New iPad Air/Pro to get front camera in landscape orientation

Both current-generation iPad Pro and iPad Air models sport a FaceTime camera on the tip side, which is inconvenient when using the slates in the landscape orientation for FaceTime calls. 

According to a new leak, Apple is redesigning the iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models to include a front-facing camera on the side of the tablets to use in landscape mode. 

The information comes from a leaker named Instant Digital on the Chinese social platform Weibo. The leaker claims that the change is coming to both rumored iPad Air models – 10.9 and 12.9-inch.

How Apple will achieve a landscape FaceTime camera on the new iPad Air and iPad Pro models remains a mystery

The iPad camera position has been an issue for a long time. However, Apple recognized the problem and relocated the front-facing camera to the side of the 10th-generation ‌iPad‌.

Apple hasn’t launched any new iPads since, but it seems the company is determined to bring the same changes to future iPads.

The first hint of the landscape camera on the future iPads was discovered on iOS 17.4 around January. A code was discovered that stated, “During ‌Face ID‌ setup, ‌iPad‌ needs to be in the landscape with the camera at the top of the screen.”

Interestingly, it is still unclear how Apple intends to achieve the landscape ‌FaceTime‌ camera on the new ‌iPad‌ models, as the second-generation Apple Pencil connects to the same side of both ‌iPad Air‌ and ‌iPad Pro‌ using an inductive magnetic charger. 

That said, Apple is rumored to launch a new Apple Pencil‌ alongside the updated iPads.

Either way, we will find out all the details soon, as the new ‌iPad Air‌ and ‌OLED ‌iPad‌ Pro‌ models are expected to launch as soon as this month.

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