Apple’s ‘Time Flies’ event saw two new iPad, the brand new iPad Air as well as the new entry-level iPad with some performance improvements.
iPad Air
Starting off with the new iPad Air — it borrows its design cues from the iPad Pro lineup. Apple has shrinked the bezels, there’s the USB-C port instead of the lighting, and now comes with a 20W charger out of the box.
The new iPad Air, though with a similar footprint to its predecessor, has smaller bezels which translate to a bigger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with 2360 x 1640 pixels resolution. The beloved TouchID is still there, but now it has been shifted to the power button at the top.
Powering this beauty is Apple’s new A14 Bionic chipset, expected to be seen in the new iPhone 12 launching in a month or so. The A14 is fabricated on the 5nm process, making it the first of its kind in the industry.
It’s a 6-core CPU with two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency ones. Apple says the new chipset will improve performance by 40% in comparison to its predecessor. The GPU, on the other hand, is 30% faster.
The iPad Air not only borrows its design cues from the Pro models but also the camera. The rear sees 12MP snapper with f/1.8 aperture, supports 4K video recording at 60fps, 240fps slow-mo, and has improved video stabilization. At the front, we have a 7MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture which can shoot 1080p videos at 60fps.
It supports WiFi 6, has dual speakers, and comes with support for Apple Pencil — it attaches magnetically at the side for charging and storage just like its Pro counterpart.
Starting next month, the new iPad will be available in space gray, silver, rose gold, green, and sky blue color option for $599 (WiFi only) or $729 (WiFi + Cellular) with 64GB storage. The 256GB storage will cost $749 and $ 879 for WiFi and WiFi + Cellular model respectively.
iPad (8th Generation)
Nothing new on the eight-generation iPad (2020) except the A12 Bionic chipset inside, with a 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU.
Barring that, the tablet is alike its predecessor — 10.2-inch display and equally big bezels. This makes it look it dated in comparison to the new iPad Air, but the price is really low at $329 for the WiFi model, and $459 for the WiFi + Cellular one; both are 32GB variant.
For the 128GB trim, you’ll have to shell out $429 and $559. The pre-orders for the iPad (2020) is already live and will be available this Friday in space gray, silver, and gold color options.
