Apple has just revealed a new iPad Air. This announcement has come as a surprise to many, who believed that the next Apple unveil would be a Mac laptop, likely the MacBook Air. That hasn’t happened.
Those caught on the hop by this change of plan include Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who talked about the new products in his weekly newsletter. “The iPad announcement probably won’t come in the next few days, but the M4 MacBook Air unveiling is imminent. In line with the details I reported in the last Power On, Apple is preparing to make a Mac-related announcement as early as this coming week, I’m told,” Gurman said.
Well, he was right about the week that Apple would make an announcement, though not about the product. He also predicted that when the new iPad Air was revealed, so would the latest entry-level iPad, and this has been updated with the A16 processor and double the storage for the same price. It’s possible that the Mac release is imminent, too, of course, and may follow soon.
Here’s what today’s announcement means for the new products and what’s been confirmed so far.
Tuesday, Mar. 4: Product Unveil
The announcement came in the form of a press release, and it means that a new schedule of events clicks into place.
Tuesday, Mar. 4: Pre-Sales Start
Unlike some releases, for this one, the pre-sales begin immediately.
Monday, Mar. 10 Or Tuesday, Mar. 12: First Reviews Appear
This hasn’t been confirmed by Apple and could shift forward or back a day or so, but is unlikely to be later than Tuesday as the iPad Air goes on sale on Wednesday, Mar. 12.
Wednesday, Mar. 12: Release Date
The new iPad and iPad Air will go on sale on Wednesday, Mar. 12 at 7 a.m. local time, so buyers in Australia or New Zealand will see the new products long before those in California, for instance.
Price
The 11-inch iPad Air costs $599 for the wi-fi model, $749 for wi-fi plus cellular. The larger, 13-inch model costs $799, or $949 for the model with cellular connectivity.
