Next iPad Air Could Feature a USB-C Port Instead of a Lightning Port

The fourth-generation iPad Air may be equipped with a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, according to a new report from Japanese site Mac Otakara that says the information comes from a Chinese supplier.

ipadairgold
Apple transitioned to USB-C for its iPad Pro models in 2018, but other iPads have continued to feature a Lightning port for charging purposes. Mac Otakara says that the new ‌iPad Air‌ will be based on the 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, which is in line with prior rumors that we've heard.

Rumors earlier this year suggested that Apple is working on an 11-inch ‌iPad Air‌, which could launch in the second half of 2020. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said that Apple is working on a 10.8-inch iPad, and while he didn't say it was an "Air" model, it fits in with other rumors about a new ‌iPad Air‌.

One rumor from leaker L0vetodream has indicated the upcoming ‌iPad Air‌ could feature a mini-LED display with an under-display version of Touch ID instead of Face ID, but it remains to be seen if that info will turn out to be accurate as it hasn't yet been backed up with a second source.

‌Mac Otakara‌ also mentions the upcoming iPad mini, which Kuo previously said would measure in at 8.5 to 9 inches. This new ‌iPad mini‌, coming in 2021, is expected to continue to feature a Lightning port rather than a USB-C port.

Related Roundups: iPad Air , iPad mini
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
mail categories macos

Apple's Redesigned Mail App is Expanding to the Mac — Here's When

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April. The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

pdaholic Avatar
61 months ago
Add usb-c to the iPhones and lets dump the lightening connector altogether!
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Howyalikdemapls Avatar
61 months ago
Why don’t they make all their devices use the same connector? It seems odd to have some iPads use USB-C and some use lightning, no?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwaltwhit Avatar
61 months ago
30 pin lasted 9 years. Lightning is getting close to that. It will be nice to move away from proprietary.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimthing Avatar
61 months ago
Mini should be:
• USB-C.
• Pencil 2 support.
• Face ID.
• bezel-less screen (at larger ~9" screen size).

Anything else is Apple beings d¡cks to customers, at this point.


Clearly Apple must be blind to the needs of their customers if they don't realise many will also own a larger iPad Pro using USB-C already (or any new Mac, for that matter), so we can use the same cable on the Mini. It's so bleeding obvious, does it actually need explaining at this point. Keeping Lightning would just be a kick in the teeth to multi-device users (most people in the year 2020).

There's always 'legacy' to move on from, so staying with Lightning for yet another generation just prolongs the agony of an eventual swap later.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ian87w Avatar
61 months ago

Why don’t they make all their devices use the same connector? It seems odd to have some iPads use USB-C and some use lightning, no?
It seems odd at first, but imo Apple is pushing the iPad Pros to be real computer replacements, and as such USB-C would feel more natural to connect to peripherals.

Although the loss of headphone jack is weird.

Now that I mentioned it, I don't want this to happen if it means losing the headphone jack. It makes sense on the iPhone, due to constrained space and water proofing. The iPad has plenty of room and no IP rating, so removing headphone jack just because of USB-C is not cool imo.


The Air is expected to have an 11-inch LCD and in-display Touch ID. Makes sense it would have USB-C so it can share most of the current iPad Pro accessories.
It would be really sad if such large device doesn't have a headphone jack.... :(
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yurc Avatar
61 months ago
Almost every 2020 device have type-c as international standard. Any device at this moment which keep proprietary connector are sacrilegious enough.

Also, lightning ports still in USB 2.0 speed, nullifying advancements of high speeds newer USB technology, less supported protocol. Lightning was superior back then compared with retarded micro-USB, but with type C there’s was no reason to keep lightning anymore. The only merit of lightning now is only have slimmer footprints than type c, the rest quite meh.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)