iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 3: release date 2015, rumors, name changes

By Jerry Miller | June 5, 2015

As Apple gears up for the launch of the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 4, there are far more questions in the air than merely when the release date will take place or whether the products will actually launch with those particular brand names. Both product lines have reached an inflection point in their development, coming at a time when tablet sales are listing in general and it’s been a couple years since Apple offered anything fresh. But is the next big tablet revolution coming with the new iPads, and if so, when?

The shift toward larger smartphones has arguably made tablets irrelevant for some users, a trend negatively impacting all tablet vendors. iPhone sales are skyrocketing, for instance, while iPad sales aren’t impressive. Apple must try to buck that trend if it hopes to continue convincing consumers to buy one of each. That means the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 4 must evolve to offer features and functionality that can’t be done on an iPhone. And that’s tricky considering that tablets have to be just as thin and nearly as light as smartphones in order to remain attractive at all, which means wedging in more powerful tech specs is no easy task.

One longstanding rumor has Apple ditching the current naming conventions and simply rebranding the two product lines as “iPad” (iPad mini) and “iPad Pro” (iPad Air). There is some tangential evidence of this, as Apple has named its new laptop just “MacBook” and appears to be on its way toward retiring the Air nomenclature. But such a move has to come alongside a major revamp of the external hardware styling. All three iPad mini models have generally looked the same from the outside, and both Air generations have been similar. Is now the time? Consumers won’t have too long to wait before finding out.

Apple has fallen into a comfortable pattern of launching new iPhones in September and then rolling out its tablets in October, ensuring they all hit the market in time for the holiday season. That points to the iPad Air 3 and iPad mini 4, or whatever their names end up being, seeing a release date in the fall. Then again, if Apple is indeed in the mood for shaking up its tablet lineup, the new models could arrive sooner.