Apple has long been rumored to refresh the entry-level iPad this year, with a new model supposedly switching from Lightning to USB-C, as well as featuring a faster chipset. Today some rather rough-looking CAD renders of the upcoming device have leaked through a case maker, and you can see them below.
Unfortunately these don't clarify the port
situation at all, as there's a red mark on the port hole. The renders show a
camera island on the back with one sensor and an LED flash, as well as the front
layout from the previous model, with the camera on the top bezel and the Touch
ID fingerprint sensor embedded in the Home button in the bottom bezel. Those
bezels are still sizeable, despite the rumored switch to a 10.5" or
10.9" screen, up from the current 10.2".
The new iPad is also said to have the A14
chipset on board, the same one powering the iPhone 12 series, and a newer
option than the A13 built into the 2021 version of this tablet. So it's looking
like a pretty safe incremental improvement year for Apple's cheapest tablet, at
least if these renders are accurate.
The new device should measure 248.62 x
179.5 x 6.98 mm, which means it'll be shorter, wider, and slimmer than the
current model. It will probably be unveiled in September alongside the new
iPhones or at a possible separate event in October. It should launch with the
new iPadOS 16 on board, even though the update to that could get delayed for
existing iPads.
