Apple

On 2019 iPad Line Up

Following the announcement by Apple with press releases of the latest iPad models, first this useful summary by MacRumors: Summary The new iPad Air starts at $150 less than the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and thus has some tradeoffs: two speakers versus four, no ProMotion display, and a lower-end 8-megapixel

JF Martin

JF Martin

— 2 min read
On 2019 iPad Line Up

Following the announcement by Apple with press releases of the latest iPad models, first this useful summary by MacRumors:

Summary

The new iPad Air starts at $150 less than the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and thus has some tradeoffs: two speakers versus four, no ProMotion display, and a lower-end 8-megapixel rear camera with no LED flash or optical image stabilization.

Both iPads have a 10.5-inch Retina display with 264 PPI, headphone jack, Touch ID, Lightning connector, 7-megapixel front camera, up to 10 hours of battery life, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

The new iPad Air has some advantages: faster A12 Bionic chip vs. A10X Fusion, Gigabit-class LTE vs. LTE Advanced, and Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2.

My own take

  1. The iPad line up looks like the MacBook line up and is easier to understand IMHO;
  2. Weird pricing comparing the 64GB iPad mini (399$) with the 32GB 9.7” iPad (329$). Should be the reverse, isn’t it?
  3. The iPad Pro are clearly up there with latest and greatest technologies but eventually these are are going down in the line with each new iterations. The across the board support for the Apple Pencil is an example of that;
  4. By making these iPad all compatible with the Apple Pencil, this is good news for software developers who have access to broader addressable market with more sophisticated apps supporting the pencil;
  5. The return of the iPad Air moniker could be a desire to make the product line more in line with the MacBook product line;
  6. Now even the iPad mini will be ready for iOS 13 when it comes out this summer;
  7. The iPad mini is for the kids… but surprisingly, no iPod touch update today which would also address the very same market. Strange.
  8. The 9.7” iPad is obviously targeted at schools and is still a very good deal for the bucks. The A10 is a very powerful ship.
  9. Head phone jack still a thing on these non Pro iPad. If you care.

Excellent article from 9to5Mac too: Which iPad should you buy? Here’s how the new iPad Air compares to the rest of the lineup

Finally, no AirPods, no AirPower. They could be released next week during the Keynote which could be a nice complement to show along with the new streaming service.

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