After the release of Apple's iPad Air 2 unit in October 2014, Apple has been silent on its successor, iPad Air 3, throughout the years on the unit's production, which have produced rumors that the Cupertino-based company is stopping the next iteration. However, recent reports suggest that the iPad Air 3 will arrive in 2017, along with its refreshed specs and features.

As the rumors started to circulate online, the next iteration for iPad is expected to come with sleeker and slimmer design, more color options, borrowed camera features from iPhone 7 such as the dual-lens, high-definition 4K screen display, 3D Touch and Apple Pencil support.

According to Value Walk, iPad Air 3's screen resolution will have an improved screen resolution as Apple will increase the device's display up to 401 ppi, which matches the iPhone 6s Plus and also gives away the size of the screen to be 9.7 inches.

Aside from this, the iPad Air 3 will sport a 9.7-inch 4K display, while its weight and size will measure 5 millimeters (0.20 inches) thick, making it sleeker than the iPad Air 2's 6.1 millimeters (0.24 inches).

According to M&Apps, the device is expected to be accompanied with an upgraded chipset, either an A9X chipset, or maybe even an A10 Fusion. It is an improvement from iPad Air 2's A8X chipset, a souped-up version of the A8 chip in the iPhone 6s.

In addition, rumors suggest that the device could possibly sport the iPhone 7 Plus' dual-camera setup feature. The tablet is rumored to sport an 8-megapixel primary camera, which will offer support for LED flash, as well as a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.

Aside from the mentioned specs, Apple is working on iPad Air 3's scalable version of 3D Touch, a pressure-sensitive technology present on the iPhone 6s and 7, a fingerprint sensor, waterproof capabilities like the iPhone 7, and four speakers that is an upgraded feature from the two speakers in its previous iteration.

The tablet may also house 4GB of RAM and a bigger battery when compared to the previous iterations. Apple may introduce two new color variants for the iPad Air 3 namely Jet Black and Rose Gold.

Despite iPad Air 3's abandonment issues, it is likely that the tablet will push through based on a recent news on its upgraded specs and features. But for now, users will have to wait till the first quarter of 2017 to fully understand if there will be an Apple iPad Air 3.