The iPad Air 3 is still one of the most talked about products that Apple is expected to release soon. However, the Cupertino-based company may have given up on the tablet.

No signs of the tablet have been found, may it be in the form of leaked images or specifications. However, concrete information is extremely hard to come by.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a reputable track record of Apple predictions, recently spoke about the company's iPad plans through 2018, and there was no single mention of the iPad Air 3.

He, however, talked about a "low-cost" iPad with a 9.7-inch display, the same as that of the iPad Air 3 line. The trusted expert did not refer to the device as iPad Air.

Kuo just said that this tablet will be powered by an A9X processor, which still serves as an upgrade to the iPad Air 2, which came with an A8X chipset.

If this low-cost iPad is a spiritual successor of the iPad Air 2, it should not be a shock if it comes with the same form factor as well as sizing.

Whether or not this budget iPad is Apple's version of the iPad Air 3 is still unknown for now, although media outlets have a reason to believe that the lineup is being retired.

Apple is reportedly reinventing its iPad line and serving this effort might mean killing off the iPad Air while still adapting its design for future releases.

There are reports saying that Apple wants to streamline its tablets by having them under the Pro moniker, although this is yet to be corroborated.

The iPad Air 3 was expected to be released last year. Instead, Apple opted to unveil the iPad Pro, which was followed by a 9.7-inch version early this year.

That being said, Apple might still come out with the iPad Air 3, but under a new name to make it more integral to its Pro tablet family.

The so-called 9.7-inch low-cost tablet is expected to be released next year, along with the iPad Pro 2 and the new 10.5-inch iPad.