A new iPad Air to launch next week, but not an 'iPhone 6' with a sapphire crystal display?
Will Apple unveil a new iPad at next week’s “iPhone 6” event? Very likely, according to Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities.
As first noted by AppleInsider, the influential analyst told investors on Thursday that Apple will introduce the “iPad Air 2” on Sept. 9 alongside the iPhone 6 and “iWatch.”
Like the iPhone 5s before it, the device will feature a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. The 9.7-inch device will also be available in a new gold color option, feature an “A8” processor, and come with anti-reflective screen coating.
Apple “may” also launch a new iPad mini next week, but this possibility is much less certain.
Kuo is the first analyst to say that Apple plans on unveiling a new iPad at its September event. Most expect Apple to announce new iPads at a separate event in October.
Regardless of when they are launched, 2014 iPads aren’t expected to look much different than previous models.
Also on Thursday, Kuo noted that both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models will come with a 128GB option. They will also launch with a barometric pressure sensor, and a programmable power button.
Surprisingly, the analyst concludes that Apple won’t launch an iPhone with a sapphire crystal display in 2014. Instead, Apple will continue to use this costly material only on the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and rear camera lens on iOS devices.
Other analysts expect at least one iPhone 6 model to feature a sapphire crystal display.
We’ll know soon enough who is right. Apple’s iPhone event begins on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. PDT.
See also: Apple’s ‘iWatch’ to come in different sizes, multiple styles when it launches in 2015, and A new aerial shot suggests that Apple is planning something extraordinary next week.
