Should You Wait for the iPad Air 3?

The iPad Air 2 is approaching six months of being on the market, which means there’s roughly just six more months until a new iPad could release (presumably the iPad Air 3), begging the question of whether or not waiting for the iPad Air 3 before buying a new iPad is a smart decision.

The iPad Air 2 remains largely unchanged from the previous generation as far as looks are concerned, save for the new Home button which now comes with Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor, which is probably one of the biggest features on the new iPad.

The iPad Air 2 is also lighter and thinner than the iPad Air, mostly thanks to Apple getting rid of the “air gap” in the display that has existed on every iPad model before this. With that air gap gone, the tablet can be thinner and also reduce light glare. The front glass and the actual display are now bonded together, just like the Microsoft Surface, allowing Apple to make the device thinner without sacrificing a lot of internal space.

Of course, the flagship tablet come with performance improvements across the board, including the new A8X processor, which is a 64-bit chip that offers 2.5x faster GPU performance and 40% faster CPU performance than the A7 processor that’s in the iPad Air. The iPad Air 2 also comes with the new M8 motion processor, just like in the iPhone 6. Also, let’s not forget about the 2GB of memory, which is a serious upgrade from the iPad Air, which only came with 1GB.

All of this adds up to a pretty amazing tablet experience, but is it a good idea to buy the iPad Air 2 right now or wait for the iPad Air 3?

Apple will most likely announce and release a new iPad later this year in October, just like the company does every year, and the new tablet will obviously be an improvement over the iPad Air 2, but that’s still a good six or so months away, roughly. If you’re in the market for a new iPad right now, you might be pondering the opportunity to wait until the fall to buy the iPad Air 3 later or buy the iPad Air 2 right now.

Here’s the thing. The iPad Air 2 received such a huge performance upgrade from the iPad Air that the newer tablet will most likely hold up better over time than most iPads in the past, thanks to the huge boost in memory and the 64-bit processor in the iPad Air 2.

Compared to past iPad upgrades, the iPad Air 2 was a pretty substantial upgrade, and was probably one of the biggest jumps that the iPad has ever seen. Plus, app developers have really only scratched the surface of what the newer device is capable of, so the iPad Air 2 should only keep getting better over the next few months leading up the iPad Air 3 launch.

Plus, you’ll want to keep in mind what Apple will do as far as the upgrades are concerned for the iPad Air 3. Rumors have been rather lax lately, though.

Read: 5 iPad Air 3 Features We Want to See

However, the iPad Air 3 will most likely keep the same overall design as the iPad Air and the iPad Air 2, and I say this because Apple usually keeps the same iPad design around for a few generations. Obviously, the only proof of that is with the iPad 2, iPad 3, and the iPad 4, all of which kept the same overall design.

The iPad Air series could do the same, and we’ll most likely see the same overall design in the iPad Air 3 that we’ve seen in the iPad Air and the iPad Air 2, but there could be several minor changes.

The iPad Air 2 kept the same overall design as the iPad Air, but changed the speaker grille, got rid of the silent ringer switch on the side, and obviously added Touch ID capability. We’re guessing we’ll see small changes like this with the iPad Air 3.

Of course, performance is another thing that will see big improvements in the next iPad, as Apple always puts faster and faster internals in its products every year. Simply put, the iPad Air 3 will undoubtedly be Apple’s fastest iPad yet. However, that doesn’t mean that the iPad Air 2 will suddenly be a slow tablet. It will still compete, and will still be worth a purchase, especially if Apple drops the price of it when the iPad Air 3 releases.

With that said, if you want to buy an iPad right now, the iPad Air 2 will be a great purchase, but you can also wait until October to get the iPad Air 3 or the iPad Air 2 at a lower cost, which could be more beneficial for many buyers.