March Apple Event: What to Expect From Apple’s iPad Air 3

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One of the products we're expecting to see Apple Inc. (AAPL) take the wraps off in March is the iPad Air 3.

While the possibility of a new 4-inch iPhone tends to capture the headlines, that new iPad just may be the more important of the announcements.

Here's what we're expecting Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook to show off come March 15.

The Apple iPad Air 3

While iPhones get all the glory for driving Apple's phenomenal success, the iPad is Apple's second largest source of revenue. And rather than facing the threat of a maturing market and declining sales as the iPhone does, the iPad is already taking a hit in a big way, with sales down 25% year-over-year.

The iPad Pro was one attempt to turn the situation around, but the specific market it addresses — professional users — opted for the Microsoft (MSFT) Surface Pro. For most consumers, the iPad Air is the tablet of choice.

The current generation iPad Air hasn't been updated in nearly a year-and-a-half, but that hasn't been a huge concern because of the second problem with Apple iPads: people hold on to them for years instead of buying new ones as they do with iPhones.

Apple needs the new iPad Air to be good enough to convince shoppers looking at a Samsung (SSNLF) Galaxy Tab, Surface 3 or a $49.99 Fire tablet from Amazon (AMZN) to go with its offering instead. Just as critical, the new iPad Air has to offer a compelling reason for all those existing iPad owners to finally trade up from their older iPads and buy an Air 3.

Key Rumored Features of the New iPad Air

There are certain things we've come to expect from any Apple release, and a new A-series processor with a big leap in performance is a given.

When Apple released the iPad Air 2, it touted a 40% processing improvement compared to the original iPad Air, with more than double the graphical performance. So expect the iPad Air 3 to use an A9 or A9X CPU and be considerably faster than its predecessor. Beyond that basic assumption, there are several key new features being speculated about on Apple iPad rumor tracking sites:

Smart Connector

Rear Camera Flash

Four Speakers

The Smart Connector is the key feature here. This is a new two-way magnetic interface introduced with the iPad Pro that lets an iPad use accessories while providing them with power. It's the Smart Connector that makes Apple's Smart Keyboard for the iPad Pro and similar accessories from third parties possible.

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