Oct 10, 2016 07:52 AM EDT By Vinay Patel, UniversityHerald Reporter

Rumor mills have been churning speculations around Apple's Air product line for quite a long time, and now, there are hearsay that the much-lauded lineup has met its demise.

The rumor stems from the fact that Apple refrained from shedding more light on the iPad Air 3 release date during last month's unveiling.

Meanwhile, a slew of recently surfaced reports, on the other hand, indicate that the compact handheld may make an appearance at the company's October reveal. If this proves to be true, it would be safe to presume that the latest variant of the iPad Air will be scheduled for a first quarter rollout next year, most likely in March.

Apparently, the stagnant tablet sales in recent years could be one of the key factors as to why Apple is refraining from introducing the iPad Air 3. Besides, other rivals are rolling out devices like the phablet whose size is somewhere between a phone and a tablet.

Possibly, Apple currently has its hands full with infusing the purported gadget with an array of awe-inspiring features, and leaving no stone unturned to amend what happened with the current iPad Air 2. The company reportedly left it out as far as specs and updates incorporated in the device were concerned, according to VineReport.

Apple iPad Air 2016 Release Date

Apple usually unveils a new version of iPad Air during the fourth quarter of the year. The first iPad became available on Oct. 22, 2013 while the iPad Air 2 was released on Oct. 15, 2014. Now, industry watchers claim that the third generation of the tablet could be unveiled before the end of October.

However, if the rumored October 2016 launching will not materialize, MacWorld claims that Apple could launch the tablet either on November or December. This theory seems to make sense considering that resellers are said to be offering discounts on the iPad Air 2 in a bid to pave way for its successor.

The iPad Air 3 is expected to boast better display features as it will come with a 3112 x 2344-pixel resolution screen.

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