Leaked 'Apple iPad Air 3' Case Photos Showcase iPad Pro-Like Exterior Design

Alleged front and back photos of the Apple iPad Air 3 case show key design elements of the device.

Phone Arena apparently picked up the leaked iPad Air 3 case photos from the Japanese portal Macotakara, which in turn sourced it from the prominent Chinese e-retailer Alibaba. However, the photos have since been removed from the original site.

The leaked images of the case show a lot of similarity to the recently released 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro. Going by the photos, the Air 3 will feature four speakers and each one of them will be located at the four corners of the slate. There is a cutout to house the magnetic-powered "Smart Connector." Similar to the iPad Pro, the Smart Connector will apparently let the iPad Air 3 user to connect to the optional Smart Keyboard.

There is a placeholder to house an LED flash, right next to the main camera. A cutout for the 3.5 mm headphone jack can also be seen at the upper left corner. On a related note, Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 has been rumored to ditch the earphone jack altogether to help make the flagship waterproof.

Speaking of release date, sometime in March, Apple will apparently be introducing the iPad Air 2 successor. In the same event, rumors say, the pocket-friendly 4.0-inch Apple iPhone 5se, also referred as iPhone 6c, along with the second-generation Apple Watch will be unveiled.

Moving on to rumored iPad Air 3 specifications, it is expected to feature a 9.7-inch display. Resolution is unknown at this point, however, some rumors vouched for a 4K screen. This device will be powered by an Apple A9X processor and will come backed by a cool 4 GB of RAM.

Camera-wise, an 8-megapixel rear-facing sensor and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing shooter for selfies have been tipped. This device is expected to be ultra-thin at 5 mm. Similar to the predecessor, a fingerprint scanner will apparently be embedded on the home button.