor for the M2 chip currently found in some of the best MacBooks and the iPad Pro 12.9 (2022), meaning it's safe to expect significant performance improvements from the iPad Air 6.

We're not yet sure whether Apple will ship the iPad Air 6 with an 8- or 10-core GPU (as in the latest iPad Pro), but given that the iPad Air is positioned as Apple's mid-range iPad option, opting for the former GPU size could keep costs down.

iPad Air 6: what we want to see

1. A more distinct identity

The biggest problem with the 2022 iPad Air is that it's just too close to the iPad Pro. Most buyers will struggle to know which to buy, or which is best for them – in fact, it makes the Pro a little redundant thanks to its lower price.

Apple is going to have to work out a better way to make the next iPad Air unique, so that it's not too similar to the Pro. Perhaps we could see it get a more mid-range specs sheet as well as a lower price, to make it more accessible.

2. More storage

The current iPad Airs start with 64GB storage, which, for a tablet with a top-end chipset, simply isn't enough.

That's not enough space to have many games downloaded, or to have loads of files to work on or edit, and so it's not really clear why this version even exists.

It makes the price seem a little disingenuous, too – sure, the $599 / £569 / AU$929 entry price seems low, but if you're only getting a little storage space for that money, no-one will buy another iPad Air at that price.

3. A bigger battery

An issue we found in the last iPad Air – and most other iPads, if we're being honest - is that the battery life wasn't amazing. It wasn't bad, per say, but it certainly wasn't good either.

If you're wanting to wander around coffee shops to do work, or take your iPad to your studio to use as a second screen, you really want a device that'll last a long time. Current iPads don't always do that.

We'd like the next-gen version of the iPad Air to use a bigger battery – perhaps alongside some optimizations to squeeze the most out of that power – to ensure it has a chance of landing on our list of the best iPads.