Apple failed to sweep iPad fans off their feet during last year's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus launch event as the Cupertino company did not even mention their iPad series.

While several related speculations have kept the rumor mill spinning since then, some tech pundits are now suggesting that Apple could oust its iPad Air series and the iPad mini series. It is also likely that Apple could actually be redesigning the aforesaid tablets from scratch, which is why the company is taking longer than usual to unveil the new iPad.

The current generation iPad mini was launched back in Sept. 2015, while the iPad Air 2 debuted a couple of years ago. Citing the time Apple has taken to release another iPad in their respective series, gadget freaks believe Apple is no mood to deviate its focus from the company's current cash cow, the iPhone. Moreover, multiple sources have been hinting at an imminent arrival of the iPhone 8.

Apple has been concentrating more on the iPad Pro series despite showing no interest in updating the Air lineup. If rumors running rampant online proved to be true, the iPad Air 3 could arrive as early as March 2017; however, it's not likely to retain its position.

The iPad Air 3 could be launched as Apple's entry level tablet. The iPad Pro 2017, on the other hand, will be trotted out as the company's budget tablet, RacingJunky reported.

Apple iPad mini 5 is said to arrive sometime in March this year. There's also hearsay that the said series will be scrapped out with no new iPad mini releasing this year. Instead, Apple could come out with a mini model of the iPad Pro 2017 featuring a 7.9 inches screen and bearing an 'iPad Pro mini' moniker.

In other news, Apple recently confirmed that it sold 13.1 million iPads in the first quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, MacRumors reported. This is a considerable drop from 16.1 million last year quarter.

That's about half as many iPads as the 26 million that the company sold during the same period nearly four years ago.