The new iPad is here and this is what you need to know




Ever the tease, Apple announced earlier in October that "it still had a lot to cover" in its latest event invite and now we know just what Cook and co meant by this cryptic sentence - the iPad Air.
At an event in San Francisco it has taken the wrapper off of its airborne tablet.
It's crazy to think that in just three short years, Apple has helped create a new essential sector in the gadget market and it is hoping its new iPad will cement its lead in the tablet space. And that lead is hefty, at 81%.
Apple called the first iPad "the most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device," and it has sold 170 million iPads. But how has it improved the device?
But, we hear you cry, what does the new iPad Air offer? Is it a massive refresh or just a minor upgrade? Well, read on as we reveal all...

iPad Air features and specifications

There's an abundance of new feature with the iPad Air. For a start, the tablet is a whopping 8x faster than the original iPad. And when it comes to GPU, it is an unbelievable 72x faster in the graphics department.
It has been confirmed that the new iPad will indeed be 64 bit, have over 1 billion transistors, an A7 processor and Apple's M7 motion-sensing chip. When it comes to new camera features, there is a 5MP iSight camera and 1080p HD video on board.
FaceTime has been given a 720p HD video camera than can push out 1.2MP photographs.
When it comes to battery life, Apple claims you should get 10 hours out of the device. Wi-Fi should be speedy too, thanks to Apple adding MIMO 802.11n support. This does mean that there isn't any 802.11ac support.


The iPad Air is certainly capacious. The version available are: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.
The official specs for the iPad are: 169mm in width, 240mm in height and, as we said before, thickness is a nice and slim 7.5mm.
Interestingly, Touch ID which was mooted for both the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 with Retina has missing on this update. We guess Apple is saving this feature for another day.

iPad Air design

The iPad Air is said to be 20% thinner than the iPad 4 at 7.5mm and it weighs in at just 1 pound (453g). It has the same screen size as before - 9.7 inches - with a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution Retina display.
Looks wise it is a lot more reminiscent of the iPad mini meaning that this is the most significant redesign the iPad has ever undergone.
Color wise there are a few to choose from. Apple is sticking with its ridiculous naming conventions and will offer the iPad Air in silver and white and space grey and black color options.
When it comes to ports and buttons there is nothing out of the ordinary here. Other than a lack of touch ID, the iPad Air has the usual Home button, volume, rotation lock, dual mics, 3.5mm headphone jack, the trust Lightning connector and a built in speaker. Oh, and the on/off button.

iPad Air apps

The iPad Air has launched at an interesting time for Apple apps, as the Cupertino company has seen fit to make most of its software free.
iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand are now all free, though you will have to add some in-app purchases. Other, more productivity based apps, are also free - including Pages, Numbers and Keynote.


iPad Air price

The iPad Air price begins at $499, £399, AU$598 for the 16GB and you will also be able to get an LTE / 4G version beginning at $629, £499, $749.

iPad Air release date

The new iPad Air will be released globally November 1 - including the US, UK and Australia - and it will be the first iPad to arrive in China.