Apple has launched a new iPad model, simply titled
the iPad, which replaces the previous iPad Air 2. The new iPad is largely the
old iPad Air 2 but with a couple of changes. The new model replaces the A8X in
the Air 2 with the A9 that also does duty inside the iPhone 6s and the iPhone
SE.
The new iPad is also thicker at 7.5mm versus the 6.1 mm of the Air 2 because
of the larger 32.4Wh battery compared to the 27.62Wh on the Air 2. Apart from
that the two are literally the same. This means you are still looking at the
same 9.7-inch Retina display, 8 megapixel f2.4 rear camera with 1080p video
recording and 1.2 megapixel front camera with 720p video recording, stereo
speakers, TouchID with Apple Pay, and 10 hours of battery life.
The other major change is the price. The base 32GB
model now starts at US$ 329, which is the lowest for a big-screen iPad, which
normally started at US$ 499. The 128GB model is priced at US$ 429. If you go for the
cellular model, then it's US$ 459 for the 32GB and US$ 559 for the 128GB.
The new iPad will be available in Silver, Space
Gray, and Gold starting March 24 in the US and 20 other countries, including
Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan,
Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Denmark, India, Mexico,
Norway, Russia, Turkey and other countries and regions will follow in April.
Brazil, Taiwan and other countries and regions will follow in May.
Apple also dropped the price of the iPad mini 4. It
is now available in only one storage capacity of 128GB and priced at US$ 399 for
the Wi-Fi model and US$ 529 for the cellular model. It is otherwise unchanged. The
iPad range now consist of the iPad mini 4, iPad, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and the
12.9-inch iPad Pro.
