iPad Air 3 release date announcement 'coming soon'?

The iPad Air 2, current model in the market Apple.com

The iPad Air 3 is speculated to be unveiled at the special Apple event being held this coming March, and a report from 9to5 Mac now indicates that Apple will indeed announce the new tablet very soon as a means of combating the declining consumer interest in tablet devices.

According to the report, Apple is set on unveiling a new tablet during their March event and this new device is "most likely" to be the highly anticipated iPad Air 3. This will be the first new iteration of the iPad Air since 2014 as last year saw newer models for the smaller iPad Mini and the introduction of the larger iPad Pro.

However, introducing the new iPad Air 3 won't just be to bring in more profits but also to rejuvenate interests in tablet devices in general. According to the report, iPad sales have been dropping by 25% yearly and one reason for this drop is the lack of a new iPad Air model.

It is also speculated that the declining interest in tablets may be due to the fact that many consumers are now turning to their smartphones and the newer, more versatile laptops such as the Microsoft Surface Book for mobile or more powerful tasks done instead of using a tablet, which relatively sits in the middle in terms of mobile computing power.

According to a report from Fox News, Apple has stated in the past that they would never release a touch-screen version of the Mac but this may alter now that laptops and smartphones are starting to devour the market that the tablet once dominated.

The iPad Air 3 will simultaneously be unveiled along with the new Apple Watch 2 and a 4-inch iPhone, which is rumored to be called either the iPhone 6c or iPhone 5se. This may be Apple's lineup until the company releases new MacBook models in Summer or the new iPhone 7 by Q4 of the year.

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