Apple Announces Thinner, Lighter, More Powerful iPad Air And iPad mini With Retina Display

Apple on Tuesday announced the iPad Air, the latest generation of its full-sized category defining device, featuring a carry-over 9.7-inch Retina display, but in a new thinner and lighter from factor. Weighing in at just one pound, iPad Air is 20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than the fourth-generation iPad, and with a narrower screen bezel the borders of iPad Air are dramatically thinnermaking content even more immersive.

Apple also announced iPad mini with Retina display, bringing the same number of pixels as in the the 9.7-inch iPad panel to its 7.9-inch screen. The new iPads both feature the Apple-designed A7 chip that debuted in the iPhone 5s, with 64-bit “desktop-class” architecture, faster built-in Wi-Fi and expanded LTE cellular connectivity, plys the the recently-released iOS 7.

iPad created an entirely new mobile computing experience, and the new iPad Air is another big leap ahead. It is so thin, light and powerful, once you hold one in your hand you will understand what a tremendous.M advancement this is, said Philip Schiller, Apples senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. iPad Air with its 9.7-inch Retina display weighs just one pound and packs the incredible performance of iOS 7 running on a 64-bit desktop-class Apple A7 chip, and delivers all-day battery life in the lightest full-sized tablet in the world.

Engineered to weigh just one pound, iPad Air is 20 percent thinner and 28 percent lighter than the fourth generation iPad, and with a 43 percent narrower screen bezel the borders of iPad Air are dramatically thinner al la the original iPad mini. iPad Airs new power-efficient A7 chip allows the battery to be even smaller, helping reduce the overall volume by 24 percent from the previous generation while doubling its performance and maintaining its up to 10-hour battery life., according to Apple.

The new iPad mini with Retina display packs all the 3.1 million pixels (2048 x 1536 resolution) of iPad Air into its 7.9-inch Multi-Touch display, for a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. The 7.9-inch Retina display of iPad mini is 35 percent larger than screens on 7-inch tablets, and it’s the only small tablet to deliver the full iPad experience, now with Retina panel quality. Movies play at full 1080p HD-resolution.

The A7 chip in iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display offers 64-bit architecture, advanced graphics and improved image signal processing from previous generation models. With up to twice the CPU and graphics performance on iPad Air, and up to four times the CPU and eight times the graphics performance on iPad mini with Retina display, almost everything you do will happen faster, from launching apps and editing photos to playing graphic-intensive games, while delivering all-day battery life. The A7 chips 64-bit architecture and support for OpenGL ES version 3.0 unlocks game console-like visual effects. The new iPads also feature the M7 motion coprocessor that gathers data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency.

iPad mini with Retina display will newly be available build to order with 128GB storage capacity, according to the Apple Online Store, at $699 for the Wi-Fi only model, and $829 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

Both new iPads feature two antennas to support Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technology, bringing claimed twice the Wi-Fi performance to iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display at a data rate up to 300 Mbps. Cellular models also come with expanded LTE coverage to accommodate even more LTE networks worldwide, while continuing to deliver comprehensive support for other fast cellular technology around the world (DC-HSDPA, HSPA+), all in a single model.

iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display now have new FaceTime HD camera with improved backside illumination sensors featuring larger pixels for better low-light performance. The iSight camera with 5MP sensor and advanced optics, combined with iOS 7 and the image signal processing of A7, further improves still image and video capture on iPad bringing faster auto-focus, up to three times video zoom, five times still zoom, better dynamic range and automatic image and video stabilization.

The new iPads come with iOS 7, featuring hundreds of new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved “Multitasking,” AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes.

iPad customers have access to the App Store, which now offers more than one million apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries around the world, and more than 475,000 apps are designed specifically for iPad.

The iLife suite of creative apps, including iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, and the iWork suite of productivity apps, including Pages, Numbers and Keynote are now free with every new iOS device running iOS 7, and are also available as free updates for existing users, so more iPad users now have access to these apps. All apps have been redesigned to match the look and feel of iOS 7, have been optimized to support 64-bit technology and include hundreds of new features.

iPad Air with Wi-Fi models will be available in silver or space gray starting on Friday, November 1, for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model and $799 (US) for the 128GB model. iPad Air with Wi-Fi + Cellular will be available starting on Friday, November 1 for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model, $829 (US) for the 64GB model and $929 (US) for the 128GB model. iPad 2 is available at $399 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $529 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model for either AT&T or Verizon.

iPad mini with Retina display will be available later in November in silver or space gray. iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi models will be available for a suggested retail price of $399 (US) for the 16GB model, $499 (US) for the 32GB model, $599 (US) for the 64GB model and $699 (US) for the 128GB model. iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular models will be available for a suggested retail price of $529 (US) for the 16GB model, $629 (US) for the 32GB model, $729 (US) for the 64GB model and $829 (US) for the 128GB model. Additionally, the original iPad mini is now offered at a more affordable price of $299 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $429 (US) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model for either AT&T, Sprint or Verizon.

New polyurethane Smart Covers for iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display will be available for $39 (US) in a range of colors, including blue, green, pink, yellow, black and (RED). iPad Air Smart Cases and iPad mini Smart Cases are completely redesigned in a aniline-dyed leather, and available in six colors, including yellow, beige, blue, brown, black and (RED) for a suggested retail price of $79 (US) for iPad Air and $69 (US) for iPad mini. Smart Covers and Smart Cases are available through the Apple Online Store (http://www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Authorized Apple Resellers.

iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display will be sold through the Apple Online Store, Apples retail stores and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Starting on November 1, iPad Air will be available in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao (Wi-Fi models only), Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. At Apple retail stores in these countries, iPad Air will be available beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, November 1.

Notes:
Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Metrics cited are based on theoretical speeds, actual speeds may vary.

LTE is available through select carriers. Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks. Check with your carrier for details.

iTunes Radio is available with iOS 7 in the US.