According to the 9to5Mac website, Apple is developing two new versions of iPad Air 6. The website says Apple is developing four different models (two each for cellular and Wi-Fi), but it's unclear what the differentiating factors will be if there are indeed two different iPad Air models.
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The reason why Apple produces two versions of the iPad Pro is because it comes in two sizes, and 9to5Mac speculates that Apple may launch a larger iPad Air to go with the current 10.9-inch version, or launch a "more expensive model with better configuration."
Given that the iPad product line already has two sizes of iPad Pro, low-priced iPad and iPad mini, launching a larger or higher-end iPad Air may not make much sense. Of course, Apple's plans may change, and a second iPad Air may not appear at all.
There have been rumors that Apple is developing the seventh-generation iPad mini and the eleventh-generation low-price iPad. It is expected that there will be no major changes in these two tablets. The source believes the iPad mini 7 will be available "soon," but the report also claims that all new iPads will be released "between now and WWDC in June 2024," which is a wide window.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in September that Apple was unlikely to launch a new iPad in 2023, and that iPad mini and iPad Air models would be launched in 2024. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said in September that Apple is developing a new iPad Air and may "launch it soon."
Apple has not updated the iPad Air since March 2022, so it has been more than a year since the last update. The current models include the M1 chip, and Apple may wait until the M3 chip is launched before updating it. Therefore, the launch time of the iPad Air may be linked to the launch time of the M3 chip.
As for the iPad mini, although it is not a tablet that Apple regularly updates, it has not been updated since September 2021.