2024 iPad Air to get one of the iPad Pro's best features in March

iPad Air 5 in hands with Apple Music and Notes app open in Split view
(Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

Apple is reportedly going to unveil its brand-new iPad Air 6 in March of 2024, and now a reliable insider has revealed which chip which chip will feature inside.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, writing in his Power on newsletter this week, Apple’s iPad Air will feature the M2 processor when it debuts in the spring. March will mark a full two years since Apple unveiled its current-generation iPad Air 5, featuring the M1 chip. At the time the inclusion of the potent Apple silicon processor was a surprising one, as many had expected Apple to reserve that power for its best iPad, the iPad Pro. 

The iPad Air was surpassed in processing power in October of 2022 when the new iPad Pro with M2 was unveiled, and now a leak says this chip is expected to trickle down to the Air when it’s unveiled in just a few weeks.

iPad Air with M2 

Gurman recently revealed Apple is planning to unveil a new M3 MacBook Air, iPad Pro, and iPad Air in March, possibly at a spring Apple event. The headline upgrade to the Air is a new 12.9-inch size that matches the current iPad Pro lineup. This most recent report now indicates that changes are coming under the hood, too. We’d guessed at the inclusion of M2 in the iPad Air previously, and one source with a minimal track record had indicated it. However, Gurman is the most reputable outlet to suggest the move, suggesting it’s a nailed-on upgrade. 

Apple is also expected to release a new OLED iPad Pro alongside this iPad Air, likely starring the M3 chip which debuted in the M3 MacBook Pro line earlier this year. If so, March will mark the convergence of the two lineups into a more coherent package. The Pro will offer a potent OLED display and M3, while the Air will retain an LED display and keep the M2, providing much better differentiation than Apple has in the past.  

With the March event just a couple of months away, we don’t have long to wait to see Apple’s latest and greatest tablets, along with the release of Apple Vision Pro, also slated for Q1 of next year. 

More from iMore

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9