It is widely accepted that Apple is planning a refresh of its iPad series, but the exact timing seems to be up in the air. Some leakers believe that an iPad refresh could happen as early as this week, while others predict that we won't see anything until 2024.

So should we hold off on buying an iPad? Here is what we know at this point.

Predictions for the next refresh of the iPad series range from tomorrow (October 17) to early next year.

Just yesterday, Supercharged News claimed that "sources familiar with Apple's media plans" told it the company is "planning a briefing with selected media representatives scheduled for later this week, focusing specifically on the iPad." The report added that "an announcement could take place as early as Tuesday, October 17."

Also in the "this month" camp is leaker Instant Digital, who wrote that an iPad refresh is expected soon.

However, countering these two is Bloomberg's well-connected Apple reporter Mark Gurman, who says that while the company is working on a new iPad, "the latest indications are that it will not happen this month."

"I don't think any significant updates are imminent," he added.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who tweeted last week that a new iPad model in 2023 is "unlikely," is also skeptical.

For what it's worth, 9to5Mac initially said it corroborated Supercharged's report of an impending iPad release, but later said the release was actually a new version of the Apple Pencil with a choice of magnetically attached tips posted an update saying it might be.

The good news is that we can confirm or rule out any of these predictions fairly quickly. If there is no launch this week, then we are most likely looking at a 2024 launch.

Almost certainly, when Gurman was predicting an October release of the new iPad, he predicted that the refresh would be too minor to warrant the sound and dance of a full streaming event.

According to a MacRumors podcast, Gurman said he was not convinced there was enough to "drag people into Cupertino." Instead, he believes Apple will do something similar to what it did when it announced the M2 Pro in January.

Besides, we are already past the middle of the month and Apple usually gives 7 to 10 days notice when sending out invitations for live events like the iPhone 15 launch in September.

The three iPad models that have been suggested for the next refresh are the regular iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini. The last of these iPads is the most "overdue" as it was last refreshed in 2021 with the iPad mini 6. The other two were updated last year.

However, it is best to temper your expectations of what is to come. There are no major design changes, and the main change will be a faster chipset in all three: the iPad mini 7 will have the A16 chip found in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15, and the iPad Air 6 will have the wrap top-class M2 processor. The entry-level iPad will get the A15 chipset from the iPhone 13 and will lag a bit behind both.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, we should not expect much else. The company has big plans for the iPad Pro in 2024, and he thinks we won't see "anything other than minor updates to the company's other tablets before then."

According to Garman, 2024 will see the iPad Pro's "first major product update since 2018."

That's thanks to a combination of three major upgrades: the first is the power of the M3 chip, which will be manufactured on TSMC's 3nm process, which will significantly increase speed and efficiency.

The second is the use of OLED screen technologies already used in the company's iPhones and Apple Watch. These will be "crisper and brighter," "reproduce colors more accurately," and have a 0.5 percent reduction in the number of pixels. The 1-inch size increase brings the larger model to 13.1 inches.

While these upgrades will help make the iPad Pro more of a laptop replacement, the last expected change could make it even easier.

Garman reports that Apple is planning major changes to the Magic Keyboard, adding a "larger trackpad" that should "make the iPad Pro look even more like a laptop than the current setup." He then said the company will ditch the polyurethane style in favor of aluminum, which is more luxurious and less prone to bending or tearing.

Updated at 3:30 PM ET with additional information on the launch rumors.