In an unexpected announcement, Apple unveiled new versions of the iPad and iPad mini. The ninth-generation iPad borrows a couple more features from the iPad Pro while maintaining its low price, while the company completely redesigned the sixth-generation iPad mini.
Apple has overhauled the iPad Air to resemble the iPad Pro and has upgraded the processor in the base-model iPad.
iOS 14 promises a tight package of new features, many of which have existed in Google’s Android for years, while iPadOS 14 takes those features and mixes in a bit of Newton handwriting recognition. Egg freckles, anyone?
In a strange twist, the second-generation Apple Pencil’s charging mechanism can interfere with car key fobs. Luckily, it’s easy to avoid the problem.
Apple has at long last updated the much-loved iPad mini with modern-day specs. Joining it is a new iPad Air that’s essentially an updated 10.5-inch iPad Pro with a worse camera and two fewer speakers.
Apple has released a third generation of its iPad Pro line with a top-to-bottom redesign and high ambitions to set the tablet in competition with notebooks. Unfortunately, although a revised Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio provide added flexibility, the iPad Pro remains hobbled at times by software limitations.
Grab your wallet as a set of spiffy new iPad Pros come to town, featuring Face ID, USB-C, and A12X Bionic brains. Apple also released an improved Apple Pencil that charges inductively, sticks to the iPad Pro itself, and won't roll off your desk.
The iPad versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote gain Apple Pencil support for drawing and writing, along with Smart Annotations. Also, Pages has new ebook creation features.
In a welcome move, Apple has updated the entry-level 9.7-inch iPad with a faster chip, support for the Apple Pencil, and a few enhanced camera features. The price remains the same, starting at $329 for 32 GB.
If you’ve been perturbed by how easy it to damage or lose the iPad Pro’s Apple Pencil, check out Twelve South’s PencilSnap. It’s a $29 leather case that holds the Apple Pencil snugly and attaches to the iPad Pro’s Smart Cover or Smart Keyboard with hidden magnets.