Apple has debuted a new iPad Air, which positions itself between the entry-level 9.7-inch iPad and the 11-inch iPad Pro in the lineup, and rebooted the iPad mini that hasn’t seen an upgrade in over three years.
All of the new models now support the Apple Pencil, but not necessarily the latest version. The new iPad models released today work with the first-generation Apple Pencil, not the second-generation Apple Pencil that supports magnetic charging and pairing.
Most pundits predicted that Apple would fade out the Mini as the iPhone has increased size, but Apple has decided to reboot the model, keeping the same form factor, but updating the internal components. For musicians, this could certainly be a viable way to implement music apps into their studio or live rig, or even use it as a small-factor controller utilizing MIDI Designer or equivalent.
The all-new iPad Air sports a thin 10.5-inch design that includes the A12 Bionic chip with Apple’s Neural Engine. Apple claims the Air delivers a 70% boost in performance and twice the graphics capability, and the advanced Retina display with True Tone technology is nearly 20 percent larger with over half a million more pixels. The rebooted 7.9-inch iPad mini also sports the A12 Bionic chip with three times the performance and nine times faster graphics than the previous model. The advanced Retina display with True Tone technology and wide color support is 25 percent brighter and has the highest pixel density of any iPad.
Apple’s new iPads go on sale next week, but are available for preorder.
Apple
