Apple's new OLED iPad Pro and revamped iPad Air now coming in May, report claims

After months and months of rumors, it had been thought that Apple would release its new OLED iPad Pro and refreshed iPad Air on March 26. That report turned out to be inaccurate with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman saying that Apple was likely to launch in April depending on how development of a new iPadOS release went. Now, Gurman has updated the timescale in a new report.

According to Gurman Apple's overseas suppliers have now started to ramp up the production of Apple's new iPads and the company intends to be ready to launch them in May. That's according to people who apparently have knowledge of the matter. However, Gurman has not named them because they asked not to be identified because the plans are not yet public.

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The new iPads are greatly anticipated after Apple did not release any new iPads throughout the entity of 2023. That marked the first time that no new iPads had been released in a calendar year since the first model launched. Now, Apple looks set to release four new tablets at once.

If the rumors turn out to be accurate we can expect Apple to announce new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros with new OLED displays for the first time. Those displays are set to offer improved contrast and better colors and be joined by Apple's M3 chip inside.

The updated iPad Air will see the existing 11-inch iPad Air be updated while a new 12.9-inch model will be added to the mix. Both tablets are expected to use Apple's M2 chip but no overall design changes are expected.

One other change that the new tablets are expected to bring to the lineups is a new location for the FaceTime camera. If reports are accurate the camera will be moved to the side of the tablet rather than the top just like the latest generation iPad. Such a move would benefit iPad owners who use the tablet in landscape more and make video calls.

Alongside the new tablets, Apple is expected to also release a new Apple Pencil and updated Magic Keyboard. The new keyboard is set to be more sturdy than the old one while little is known about what the new Apple Pencil will have to offer. It may support the Apple Vision Pro, however, with recent reports suggesting that Apple is testing such functionality. It's as-yet unclear whether that feature will be part of the new Apple Pencil's feature set or if a future model will be required, though.