iPad for $329 is now available for orders.
Apple yesterday had an education-focused event in which we saw the updated 9.7-inch iPad. It’s the cheapest iPad to date, starting at $329 for individuals, and $299 for schools. Apple iPad 2018 is a hardware upgrade of the 2017 model, with one highlight feature – support for Apple Pencil – something never seen before outside of the iPad Pro line.
The new tablet has the same size and weight (469g), unlike the rumors poiting toward a notch-like design similar to iPhone X. The headphone jack and the Home Button are also here, which makes us wonder why Apple is not unifying its designs. The screen has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels – the same as the 2017 model. But there is a difference between the 2018 and the 2017 iPad in the processing power, as the new device relies on the A10 Fusion chip, whereas the old model has the A9 chip inside. Unfortunately, RAM specs have not been mentioned, but we suspect that the iPad 2018 has 2GB of RAM.
Along with support for Apple Pencil, the tablet supports some third-party styluses if you want a cheaper alternative. Both the old and the new iPad have an 8-megapixel camera shooter on the back, and a 1.2 MP selfie camera. The battery has a capacity of around 8800 mAh. iPad 2018 is already available for pre-orders, while the first deliveries will commence later this week. The color options are: silver, gold and space grey. In countries outside of the US, the prices could be higher, because of the import taxes. For example, in the United Kingdom, the basic iPad costs 319 GBP.
Apple also unveiled an updated iWork suite that comes pre-loaded with the tablet, free 200GB of storage on the Cloud for students, new Schoolwork app to track progress, and upcoming Classroom app for Mac computers.