Apple Unveils New iPad Air, Retina iPad Mini

Apple today unveiled a new tablet lineup, including the newly named 9.7-inch iPad Air, as well as an iPad mini with Retina display.
The iPad Air and new iPad mini will run the new A7 chip currently found in the new iPhone 5s, which brings 64-bit architecture to Apple's tablet. "This is a screaming-fast iPad," Apple's Phil Schiller said during a Tuesday press event.
That means up to twice the CPU and graphics performance on iPad Air over previous generations, and up to four times the CPU and eight times the graphics performance on iPad mini with Retina display, Apple said. The devices also include the M7 motion coprocessor that keeps tabs on the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency.

The updated 7.9-inch iPad mini with 2,048-by-1,536 Retina display will arrive in late November in white and silver or space gray and black. The Wi-Fi version will start at $399 (16GB) and $529 for Wi-Fi plus cellular.

The original iPad mini will remain on sale, but gets a price drop from $329 to $299 for the non-Retina version.
According to Apple's Phil Schiller, the new iPad Air is 20 percent thinner than the previous iPad, from 9.4mm to 7.5mm. The bezel is also 43 percent thinner than the previous version, "making it more comfortable to hold," he said.
"To make an iPad this thin took a huge amount of work over years," Schiller said. "The team has just been remarkable in finding every tenth and hundredth of a millimeter from the bezel to the multi-touch service to display and battery."
The previous iPad weighed 1.4 pounds, but the iPad Air will come in at just 1 pound. Like its predecessor, it will also include a Retina display.
iPad Air
These updates, Schiller said, deserved a new name, hence the iPad Air moniker. It will start shipping on Nov. 1 in silver and white or space gray and black, starting at $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version and $629 for the cellular version.
The iPad Air will replace the full-size iPad in Apple's tablet lineup, but Apple will continue selling the iPad 2 for $399 since customers like having that option, Schiller said.

Both iPads can tap into data from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless - the first time T-Mobile will be offering the Apple tablet.
Both new iPads, meanwhile, get faster Wi-Fi via Multiple-In-Multiple-Out (MIMO) technology, expanded LTE support, and a boosted FaceTime HD camera. Apple promised 10 hours of battery life.

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