iPad Air 2, Mini 3 Release Date Confirmed Shortly After Oct 16 but No Retina MacBook Air

Release date of the iPad Air 2 and the Mini 3 is likely to happen not too long after Apple's scheduled October 16 event but one anticipated product may unfortunately skip out the showcasing - that will be the Retina-toting MacBook Air.

No show for Retina MacBook Air?

Over the past few months, reports have been leaking out that Apple is planning a major upgrade of its MacBook Air and among the bumps can be expected is a Retina-laced screen. There were even talks that the razor-thin laptop with super-sharp screen is set for unveiling Thursday this week.

But that will not be the case, according to John Paczkowski of Re/code. The chance is nil that the device will be part of Apple's launch date in the coming days though Paczkowski allowed that OS X Yosemite, the operating system behind all upcoming Mac models, will make an appearance.

There is no telling when actually the Retina MacBook Air will debut, added the Re/code journalist, pointing to "people familiar with Apple's plans," as source of his information.

iPad Mini 3 is in

While it could be that the next-generation MacBook Air will not be previewed this week, the third iPad Mini installment will not disappoint as MacRumors is reporting that the smaller iPad will at least get introduced in the next few days.

Previously, the Mini 3 is tagged for a later announcement with Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities even stating in numerous reports that device will be unwrapped until early 2015.

It appears now that Apple has a change of heart and the Mini 3 will be part of the pack that will be unleashed by the tech giant. MacRumors cited Japanese blog site MacOtakara as the first reporter of the welcome news.

The newer 7.9-inch slate will be brought to life thank to the powerful combo of iOS 8 and the 64-bit A8 chip that will tap on up to 2GB of RAM, added the same report.

Additionally, the tablet will be shown off with the latest line up of Smart Case and Smart Cover accessories as claimed by the MacOtakara report.

Monster iPad Air 2

But really the star of Apple's Thursday occasion is the iPad Air 2 that in a new story from 9to5Mac is said to muscle around with an A8X processing chip and 2GB of RAM provision. The confirmed specs are hinted by the images shared by blog site Apple.Club.tw, said the Apple-dedicated tech site.

Highlighted feature of the device include a Touch ID fingerprint scanner and an 8MP rear cam shooter.

As for the body finish, it is expected that both the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 will largely mirror the design language seen with their immediate predecessors - thin and light profile - on release date though device concept artist Martin Hajek has envisioned the kits as virtual and scaled up clones of the iPhone 6.