A Bloomberg report from Debby Wu and the ever-reliable Mark Gurman has confirmed a number of the existing rumors regarding forthcoming Apple releases this fall, including the iPhone 12, iPad Air 4, and the AirPods Studio, while quashing others in the process.
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iPad Air 4 and AirPods Studio
The report did not have a considerable amount to say about the iPad Air 4 and AirPods Studio, so let’s tackle them first. Perhaps the most crucial piece of information is that the refreshed iPad Air is coming this fall, something that has remained up for debate as other reports have suggested that it wouldn’t arrive until the spring. This suggests the standard iPad, which is rumored to be getting its own update, might be the one waiting until spring for an update as it goes unmentioned in this report. The one other detail that is confirmed for the iPad Air 4 is the move to an edge-to-edge display similar to the iPad Pro, which echos rumors that this update to the Air will mirror the design but not the full feature set of the iPad Pro. The AirPods Studio, Apple’s first branded foray into over-ear headphones, is reportedly ready for release this fall, but no other details were offered.
iPhone 12
Turning to the iPhone 12, the report dug quite a bit deeper into the updates coming to Apple’s iPhone lineup this fall. The move to four separate iPhone models is confirmed by Bloomberg’s sources, with an iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max at the low end to match the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max at the top end. The devices will reportedly all move OLED, as previously rumored, and the screen sizes for the lineup are 5.4 inches for the iPhone 12, 6.1 inches for the iPhone 12 Max and iPhone 12 Pro, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max sits atop the range at 6.7 inches. The report does not touch on the refresh rate for these displays, the one presumed update to 120Hz ProMotion for the iPhone 12 Pro models seems to be very much in doubt at this point. A feature the Pro models will enjoy over the standard iPhone 12 is the inclusion of a LiDAR camera as seen on the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2020), allowing for superior AR and depth-sensing performance for various photography techniques. Internally, all of the iPhone 12 models will be running a new A14 processor, which should deliver superior power and battery life. We did not get any specific performance figures. The general design language for the iPhone 12 will move to a more squared-off design as seen on the current iPad Pros and reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Another cost savings on the standard iPhone 12 models will show up here with aluminum sides as opposed to stainless steel on the Pro models. And one purely cosmetic option for the Pro buyers will be a dark blue finish in place of the Midnight Green on the 2019’s Pros. All four models will feature 5G although Bloomberg’s sources say “some of the current 5G networks are not improving connection speeds much,” which will come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying much attention to the current state of 5G in the U.S. Finally, while the report does not offer any guidance on the specific timing of the iPhone 12 event, it does support the claim that the standard iPhone 12 models will ship ahead of the iPhone 12 Pros.
