For years, the iPad Air has stuck with the same design since September 2020 with the fourth-generation model. The current design for the iPad Air was actually based on the 2018 iPad Pro’s design, and that design was brought over to subsequent iterations up to the current M5 model. Technically, the M2 models introduced in May 2024 were internally redesigned to move the front camera from the portrait side to the landscape side, and that iteration also added a larger 13-inch (actual screen size: 12.9-inch) model.
The iPad Air was just updated with the M5 chip this March, but the design is starting to show its age, especially when it still has the same Liquid Retina, or LCD, display for several years. However, it looks like this problem is set to be remedied in the not-too-distant future as Samsung Display is set to supply single-panel LTPS OLED panels for the next-generation iPad Air. With that said, the next iPad Air will feature OLED technology, but it won’t be on the same level as the tandem OLED displays introduced on the M4 iPad Pro, which was redesigned with a thinner enclosure to house the more advanced display technology.
On a related note, the iPad mini is expected to get updated as soon as this fall, and it will finally get redesigned with an OLED display and a more water-resistant design with vibration-based speakers. I’d bet that the next iPad mini’s design will be based on the current iPad Pro’s design, so the next iPad Air’s design could follow suit by taking some design cues from both the iPad Pro and the next iPad mini’s design.
The original iPad mini, introduced in October 2012, featured a newer design that would set the foundation of the original iPad Air’s design the following year. When the iPad Air got redesigned back in September 2020, the sixth-generation iPad mini was redesigned the following year to the design cues of the larger iPad Air. So history could repeat itself with the next iPad mini and iPad Air models.
The next iPad mini and iPad Air models will be part of Apple’s ultimate rollout of bringing OLED displays to even more of its products, including the MacBook Pro and iMac.
