A leaked user manual believed to be that of the upcoming iPad Air has revealed some interesting bits and pieces of the Apple tablet that was unknown so far. The manual in the Spanish language has its source in the Eurasian Economic Commission, where the iPad and the AppleWatch Series 6 successfully cleared the registration process recently.
According to the manual, the iPad Air will come with a side mounted Touch ID feature for user authentication instead of the conventional Home button placed within the bottom bezel. Now, incorporating Touch ID in the iPad Air is one way Apple keeps the price of the tablet lower than the iPad Pro, which comes with the more advanced Face ID technology.
iPad Air 4
Touch ID
via 小红书 pic.twitter.com/2jc09uAKUY— DuanRui (@duanrui1205) August 27, 2020
Also, shifting the Home button with the Touch ID built-in to the sides also led to the other most significant design change to be seen with the tablet device – ultra-thin bezels. With the bezels reduced to the minimum, this again opened up more space for the fitment of a larger display. Though there is no mention of the size of the display that the iPad Air will come with, previous rumours had claimed the tablet will come with a 10.8-inch display.
Meanwhile, the placement of the fingerprint sensor on the side makes for an interesting development considering that this is the first time that Apple has gone for something of this sort. The company had directly shifted to Face ID from the Touch ID tech integrated within the physical Home button placed within the bottom bezel. Worth mentioning, side mounted fingerprint sensor has long been adopted on Android devices now.
Among the other features to be seen on the new iPad Air include USB-C connectivity replacing the Lightning port. Plus, there is also the Smart Connector to be seen on the rear of the tablet as well, which hints at the tablet being compatible with the Apple Magic Keyboards as well. Maybe the tablet will also be able to support Apple Pencil too even though that might seem a bit far-fetched at the moment.
Meanwhile, the iPad Air, having cleared the European Eurasian Commission, is a sure sign of the tablet being ready for market launch sometime soon. Keep watching.
