It was missing in action last year and the likelihood is Apple will make the iPad Air 3 release date happen this 2016. And it will be worth the wait as a new report suggested that the upcoming iOS tablet will pack a significant jump from the last version. 

Apple has its reasons why the iPad Air 2, issued in 2014, was not refreshed last year. It could be that the tech giant had intended the focus to be on the iPad Pro and the iPad Mini 4. However, rumors that 2016 is the iPad Air 3 year are gaining ground and the bump ups will represent a huge update, according to The Motley Fool.

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It has to be a big jump otherwise the upgrade would be for nothing, the report added. The iPad maker is unlikely to repeat the mistake committed when the iPad Mini 3 was released. Recall that the Mini 4 predecessor caused an uproar as experts and fans alike scored Apple's decision to provide the Mini 3 with few upgrades from the Mini 2.

So for the iPad Air 3, the minimum expectations would be the following:

Major redesign

In order to gain distinction from the first two iPad Airs, the third installment needs to have a differentiating element that will make an immediate impact to consumers. The Motley Fool is convinced that the Air will look entirely different from the past models in the same way that the original iPad Air made people to forget about its predecessors.

It will be a different industrial design for the Air 3, the report said.

Beast inside

The change will also involve giving the next iPad Air monstrous capabilities. Apple is likely to power the rumored tablet with either the A10 chip, which report said will fire up the iPhone 7 this year, or an equally capable A9X application processor.

Working in tandem with the Air 3 chip is 2GB of RAM but it would be hardly surprising should Apple go for a slight RAM hike and provide up to 3GB for the flagship tablet, thus ensuring speedy, snappy and stable performance.

Camera bump

It has always been the case that the iPad camera is inferior to that of its iPhone cousin but the Air 3 could change that as The Motley Fool predicted that Apple will finally grant its tablet that can be iPhone-class shooter.

On release date, which likely is timed by Apple at around October 2016, it is a given that iOS 10 will unbox with the iPad Air 3.