Apple Announces Next-Gen iPad, but the iPad mini Steals the Show

Back when the iPod touch came out, we thought that it was one of the best things Apple ever came up with; it was inexpensive, incredibly thin and lightweight, offered WiFi, and still ran apps a plenty on iOS.

With the announcement of the long-awaited and oft-rumored iPad mini, the iPod touch has a spiritual successor--it’s a device that hits a sweet spot in Apple’s lineup and does so for a relatively reasonable price. (Who knows, perhaps Apple will start giving these things away for free with the purchase of an iMac or MacBook Pro.)


The mini has a 7.9-inch display that boasts 1,024x768 resolution--the same as the iPad 2--and measures just 7.2mm thick and weighs a mere .68 pounds. Inside, the iPad mini runs a dual-core A5 processor and offers a front FaceTime HD camera and a 5MP iSight camera (capable of recording in 1080p HD) in the back with LTE and 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi for connectivity.


Predictably, it also has the new Lightning connector, a new SmartCover sans hinge (available in six colors), and the battery purports to run for 10 hours. Siri is on board, as well.

The base configuration will offer 16GB of storage and WiFi-only connectivity for $329; the 32GB and 64GB versions will come in at $429 and $519, respectively, and buyers can upgrade to the LTE versions of both for an additional $130.


But that wasn’t all the news in Apple Land today; there’s also a new iPad. That’s right, despite releasing the third-generation iPad what seems like about 10 minutes ago, Apple saw fit to roll out the new iPad 4 (or “iPad 3S”, perhaps).

The latest iPad features an all-new A6X processor and offers twice the CPU and graphical performance of its predecessor, a FaceTime 720p HD camera, a 10-hour battery, LTE and 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band WiFi, and the new Lightning connector.


Pricing remains the same as it was for the third-generation iPad--$499 for the WiFi-only 16GB model and $629 for the 16GB LTE version--and it’s available in black and white.

Both the iPad mini and iPad 4 (or iPad 3S, or whatever) will be available for preorder on October 26th. WiFi-only versions will ship on November 2nd, and LTE versions will come two weeks hence.