Updating the iPad: Features We Want to See in New Models This Fall

by Don Reisinger

If all the rumors surrounding the new iPads are true, the design won’t change much in either the iPad Air or iPad Mini. Frankly, that’s just fine. Both devices are well-designed and look the part of a high-quality tablet for those who want to go mobile. Making any drastic change to the design of either device wouldn’t make much sense at this juncture.

Apple is reportedly working hard at bringing Sapphire to more of its products, including the upcoming iPhone 6. The company should also think about bringing sapphire to its iPad Air display and perhaps even the iPad Mini’s screen. Sapphire is an ultra-strong material that prevents the kinds of scratches and cracks that affect current slates. And it’s something that should come to the new iPad line.

The rumor mill is saying that Apple is working on an anti-reflection technology for its iPad Air screen. That’s important. The iPad Air’s screen is hard to see in the sun, making it practically unusable. By adding an anti-reflective coating on the device’s screen, Apple can fix that problem and make it more usable 24 hours a day.

The TouchID feature that was made available in the iPhone 5S seems like an obvious addition to the new iPad. The feature would allow users to program their fingerprints and improve security across their devices. For enterprise users, especially, having a fingerprint scanner on the new iPad would be an important addition.

If the rumors are true, Apple is working on making the iPad Air and iPad Mini more mobile. The company is doing so by making the device thinner and lighter and will reportedly go after Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3, which is one of the slimmest tablets on the market. More mobility is always a good thing. And it’s nice to see Apple thinking along those lines.

Although we’ve touched on the iPad Mini, the rumors surrounding the new iPad have centered on a new and improved iPad Air. So it’s important to mention that Apple should update both devices. While some have argued that the smaller iPad is cannibalizing some higher-end tablet sales, Apple is still doing well. Having both devices on store shelves can give buyers more options and improve sales.

It appears at this point that the initial rumors were wrong and Apple won’t be launching the iPad Pro this year. Instead, the company is planning to launch that device, complete with a bigger screen, in 2015. That’s just fine. For right now, the sizes of Apple’s two iPads—9.7-inch screens for the iPad Air and a 7.9-inch display for the iPad Mini—are just fine.

Affordability is a huge concern for a tablet market that has experienced some slowdown. As a result, one might hope Apple should introduce new iPads that come in at the same price as its previous models. Although it doesn’t make the iPad Air necessarily affordable for those on a budget, since it would still start at $499, it does make the device more amenable to those choosing between a tablet and a lightweight notebook, like the MacBook Air, that starts at $899.

There really should be no question that the iPad Air should come with the A8 processor. Apple’s A8 processor is rumored to be coming to the iPhone 6, so it should also be available in the company’s highest-end tablet. The A8 processor is rumored to be able to deliver extremely strong graphics and power and will handle a wide range of applications. It’s a must-have for corporate tablet users.

The world we live in now requires that companies spend more time thinking about the cameras bundled with their devices. That’s why the 1.2-megapixel, 720p front-facing camera and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera in the iPad Air won’t cut it. Apple needs to bring a much better lens to both sides of the new iPad. Perhaps a 5-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear-facing lens would do the trick.