A new iPad Air for 2023? It’s looking likely! (Updated)

(Image credit: Apple)

UPDATE: Since the publishing of this article, more details have come to light about iPad Air 5 and iPad mini 7 availability. For the latest details, catch our coverage of how new iPads aren't expected until 2024. Boo! Hiss!

With all the talk of the iPhone 15, it’s easy to forget that Apple has a lot of cards left to play before the end of the year. While there’s an outside chance that we will see an upgraded iPad Mini 7 at the Apple September event (dubbed ‘Wonderlust’), it’s now looking increasingly likely that we can expect a new iPad Air release in 2023.

iPad Air 6 release date could be right around the corner

The last iPad Air release was in March 2022, seeing the device pack the M1 Apple Silicon processor, an improved USB-C port, 5G support, and a 12MP front camera featuring Center Stage — allowing it to track and frame users during video calls.

The new iPad Air refresh could arrive as soon as October 2023 if Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is to be believed. Speaking on a recent episode of The MacRumors Show podcast, Gurman revealed that a new generation of iPad Air is in the works and could be “coming soonish.” He would later speculate on the iPad refresh’s likely date being October — though not to expect a large-scale announcement.

Gurman continued, “I’m not sure they have enough to drag people down to Cupertino to watch the video like they do for this launch,” when speaking of the upcoming iPhone 15 reveal. Instead, it looks like the sixth generation of iPad Air could be unveiled with a quick press release and video — similar to Apple’s announcement of the MacBook Pros featuring M2 and M2 Max processors.

Outlook

While we don’t know what the iPad Air 6’s refresh entails, there’s a chance we could see an M2 chip outfitting alongside Thunderbolt support for even faster USB-C data transfer rates and improved charging much similar to what we expect of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models.

Apple launching the iPad Air 6 would make it the only iPad set for a release in 2023, with the rumored iPad Mini 7 reportedly being pushed into early 2024. However, never count out a surprise or two as Apple still has a busy few months to go with iPhone and MacBook reveals.

Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.