Apple Debuts iPad Air, New iPad Mini, and Macs

By Jeremy Del Nero on 22 October 2013
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The iPad Air and iPad Mini

The iPad Air and iPad Mini

Apple announced an all-new iPad and iPad Mini, as well as a new Mac Pro and an updated MacBook Pro, at an event on Tuesday.

Apple’s newest full-size iPad, dubbed iPad Air, features a 9.7” retina display.  It weighs just one pound (0.45 kg) and, at 7.5 mm, is 20% thinner and 28% lighter than the iPad 4.  It also houses Apple’s A7 chip, the same one the Cupertino-based company debuted in its iPhone 5S, and has improved front- and rear-facing cameras.

Apple updated the iPad mini as well, equipping the 7.9” device with the same amount of pixels (3.1 million) as the iPad Air.  The iPad Mini also received the A7 processor, although there was no significant upgrade to its camera or physical appearance.  Both iPads boast dual antennas and support Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technology, boosting Wi-Fi speeds.

The iPad Air starts at $499 for a Wi-Fi-only model with 16 GB of storage.  The new iPad Mini starts at $399 for a Wi-Fi-only 16 GB model.  Models with built-in LTE data start at $629 and $529 respectively, and are available for all major wireless carriers.  Both iPads will ship on November 1.

Apple provided more details on its decked-out desktop Mac Pro computer, which will feature Intel’s latest Xeon processors with up to 12 cores, dual workstation-class GPUs, six Thunderbolt 2 ports, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory.  The Mac Pro will ship in December for $2,999.

Also announced were new MacBook Pros, featuring updated retina displays, faster graphics and processors, and longer battery life. The MacBook Pros are available today for a lower starting price of $1,299.  Both the desktop and laptop models will ship with Apple’s updated suite of iWork apps, as well as OS X Mavericks, the latest version of Apple’s operating system.  Apple announced that OS X Mavericks is available today as a free download from the Mac App Store.

Accura News