“Apple’s new iPad 5 will be faster and lighter, weighing nearly half a pound lighter than the iPad 4 — and operating up to eight times more quickly, Apple reps say,” Natalie O’Neill reports for The New York Post.
“The new ‘iPad Air’ weighs just one pound — .4 pounds lighter than the previous generation — making it the lightest full-sized tablet in the world, Apple reps said on Tuesday,” O’Neill reports. “‘This is a screaming fast iPad,’ said Apple representative Phil Schiller.”
O’Neill reports, “It features new [64-bit] A7 chip, which was also launched with the new iPhone 5s.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Hands on: Apple’s new 64-bit iPad Air makes the full-sized tablet a one-handed device (with video) – October 22, 2013
Apple unveils 64-bit iPad Air and 64-bit iPad mini with Retina display – October 22, 2013
What’s up with the name change? Anyone else think this portends a 13 inch iPad (called just “iPad”) with a smart cover keyboard?
iPad Pro.
Or call it that. It seems odd to change iPad to iPad Air without something else in the lineup besides the iPad mini.
They still have the full-size iPad 2 in the lineup, which is probably part of the reason for the distinction. But I agree, this points to further differentiation along the iPad lineup with the introduction of an iPad Pro model to bring iPads more in line with the Macbook lineup.
Sometimes I think that Apple just does something without a deeper meaning attached. This may simply be a situation in which Apple wanted to emphasize “lightness” and used the same “Air” approach that worked well with the MBA.
Apple started with the iPod and it gradually expanded to the iPod nano and touch and shuffle with the original iPod becoming the “classic.” That works for me. The same thing appears to be happening with the iPad. Interestingly, the iPhone nomenclature approach appends numbers and (often) letters in a somewhat arbitrary manner.
Although I generally like Apple’s simplified product naming approach, it can become confusing over time because users, sellers/buyers, and technicians have to append metadata to differentiate between models. On the other hand, Apple’s approach is infinitely preferable to the cryptic alphanumeric cognomens used by most other companies – do you have the Dell Inspiron 1932 XY532Q or the XZ532Y?
Tim Cook MUST be FIRED!
For what? Continuing to drive nails deeper and deeper in the competion. I noticed in his time on stage Mr, Cook neither broke a sweat or danced around like a clown! Just one cool step forward at a time. While everyone else in the business looks on and says well do that some day….
Yawn. You are boring.
By the way, it is important to note that Apple got rid of “x” suffix for senior versions of its system on chip.
iPad Air version of A7 is twice faster in graphics than iPad 4, which is as fast as iPhone 5s (and, supposedly, iPad mini Retina) with regular A7.
Apple either doubled frequency of graphic cores, or doubled graphic cores frequency in version of A7 for iPad Air.
I wondered about that…I just assumed that the X was omitted from the discussion for simplicity.
I originally planned to get a mini because I thought the iPad was too heavy to wield for extended periods of time due to the weight. I will now be getting an iPad Air. Nice move Apple. I’m sure a lot of people will be doing the same. That is one sweet piece of technology. Great show today, Apple did not disappoint.
GTD. So good to actually read positive comments. And, I too concur with the weight/ travel factor. I travel in planes and choppers twice every 3 weeks and weight is a BIG issue. Its iPad Air for me all the way now!
Marketing and seduction at its best. Apple is really now Microsoft. What they are actually doing with the 4 IPADS is a setup for you at any Apple store. They want you to buy IPAD air, to do that they will have each IPAD set next to each other. The first gen IPAD mini will sit next to the new IPAD Mini (Retina). You’ll immediately see the difference as the IPAD mini has the worse display I’ve seen. Next you have the IPAD 2 next to the IPAD air, thinner and lighter you’ll go to the IPAD Air. They are trying to make 100.00 seem like a small price to pay to move up. In reality you’ll choose between Retina (small) mini vs Retina Large (IPAD Air). My fear in this is best stated by Steve Jobs. Look whose running (rather was) running Microsoft. Yes a sales guy. Is Apple now simply being directed by the Marketing department?
I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. This is no shell game. Apple doesn’t waste time and resources producing decoy products. They make a variety of configurations that reach various price points to serve multiple strata of the marketplace. Marketing is not about seduction. In great companies Marketing works hand in hand with engineering and management to provide guidance on what products have potential and how they must be positioned to compete. Marketing is the group that looks at engineering’s cool 15″ iPad in the lab and tells them that there is 8% of the population that wants one, and at the price they’d have to sell it, the number goes down to 2%. Management puts it on the shelf until they can figure it out.
iPad Air makes Microsoft air. Game, Set, Match. Donezo.
To call their biggest and heaviest iPad model the iPad Air suggests that a larger, presumably superior model will be added to the lineup before the next 9.7-inch refresh. If Apple really thought no one would figure this out (before committing to an iPad Air, mistakenly thinking they were getting the top-of-the-line iPad) it’s pretty insulting.
the original iPad is bigger and heavier, and a hundred bucks cheaper
I guess the finger print reader got left off – maybe because of production limitations, also perhaps to have an upgrade in the spring. AirPad Touch. No mention of Mac mini or iPods. My thoughts are that free productivity apps and free oS upgrades, along with energy savings vis a vis a PC Would make MacMinis fly off the shelf as TCO would kick Window’s butt.
I see they’re still selling the iPad 2 at the Apple online store. What about the iPad 3 and 4?
My feeling is that the fingerprint reader is not as necessary on the iPad as it is on a phone. I open my 5s several dozen times a day, but my iPad maybe a dozen. Maybe Apple thought the cost/benefit ratio didn’t warrant a change.
Really lovely machine.
Im getting one on launch day to replace my old iPad 2.