24 Oct Meet The New iPad and iPad Mini

Ready to meet the new iPad and iPad mini?

As with most of Apple previous launches, many Apple fans were waiting with bated breath for the announcement of what Apple would offer in the new iPad and iPad mini.

While there were no major redesigns, Apple have once again delivered great pieces of hardware, focused on improvements to performance.

To see what Apple revealed, check out the features of the new iPad and iPad Mini below!

iPad Air

Forgoing the usual naming conventions of their tablets, Apple have opted to name the new iPad the iPad Air.

The name comes from the thinner, lighter design of the tablet, coming in at just 7.3 mm (which is 43% thinner than the fourth generation iPad). In terms of weight, the iPad Air lives up to its name, weighing in at approximately 0.45kg, which is 28% lighter than its predecessor.

The iPad Air features the 64-bit A7 chip that debuted in the newly released iPhone 5S. Analysts are predicting that the A7 processor will really shine in the iPad as “tablet users can create more content and multitask more on their tablets than phones, and 64 bits helps a lot,” said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

As stated by Apple Vice-President Phil Schiller, the A7 processor provides twice as much CPU and graphics performance as the processor used in the previous iPad model, which Apple have also stated can make some apps run as much as five times faster. This means that users will be able to run more demanding applications than smartphones, however, users are cautioned that the results may not be immediate as applications need to be ready to take advantage of the 64-bit features.

The same M7 motion coprocessor found in the iPhone 5S has also been included in the iPad Air, which gathers data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency.

Outside of the improvements to the weight, thickness and processing power, Apple have decided not to include any revolutionary features, rather focusing on the performance of the device. There is good news though for those who make use of Wi-Fi, the iPad Air features Wi-Fi that will run up to 300Mbps. The iPad Air makes use of two antennas to deliver faster and more reliable speeds than previous iPad models. Apple have also improved the camera, including a 5 megapixel rear-facing iSight camera that supports 1080p high-definition video, with the 1.2 megapixel front facing camera supporting 720p high-definition video calling.

The iPad Air will ship with new, free versions of Apple’s own productivity apps, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband and the iWork collection (i.e. pages, numbers & keynote).

iPad Mini With Retina Display

As suggested by the name, the new iPad Mini will retain the 7.9 inch display, but with four times the amount of pixels.

While a great addition to the iPad Mini, the only downside to including the retina display is that the device is slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor, measuring in at 7.5mm compared with 7.2mm of the previous model and weighing ion at 331g compared to the previous 308g. However, the difference is marginal, which most users won’t even notice.

The iPad Mini with Retina Display will also benefit from Apple’s new 64 bit A7 processor, which as stated before, will not only speed up the device for everyday use, but also holds the potential to run some apps 5 times faster.

Other than the inclusion of the retina display and the 65 bit A7 processor, the overall shape of the new iPad Mini remains more or less the same.

The iPad Mini will mimic the colours of the iPhone 5S, however, there will be no Gold variant.

As with the iPad Air, the iPad Mini will come shipped with Apple’s productivity apps.

Pricing & Availability

iPad Air

The iPad Air will be available for pre-order from Apple’s online and retail stores from November 1. The outright prices for both the Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi + 4G models are as follows:

The iPad Mini will ship later in November, however a date has yet to be announced.

The outright price for both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 4G iPad Mini models are as follows:

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi + 4G

 

Pricing and availability with Telstra plans have yet to be announced. Stay tuned for more information!

What are your thoughts on Apple’s latest editions to the iPad range? Let us know in the comments below!