CAD Renders Unveil 12.9-Inch iPad Air with a Prominent iPhone X-Inspired Pill-Shaped Camera Enclosure at the Rear
Apple is expected to announce new iPad Pro models in the coming months, with rumors suggesting that the iPad Pro models with OLED display will launch before the WWDC 2024 event. Alongside these, there’s an anticipation for an upgrade to the iPad Air lineup, including a new model. A recent report indicates the launch of a new 12.9-inch iPad Air alongside the OLED iPad Pro models. CAD renders of this 12.9-inch iPad Air have now been revealed, showcasing its design and form factor.
The 12.9-inch iPad Air is reported to feature a pill-shaped camera housing on the back, but with a single camera sensor. This larger iPad Air retains the design of the current model but has a more significant form factor. The CAD renders suggest a similar design to the fourth and fifth-generation iPad Air, with some notable differences.
One key difference in the 12.9-inch iPad Air is the camera unit, which protrudes from the metal chassis in a pill-shaped design, reminiscent of the camera housing on the iPhone X and iPhone XS. However, unlike the iPhone X which had dual camera sensors, this iPad Air model shows only a single camera sensor.
The front view of the 12.9-inch iPad Air, as depicted in the CAD renders, appears identical to the current iPad Air models, but with slightly thicker bezels compared to the 11-inch version. This could create a different visual aspect, especially in contrast to the forthcoming OLED iPad Pro models.
The rest of the device remains similar to the current iPad Air model. It is speculated that the pill-shaped camera housing might also be featured on the smaller variant of the iPad Air. The upcoming models are expected to exclude the OLED iPad Pro’s LiDAR scanner and additional camera sensors. The new iPad Air lineup is likely to launch alongside the OLED iPad Pro models and is expected to include an M2 chip, promising enhanced computational and graphical performance along with other upgraded features.