On Monday Apple released updates to the consumer iPad lineup. The entry-level 9.7-inch iPad sadly did not receive an update, being left with an ageing A10 Fusion chip. iPad is still a great device at £319, but a new SoC and the addition of niceties such as True Tone would’ve made a welcome 7th-generation update.
The 10.5-inch iPad Pro is gone - in its place, the iPad Air is back, with an A12 chip and a downgraded camera - 8MP, no more bump or LED TrueTone flash. This new iPad Air still supports the original Apple Pencil, now with the addition of Logitech Crayon support. Starting at £479, this new iPad Air is very powerful and still super portable - it’s a much nicer device than the normal iPad for those who are willing to pay, but don’t need to fork out for an iPad Pro.
As expected, the 5th-generation iPad mini finally made its debut on Monday, a major upgrade for iPad mini fans who love a compact, ultra-portable design packed with the latest technology. Last updated in September 2015, Apple had kept the iPad mini 4 on sale with a very old A8 chip for far too long. Starting at the same price of £399, the new iPad mini features an A12 Bionic chip, delivering three times the performance and nine times faster graphics over iPad mini 4. The display now gets True Tone technology and wide colour support, and is 25 percent brighter than before. A fun fact is this iPad mini, has the highest pixel density of any iPad at 326ppi.
Like iPad Air, the new iPad mini has 1st-generation Apple Pencil and crayon support, making the new iPad mini perfect as a take-anywhere notepad for sketching and jotting down thoughts on the go. I’m surprised Apple didn’t put more of an education spin on iPad mini like it did last March with the 6th-generation iPad launch. iPad mini paired with the Logitech Crayon is going to be incredible in classrooms.
Overall, a great day for iPad, and the lineup is much tidier than before. Whilst it would've been even better had the 9.7-inch been updated (why is the iPad mini much more powerful than iPad?), we can’t have perfection. Another approach that Apple could’ve taken would be to have branded the mini as a 7.9-inch Air, seeing as these new iPads are effectively the same device in 2 different sizes, but someone probably decided that would be even more confusing for the customer. Regardless, I’m happy, and now is a great time to buy any of the models in the iPad lineup.
:))