Apple Inc. announced. It quietly announced upgrades to two of its iPad models on Tuesday, with announcements lacking in the company’s recent iPhone 14 hype.
Instead of hosting an iPad update detection event Like you did with the iPhoneApple AAPL,
He simply announced the updated devices in a series of press releases. The company is improving its iPad Pro by including the faster M2 chip as well as introducing speed upgrades in the new entry-level iPad.
The M2 chip appears to be the biggest change in the new iPad Pro. Apple says the chip has up to 15% faster central processing unit (CPU) than the previous generation M1 chip, while the GPU can deliver up to 35% faster graphics performance.
Apple suggests that the chip will be useful for power users, such as “photographers who modify huge image libraries and designers who manipulate complex 3D objects.”
The iPad Pro also supports the Apple Pencil’s “hover” feature, which detects the pencil up to 12mm above the screen so users can see a preview of their mark before touching the screen to draw or write.
The 11-inch iPad Pro will start at $799 for the Wi-Fi version and $999 for the cellular version, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099 with Wi-Fi only and $1,299 with the cellular option.
Apple has also updated its base iPad model, this time moving the front camera to the horizontal edge of the device in what Apple says is a first for any of its iPads.
“Whether users are making a FaceTime call or recording a video for social media, they will always be looking towards the camera,” Apple said in the release. The camera has a 12-megapixel sensor and a 122-degree field of view.
Apple is putting its own A14 Bionic chip in the new entry-level iPad, which the company says will bring improvements in CPU and graphics performance. Apple is also moving the Touch ID reader to the top button on the iPad.
The device will come in blue, pink, yellow and silver colors. The Wi-Fi version starts at $449 and the mobile version starts at $599.
Both updated models are currently available for pre-order, and availability will begin on October 26.
The upgrades come as Apple looks to drive growth again in the iPad category. The device has proven popular during the pandemic, as people sought new electronics that would help them work and study from home, but now the momentum is hard to come by: Apple reported $7.22 billion in iPad revenue during the June quarter, down from $7.37 billion a year earlier.
The company also updated a 4K Apple TV on Tuesday, boosting performance with an A15 Bionic chip that the company says will make gaming faster.
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