iPad Air 3 release date, price rumours, specs and features ahead of Apple's new tablet launch

Apple fans are days away from a special event in which the world's most valuable company is expected to reveal it's latest clutch of must-have iGadgets.

The heavily-tipped iPhone SE is expected to steal the show - but Apple is also rumoured to be showing off a brand new iPad.

Last year the company revealed the big-screen iPad Pro and aimed it squarely at artists, photographers and other creative-business types. There was even a stylus that went with it.

Monday's event is supposedly going to play host to a new version of the iPad Pro - but this one will be have a regular 9.7-inch sized screen rather than the 12.9-inch of last year's Pro.

Apple is holding an event on March 21 at its HQ in California

Apple has a bit of a downaward trend to overturn when it comes to tablets. The last two years have seen a decline in iPad sales and the last quarter of 2015 saw the company dip below the 10-million sales figure for the first time since 2011.

With the company itself staying typically quiet, the internet rumour-mill has gone into overdrive. Here's what we know - or think we know - about the new iPad thus far.

Latest news

Just days ahead of Apple's "Let us loop you in" event, 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple's new iPad will be the first to come with a starting price higher than $499.

The tech site claims that the smaller iPad Pro will start at $599 and include 32 GB of storage, citing "sources".

The Apple Pencil can be used with an iPad Pro

The $599 price tag applied to the WiFi-only model. Higher-priced versions with 128 GB of storage and the ability to connect to 4G mobile networks will also be offered.

The higher price is partly due to the larger storage capacity - the iPad Air 2 includes 16 GB of storage.

Release date

If the new iPad is revealed on March 21, then the obvious question becomes when will we be able to get our hands on it?

Apple has a good track record when it comes to getting their new iGadgets out into the shops quickly.

The iPad Air 2 was put on sale a few weeks after being announced

The company has traditionally revealed its new iPads towards the end of October and then released them at the beginning of November. Before the iPad Pro, the last iPad Air to be revealed was the iPad Air 2 back on October 16 2014 .

Therefore, we could realistically see the next iPad being available in the shops by the middle of April.

Price

When it comes to price, Apple has a history of slotting its new products in at existing prices and then shunting the older models down a peg or two.

That means that if a new iPad is revealed on March 21, we can expect it to debut with the same price as the iPad Air 2 did when it launched. The price will also depend on how much storage space Apple packs into its various models.

The iPad Pro was released last year

The iPad Air 2 was launched at £399 for the 16GB model , which went up to £479 for the 64GB version and finally £559 for 128GB. Each model is £100 more expensive when it comes to adding 3G connectivity.

We could possibly see these prices replicated for the new iPad.

Specs and features

Three of the main features of the next iPad are believed to be a Smart Connector pin for adding a keyboard, two extra stereo speakers and compatability with Apple's Pencil stylus.

These are all hallmarks of the iPad Pro tablet - even though many Apple watchers aren't sure what the new slate will be called. It could either be the iPad Air 3, iPad Pro 2 or even just New iPad.

Rumours suggest the Apple Pencil will work with the new iPad

Other extra features are believed to include the addition of a flash for its rear-facing camera as well as support for Apple Pay and a faster processor.

When it comes to the screen, one Chinese website has been quoted as saying the screen will be 4K-capable but keep the 4:3 aspect ratio, giving it a whopping 401 pixel density.

Apple is famous for making its "Retina Display" Macbooks, but putting a 4K screen on a tablet is a risky move because of the impact on battery life.

A leaked set of images appeared on Twitter earlier this month that appeared to show a dummy model of the forthcoming iPad.

If true, the pictures could confirm a number of features that have been mooted for the tablet, including a three-pin "Smart Connector" port on the side. The iPad Pro has one of these and it's used with Apple's keyboard cover.

It also shows cutouts for four speakers - an increase of two from the iPad Air 2 and one of the persistent rumours surrounding the new device.

Source: iPad Air 3 release date, price rumours, specs and features ahead of Apple's new tablet launch