iPad Air 3 to Launch as 9.7-Inch iPad Pro Alongside iPhone 5se in March: Report

The upcoming iPad model that Apple is reportedly planning to launch on March 15, may not be called the iPad Air 3, as previously speculated. A new report claims that the tablet will likely be a smaller variant of the iPad Pro, the 12-inch tablet that Apple launched last year.

It appears Apple is ditching the "Air" brand from its iPad lineup. The company, which launched the iPad Air 2 in 2014, will launch a tablet with same innards as the iPad Pro but in a 9.7-inch small form factor, reports 9to5Mac.

The report reiterates the specifications for the upcoming iPad Pro as 9.7-inch display presumably with the same 2732x2048 pixels screen resolution. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will supposedly have A9X SoC, same as the original iPad Pro, and 4GB of RAM, as well as house a four-speaker setup.

The upcoming iPad Pro will also reportedly support the Apple Pencil stylus accessory, and have Smart Connector. The report claims that Apple is working on a smaller variant of the Smart Keyboard. The retail price of the new, smaller iPad Pro, as per the report, could be in the same range as the iPad Air 2.

Reports claim that Apple will launch this tablet alongside the 4-inch iPhone 5se on March 15. The Cupertino-based company is also planning to launch new models and bands for its Apple Watch. Interestingly a report on a South Korean blog claims that Apple will hold the event on March 22 instead of March 15. Apple is expected to send out invites in the coming days.