While the upcoming iPad Air 3 may belong to Apple's media tablet lineup, the new product is said to be as powerful as the professional-level iPad Pro. Recent speculations suggest that Apple will launch the iPad Air3 with the same processor as the iPad Pro, meaning a powerful A9X chipset will be inside it.
According to MacRumors, a profile piece featuring Apple's Johny Srouji may have inadvertently hinted at the upcoming detail. Srouji is Apple's current senior vice president for hardware technologies, heading the Cupertino-based company's division that makes the chips and hardware components for Apple products, including upcoming iPads and iPhones.
In the Bloomberg post on Srouji, it is mentioned that, "In March, Apple intends to announce an updated iPad and smaller-screen iPhone featuring the latest A9x and A9 chips, according to a person familiar with the plans, who wasn't authorized to comment publicly."
The post may have also reinforced the rumors that Apple is having a stand-alone event next month to launch the company's new products. Up to now, the company has not yet confirmed the speculations of a March event.
Should this information be true, then the iPad Air 3 will indeed be as powerful as the iPad Pro, at least in terms of performance. In addition, this dovetails with previous rumors that Apple originally intended for the iPad Air 3 to be launched last year, but was only replaced at the last minute by the iPad Pro. If the two iPads were launched at almost the same time last year, fans would've had a hard time choosing between the two, seeing as they carry almost the same specs under the hood.
Meanwhile, as for the new iPhone that Apple is reportedly launching next month, the post also revealed that the iPhone 5se will carry the A9 chipset, making the new iPhone on par with the iPhone 6s.
