Apple announces iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display

As expected, Apple today announced its latest generation of iPad tablets at its San Francisco event. The iPad has been a runaway hit since its introduction three and a half years ago. It has now sold in excess of 170 million units in that time! Apple claims that the iPad accounts for 81 percent of tablet usage.

Up first is the new iPad Air. As rumours suggested, it is thinner and lighter than its predecessor but retains the 9.7-inch display but with a smaller bezel. At 7.5 millimeters, it is about 20 percent thinner than the current model. The weight has also been reduced from 1.4 pounds to just 1 pound.

As with the new iPhone 5S, the iPad Air comes with a 64-bit Apple A7 processor with M7 motion co-processor, promising performance up to 8 times faster and GPU performance up to 72 times better. Here are the full specifications:

• Processor: Apple A7 with M7 motion co-processor
• Operating system: Apple iOS 7
• Cellular connectivity: Optional – LTE/HSPA+/CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B/GSM/EDGE
• Other connectivity: A-GPS (cellular model only), dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
• Display: 8.9-inch QXGA (2048×1536/264PPI)
• Internal storage: 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB
• External storage: None
• Rear-facing camera: 5MP AF with f/2.4 aperture and 1080p video capture
• Front-facing camera: 1.2MP with 720p video capture
• Connectors: 3.5mm audio jack, Lightning connector
• Battery: Non-removable 32.4 WH
• Dimensions: 240 × 169.5 × 7.5 millimeters
• Weight: 469 grams (478 grams for cellular model)
• Colors: Space Grey, Silver

Apple also introduced the iPad mini with Retina Display. It will sport the same 2048 × 1536 pixel resolution display as its larger sibling but in a 7.9-inch display. It is very much a smaller version of its larger sibling in terms of specifications:

• Processor: Apple A7 with M7 motion co-processor
• Operating system: Apple iOS 7
• Cellular connectivity: Optional – LTE/HSPA+/CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B/GSM/EDGE
• Other connectivity: A-GPS (cellular model only), dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
• Display: 8.9-inch QXGA (2048×1536/326PPI) IPS
• Internal storage: 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB
• External storage: None
• Rear-facing camera: 5MP AF with f/2.4 aperture and 1080p video capture
• Front-facing camera: 1.2MP with 720p video capture
• Connectors: 3.5mm audio jack, Lightning connector
• Battery: Non-removable 23.8 WH
• Dimensions: 200 × 134.7 × 7.5 millimeters
• Weight: 331 grams (341 grams for cellular model)
• Colors: Space Grey, Silver

Here are the pricing details:

The iPad Air will be available starting on November 1. The cellular model is headed to Bell, Fido, Koodo, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel and TELUS.

The iPad mini with Retina Display will follow later in the month.

The Apple iPad 2 and original iPad mini will also continue to be available, starting at US$399 and US$299 respectively.

Apple also announced that it now has 1,000,000 apps in the App Store, including some 475,000 iPad apps. It has also topped the 60 billion download mark with developers having pocketed over US$13 billion dollars.

Source : Apple