If you don’t want to waste time at an upcoming event by talking about updates to old products that nobody will think about for too long, you do it in a press release.
As rumored, that’s what Apple has done with this press-release update to their iPad lineup. The iPad Mini has been updated for the first time in almost 4 years, and the iPad Air has been revived as a higher-end alternative to the iPad Cheap. Both devices got Apple Pencil support… sort of.
The iPad Mini 5 is the 7.9 inch device that can fit into the pocket of your Jnco Jeans, as long as you can track a pair down. Unfortunately the Jnco Jeans business doesn’t appear to be going well and their website is offline.
The iPad Air was last updated almost 5 years ago, with the 2nd generation model and is suspiciously 10.5”. You might remember a 10.5” iPad Pro that was replaced with the 11” model last October. That’s where this 3rd generation iPad Air form-factor is from.
Both devices get the A12 system-on-a-chip (SOC) from the latest iPhones, but not the A12X from the latest iPad Pros. So they won’t be quite as powerful, and we won’t have any benchmarks or information about clockspeeds and amount of RAM until reviewers get their hands on these updated models.
Both devices also get support for Apple’s stylus, but not the cool new one from the 2018 iPad Pros.
Both new-old hybrid iPads have the classic big-bezel design, not the new iPad Pro/iPhone X design with minimal bezels around the edges that’s neccessary for 2nd-generation Apple Pencil stylus.
That new Apple Pencil charges and when it is magnetically held-in-place to one side of those new Pros. The new Apple Pencil also has one flat side, so it won’t roll off a table. The 1st generation Apple Pencil supported by these newly updated tablets with old form-factors still has all of those first-generation Apple Pencil issues and is ready and willing to roll off your table and get lost under the couch.
Not receiving any updates today is the 2018 iPad Cheap, which still has an A10 SOC, older (pre-Air 2) display technology, and the same 1st generation Apple Pencil support.
This old Apple Pencil support is almost vindictive at this point. Why does Apple want to punish lower-end iPad users with a worse stylus experience? Why sell people a stylus that probably won’t work with the next iPad they buy?
If these iPads are the future of labor, entertainment, and creative expression, Apple needs to treat the people buying these devices better. All iPads should have a similar design, and flat sides so they can support the same stylus that won’t roll off the table.
Lets revisit our oldest friend, with an updated logo, the table of confusing iPad decisions:
- 2018 iPad Cheap at 9.7″
- non-laminated (thicker) display
- A10 SOC
- 2GB RAM
- Supports the ($100) Apple Pencil.
- Old-ass 1st generation Touch ID.
- 32GB ($330) or 128 GB ($430) wifi only
- 32GB ($460) and 128GB ($560) with cellular
- iPad Mini 5 at 7.9″
- laminated (thinner) display
- Wide color gamut (for professional color accuracy and better looking photos and videos)
- True tone (makes the screen match the color temperature of the environment like a sheet of paper would)
- 1st-gen Apple Pencil Support
- 2nd (presumably)-generation Touch ID
- A12 SOC
- ?GB RAM
- 64GB ($400) for the WiFi-only model, 256GB ($550)
- 64GB with Cellular ($530), 256GB with Cellular ($680)
- iPad Air 3 at 10.5″
- laminated (thinner) display
- Wide color gamut (for professional color accuracy and better looking photos and videos)
- True tone (makes the screen match the color temperature of the environment like a sheet of paper would)
- 2017-era iPad Pro Smart Connector
- 1st-gen Apple Pencil Support
- 2nd (presumably)-generation Touch ID
- A12 Processor
- ?GB RAM
- 64GB ($500) for the WiFi-only model, 256GB ($650)
- 64GB with Cellular ($630), 256GB ($780)
- iPad Pro at 12.9″
- laminated (thinner) display
- Wide color gamut (for professional color accuracy and better looking photos and videos)
- True tone (makes the screen match the color temperature of the environment like a sheet of paper would)
- ProMotion (variable frame rate)
- Face ID
- A12X processor
- 4GB RAM
- 2018 Smart connector
- 2nd-gen Apple Pencil Support
- WiFi Only: 64GB ($1000) 256GB ($1150) 512GB ($1350) 1TB ($1750)
- Cellular: 64GB ($1150) 256GB ($1300) 512GB ($1500) 1TB ($1900)
- iPad Pro at 11″
- laminated (thinner) display
- Wide color gamut (for professional color accuracy and better looking photos and videos)
- True tone (makes the screen match the color temperature of the environment like a sheet of paper would)
- ProMotion (variable frame rate)
- Face ID
- A12X processor
- 4GB RAM
- 2018 Smart connector
- 2nd-gen Apple Pencil Support
- WiFi Only: 64GB ($800) 256GB ($950) 512GB ($1150) 1TB ($1550)
- With Cellular: 64GB ($950) 256GB ($1100) 512GB ($1300) 1TB ($1700)
All of the new models are available now in most countries.
It’s good that the iPad Mini form-factor has finally been updated, and there’s a mid-tier for people who want a 10-ish-inch iPad with better parts than the iPad Cheap, without spending the $800 for an 11” iPad Pro. This is a complicated line-up, but there are finally clear “best” iPads with the Pro devices which have the ProMotion variable frame-rate that make for an extremely smooth visual experience. Scrolling through app icons on the home screen is ridiculous on devices with that high framerate.
The year-old iPad Cheap with it’s A10 SOC is probably still fine for most people, but I would think twice before buying it for myself.
The cheapest option for an iPad will always be a refurbished or used model, but I would steer clear of the 5 and 4-year-old previous models of iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 2. ProMotion is also on the older 2017 iPad Pro models.
Hopefully this year’s WWDC event will bring some announcements of changes in iOS 13 to properly support more advanced workflows beyond the simple Siri Shortcuts available to us today. These devices have never been more unbalanced in terms of how much functionality the hardware could support, and how little iOS is taking advantage of the hardware.
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