Apple plans to launch a new super cheap iPad with components from a few years ago on the edge. Here's how it will look like
After the second generation iPhone SE, that is the long-awaited cheap iPhone (in the sense that it costs "only" 499 euros), 2020 could also see the presentation of a cheap iPad. At least that's what it would seem by reading a very short tweet by a semi-unknown Chinese leaker, @L0vetodream, who in the past has hit some rumors about Apple products.
The tweet simply reads: "in my dream iPad 2020 A12", that is "I dreamed an iPad 2020 with SoC A12". That is, the iPad equivalent of the next-generation iPhone SE: a lower price point by combining the processor with other cheaper components. Currently, regular iPads are the only ones not yet equipped with the latest generation of chips: the iPad Pro has the A12Z Bionic, the iPad Air mounts A12 Bionic and the iPad Mini as well. The regular iPads, on the other hand, are stuck with the A10 Fusion. An update of the range, therefore, is more than reasonable even outside the dreams of Chinese leakers and the main question is not whether an iPad with A12 will arrive, but when.
Ming-Chi Kuo's predictions
If we don't want to peer into the dreams of leakers, we can read the reports of analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo. According to Kuo, Apple is working on two new iPad models: the first will be a regular iPad with a 10.8-inch screen, which will replace the current 10.5-inch one, and should hit the market by the end of 2020. The second is an iPad mini with an 8.5- or 9-inch screen, which is expected to arrive in the first half of 2021 to replace the current 7.9-inch model. But since the strength of the iPad mini is precisely the fact that it is small, the most likely thing is that Apple will make a model with thinner bezels to enlarge the screen without increasing the overall size of the device.
iPad 2020 with A12: how much will it cost
As already the regular iPad is the low-cost model of Apple's iPad range, so it will also be for the 2020 version of the device. The current iPad range starts at 389 euros (iPad), 459 euros (iPad mini), 569 euros (iPad Air) and 899 euros (iPad Pro). The big doubt about the price of the new iPad depends on the fact that, if this device will cost less than 400 euros, Apple would have in range a tablet of about 10 inches with A12 that would risk cannibalizing the market to the iPad Air. Which is nothing more than an iPad with A12, better quality screen and more memory.