The new iPad Air 4 design has leaked. And there are a lot of big changes in Apple's mid-range tablet. It's about a full-screen design, a USB-C port, and a new approach to Touch ID.

DuanRui (via iMore) published a user manual for the upcoming iPad Air on Twitter, giving great insight into the tablet's new design.

As the illustration in the manual shows, the home button is no longer present. This makes the iPad Air 4 the second iPad to fully engage in gesture control, following the iPad Pro a few years ago.

What sets the Air apart from the Pro is its unlocking method. the iPad Pro uses the same Face ID system that Apple uses on its recent flagship iPhones. as the Air can instead be seen in the manual's Spanish text, A Touch ID sensor is built into the power button. This button is mounted on the right side of the tablet's top edge and appears longer than usual, but it makes sense if Apple shoved a fingerprint scanner there.

Overall, the design is similar to the iPad Pro, but with slightly thicker bezels. On the top bezel, one camera is visible for video calling and selfie needs.

There is one camera on the back of the Air, and at the bottom center is a smart connector for using the Magic Keyboard and other accessories. USB-C is also mentioned in this image (in diagonal text in the lower left corner). This probably means that Apple took a cue from the iPad Pro design and eliminated its own Lightning port for a more versatile connector.

Compared to the newly released Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, the iPad Air falls somewhere between the two. The fingerprint sensor on the power button is common to the basic Tab S7, but the iPad will likely not have a 120Hz display. However, if the iPad Air uses the latest Apple chipset, such as the A13, it will likely outperform Samsung's tablet.

Like the refreshed iPad Pro and MacBook Pro earlier this year, the iPad Air may be revealed with minimal fanfare via press releases and website updates. However, different claims place the release date of the next iPad Air in March 2021.

Apple's next major launch event will take place in late September or early October, with the announcement of the iPhone 12 and Apple Watch 6, plus a few possible surprises.