Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

iPad Air 3 to double down on speakers, add a rear-facing flash?

Apple may be planning to boost the audio prowess of its iPad Air range, according to reports.

Judging by purported leaked drawings obtained by French site Nowhereelse.fr (via MacRumors) the iPad Air 3 will boast four speakers, two on top and two on bottom.

The current generation of the tablet has two speakers, both of which sit at the foot of the slate, either side of the Lightning port.

A revamp would bring the iPad Air 3 into line with the newly-released iPad Pro, which also features four speakers. The added audio hardware would offer enhanced media playback and a greater perception of stereo sound.

Review: iPad Air 2 – Still the beat tablet around

Meanwhile, the leak also shows a rear-facing LED flash, which would offer a boost for those who deem it socially acceptable to take photos on their iPads.

Today’s reports comes at a time when Apple rumours are focused on a second-gen Apple Watch, as well as the expected 4-inch iPhone 5se.

Recent speculation has suggested Apple may opt to update its iPad Air line up at an event in March. Other whispers have predicted a refresh will not happen until later in 2016.

Given the lack of fervour, this remains a testing time for Apple’s iPad Air range, which hasn’t been updated since October 2014.

Having arguably perfected the sector with successive tablets that received rare 10 out of 10 scores from this site, it’s difficult to know how the firm can to revive interest beyond the usual spec bumps.

What would you like to see in an iPad Air 3? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words