Apple announced a brand new iPad with a 9.7-inch screen on Monday during its March 21 event.
The new iPad is a smaller version of the iPad Pro Apple released in November last year.
It has:
- a 9.7-inch display
- support for Apple Pencil stylus
- the super-powerful A9X chip that's as powerful as some of Apple's own laptops
- a magnetic Smart Connector for connecting the Smart Keyboard
- four speakers
- a minimum of 32GB of storage
With all the upgraded specs, the base model of the new iPad costs $599, $100 more than the iPad Air 2, which Apple is continuing to offer as a less expensive iPad.
Like the iPad Pro, this iPad is designed with productivity in mind, expect in a smaller package. It'll appeal to those who are interested in the iPad Pro's features, but don't want carry around a gigantic 13-inch tablet.
The key here is Apple's A9X chip, which is geared to work with Apple Pencil and resource-hungry productivity apps.
It costs $599 for the 32GB model. Pre-orders begin on March 24, and will begin shipping on March 31.
