The OLED iPad Air M3 rumors have started already, but it could be a long wait

Rumors are beginning to surface about an M3 iPad Air - noticeably missing from Apple’s iPad event last week.

Science/Technology May 15, 2024 0 11 Add to Reading List

The OLED iPad Air M3 rumors have started already, but it could be a long wait

The new iPad Air is just a few days old and buzz is already circulating about its next iteration: the OLED M3 iPad Air. It’s no surprise that people are speculating as to when we could see an M3 iPad, considering that most of Apple’s product lineup is up to speed with the latest in-house silicon.

The iPad Pro is fitted with M4 processors, meaning there’s effectively only one product slot left for the M3 chip to debut, and people seem confident the M3 will appear in an OLED iPad Air. According to MacRumors, the speculation comes from a “private account with a proven track record of sharing accurate information about Apple plans”. While that adds some credibility to the claim, we can’t really be sure of anything so soon after a product launch.

MacRumors notes that Apple could introduce a 10.8-inch OLED iPad Air between 2026 and 2028! That is so far away from now I can’t even comprehend it. Even if we take this rumor to be true, why would Apple space out the launch of an M3 iPad so far ahead from releasing M2 and M4 iPads?

A long time to wait

For all orders of its M-series chips, Apple uses TSMC (Taiwanese Manufacturing Company), and pumping out a whole new chip series so soon after the M3 launch (and subsequent product launches) is a tall order to fill. It would make more sense to produce more M3 chips update the entire product lineup, and save any M4 chips for iPad Pros or Macs.

There’s potentially quite a lot of M3 stock to be used and sold, and given how quickly the M4 chips were launched after the M3 release, it backs up our theory that there’s just a surplus that needs to be used. So, no massive conspiracy theory here: likely, this is all down to manufacturing logistics.

If true, the rumor does however suggest that we may be waiting a long time for M5 chips, as TSMC is currently still churning out M3 chips. Honestly, I’m pretty pleased with that, as the constant cycle of producing new products every year is incredibly wasteful and unnecessary. Waiting for stock to be used and pushing sales of M3 products is a perfectly valid move here - especially since the iPad Air is a more lightweight device that doesn't necessarily need more power than the M3 chip provides.

Apple has spoken in detail at the last few events just how committed the company is to being environmentally friendly - and if this rumor is true and we don’t see any more hardware updates for a long time, I know I’ll be fine with it.