Apple announces new 9.7-inch iPad, starts at $329

Apple has launched a new iPad model, simply titled the iPad, which replaces the previous iPad Air 2.

The new iPad is largely the old iPad Air 2 but with a couple of changes. The new model replaces the A8X in the Air 2 with the A9 that also does duty inside the iPhone 6s and the iPhone SE. The new iPad is also thicker at 7.5mm versus the 6.1mm of the Air 2 because of the larger 32.4Wh battery compared to the 27.62Wh on the Air 2. Apart from that the two are literally the same. This means you are still looking at the same 9.7-inch Retina display, 8 megapixel f2.4 rear camera with 1080p video recording and 1.2 megapixel front camera with 720p video recording, stereo speakers, TouchID with Apple Pay, and 10 hours of battery life.

The other major change is the price. The base 32GB model now starts at $329, which is the lowest for a big-screen iPad, which normally started at $499. The 128GB model is priced at $429. If you go for the cellular model, then it's $459 for the 32GB and $559 for the 128GB.

The new iPad will be available in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold starting March 24 in the US and 20 other countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Denmark, India, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Turkey and other countries and regions will follow in April. Brazil, Taiwan and other countries and regions will follow in May.

Apple also dropped the price of the iPad mini 4. It is now available in only one storage capacity of 128GB and priced at $399 for the Wi-Fi model and $529 for the cellular model. It is otherwise unchanged.

The iPad range now consist of the iPad mini 4, iPad, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

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