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Home / News / The upcoming iPad Air 2024 will be missing one key feature

The upcoming iPad Air 2024 will be missing one key feature

Mini-LED fans, look away now...

iPad Air 2022 in all colours

If you’ve been holding out for a refreshed 12.9in iPad Air with the rumoured Mini-LED screen, you’ll probably be disappointed during Apple’s iPad launch event on 7 May. According to Display Supply Chain Consultant CEO and analyst Ross Young (via MacRumours), the Mini-LED screen has reportedly been axed due to high costs, which means that both upcoming 10.9in and 12.9in iPad Air models will retain their LCD screens.

Those of you with a penchant for display tech and a hankering for a new iPad Air will no doubt lament the news, given the superior brightness, deeper blacks, and lower power consumption that Mini-LED screens offer over older LCD tech. While previous rumours of the larger 12.9in iPad Air refresh did appear to be based in truth (with multiple supply chain sources confirming the upgrade), this latest update strongly suggests that there’ll be no Mini-LED-toting iPad Air in the next generation update.

There may be a sliver of good news though. Young also added that there might be a new iPad model with a 12.9in Mini LED display landing in the fourth quarter of this year (October-December). It’s currently unclear what exactly this purported model will end up being if it comes to fruition, but a good guess would be something along the lines of a high-end iPad Air, or a low-end iPad Pro. Who knows. And if you’re holding out for an OLED model, then rumours are still pointing to an OLED version of the iPad Pro in the very near future.

One thing’s for sure — we’ll have proper confirmation of most of the above and more during Apple’s 7 May launch event. Stay tuned for full coverage on the day, for all the facts directly from Tim Cook and co.

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About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.