The rumor mill is on overdrive speculating that there will not be a release date for the much-anticipated Apple iPad Air 3 this year, claiming that the tech giant has either shelved the iPad Air this year in favor of the iPad Pro.

Taiwanese blog site DigiTimes added to the rumor and claimed that Apple is not planning to launch the iPad Air 3 this year because it wants to focus on the iPad mini 4, which is scheduled for release this October.

And since Apple does not see the need to provide a major upgrade to the iPad Air series, it is more logical for the company to delay the launch of the tablet and instead offer the market with its new iPad mini 4.

The report also cited Chinese-based supply chain makers, including Holitech, Shenzhen DPT-Touch and Silead, are seeking orders from other tech-based industries, such as industrial control, automotive devices and wearables, in view of Apples declining orders.

DigiTimes wrote, "The sources pointed out that Apple has turned conservative about its tablet product line and is not planning to release a next-generation model to replace the existing iPad Air tablet; however, Apple is ready to release its fourth-generation iPad mini and the related supply chain is already preparing the device's components. The fourth-generation model will only have a few small upgrades from the third-generation one."

According to Rapid News Network, sales of iPads have been on a downward trend, reflecting the overall decline of the tablet market worldwide. It said that iPad's market share fell from 27.7 percent to 24.5 percent, in the second quarter of this year.

iPad Air 3 Price and Specs

The iPad Air 3 is rumored to be thinner than its predecessor, the iPad Air 2, 9.7in and 6.1mm thick. This suggests that the new generation tablet will have a thinner battery and most probably have new features to make this happen.

The iPad Air 3 is expected to be powered by Apple's latest A9 procesor, with 2GB memory and a more powerful 4k camera resolution with 401 ppi, similar to the iPhone 6 Plus, said CrossMap. It will also feature a 7in screen and 3GB RAM, waterproofing and dustproofing capabilities.

A separate report by 9to5Mac, also corroborated speculations that the new tablet will sport the A9 chip set but with a higher memory at 4GB Ram. The iPad Air 3 will be featuring major upgrade than the iPad Air 1 and the iPad Air 2, the report added.

Following Apple's pricing schedule, the new iPad Air 3 is believed to set you back $624 for the basic unit, according to ITPro.

However, Macworld said that Apple will call the new tablet iPad 7 instead of iPad Air 3 when it is finally released. Apple currently has six iPad models, including the iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 1, iPad Mini 2, and iPad Mini 3. So calling the new tablet iPad 7 makes perfect sense.