It is said that the iPad Air 3 is supposed to come out late last year, although the new slate has been a no-show to date. Meanwhile, Apple's decision to re-structure its MacBook lineups seems to be a hint that the iPad Air 3's early 2017 appearance is its last chance to be seen in the Apple tablet lineup.

In the recently-concluded keynote event this week, the Cupertino-based tech giant has unveiled the 2016 MacBook Pro. In addition, the tech maker has also discontinued its 11-inch MacBook Air, making the 13-inch variant the entry-level device in the Apple laptop lineup. Should this streamlining of Apple products spill over to other lineups, it may be a hint of the demise of the iPad Air series.

The iPad Air 3 will reportedly come out early next year, in the already-expected March 2017 Apple keynote event. However, rumors say that this release timeline for the slate is already a delayed one and that it is now a disadvantage for the iPad Air 3. Supposedly, since the iPad Air 3 will launch together with the new iPad Pro 2 lineup, the new Air will serve as the entry-level variant for the revamped Apple tablet series, and the iPad Air 3 could be the last in the Air lineup. Come 2018 and beyond, Apple is said to streamline its slate products to focus only on iPad Pro variants.

Although Apple has not confirmed it, speculations say that the iPad Air 3 was supposed to launch in late 2015, as Apple had routinely released iPad Air variants every year (the iPad Air 2 launched in October 2014). However, with the Apple's fiercest competitor, Microsoft, releasing a new, more powerful Surface Pro, the Cupertino-based company had forgone the Air slate in favor of its own iPad Pro version.

Meanwhile, although the new iPad Air is already the third-generation slate in the lineup, it will carry entry-level specs and features, at least against the iPad Pro variants. The upcoming iPad Air is said to run on an upgraded A9 chipset with at least 3 GB of RAM, and featuring minor updates over its predecessor.