Apple’s announcement today is probably one of the most
awaited tech events for the second half of this year, thanks to news about a
new iPad that’s bound to create some waves in the tablet industry.
The Cupertino company confirmed these news through the
announcement of the all new iPad Pro. Apple’s new flagship slate has a
12.9-inch display with jaw-dropping 2732 x 2048 resolution (~264ppi). Power is delivered
by a new A9x chip that is said to deliver almost twice the performance of the
A8x chip on the Air 2 complemented by an M9 motion coprocessor.
Apple has also upgraded the iPad’s audio equipment. The iPad
Pro has a four speaker system that comes with automatic balancing that adjusts
the audio based on how the device is positioned. The company is also promising
10 hours of battery life.
As for the rest of the specs, the iPad Pro comes with the
same 8MP iSight camera at the back and a 1.2MP Facetime camera at the front as
in the iPad Air 2, a TouchID sensor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi ac and optional Cat 4 LTE
connectivity.
The company has also introduced two accessories for the
tablet that make the iPad Pro a productivity powerhouse in the realm of
tablets.
First, there’s the Smart Keyboard that costs $169 that
magnetically connects to the tablet much like how Microsoft’s Surface tablet
latches into its keyboard covers. There’s also a stylus called the Apple Pencil
that will retail for $99 that can be used simultaneously with your finger.
If you want something more compact, then you can choose the
iPad mini 4. In terms of specs, the tablet lies between the iPad Air 2 and the
first iPad Air in terms of performance. It has an A8 chip that is 1.3 times
faster than the A7 chip in the Mini 3. It also boasts the same M8 motion
coprocessor as in the Air 2.
The camera on the Mini 4 has also been upgraded to the same
8MP iSight camera as in the other bigger models.
The iPad Pro will be available starting in November for $799
for the 32GB Wi-Fi only version and goes up to $1079 for the 128GB LTE version.
Meanwhile, the iPad Mini 4 will start at $399 for the base 16GB version and
goes up to $729 for the 128GB LTE version.
