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Lose the touchscreen, add a real keyboard, keep the cellular connection, and replace iOS with macOS. Price it at $799. Boom - easily the best selling laptop there's ever been.

I'd buy one (or two - might get one for the wife, too), and I'm pretty sure Apple would have a great margin on it.

Buy a laptop and a 4G dongle. Boom.
 
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Of course the product line is a mess, but I kind of like this update. Hope they have fixed the white spot iPad Pro issue.
Wish it had promotion or was a $100 cheaper... but not bad, not bad.

Waiting for the reviews...

And there is no camera bump and really dark spacegrey back!
 



Apple today introduced an all-new iPad Air with a 10.5-inch Retina display, A12 Bionic chip, and first-generation Apple Pencil support.

ipad-air-2019-800x625.jpg

The new iPad Air is a lower-cost replacement for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which was priced from $649 prior to being discontinued today.

The new iPad Air is available to order on Apple.com starting today with 64GB and 256GB storage. Apple Store and reseller availability will begin next week. Prices start at $499 for Wi-Fi models and $629 for Wi-Fi + Cellular models in the United States.

Initial launch countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK, and the US.

More countries and regions will follow "soon," including Colombia, Greece, India, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.

Apple also introduced a new iPad mini with the A12 Bionic chip and first-generation Apple Pencil support. The 9.7-inch iPad was not updated today.

Article Link: Apple Launches New 10.5-Inch iPad Air With A12 Bionic Chip and Apple Pencil Support, Starts at $499
 
Sure, it's not hard to follow if you're already familiar with all these products and their features / shortcomings.

But do you think an average person can tell you which of these supports the Apple Pencil 2? Or why the iPad mini is more expensive / better than the iPad despite being smaller?

This is what we mean by confusion. It's good to see Apple refresh the iPad mini and keep the same price (a rarity nowadays), but Apple's iPad and MacBook lineups have both been getting increasingly fragmented.

The average consumer couldn't care less about the pencil. Most non-tech savvy consumers will walk into the store, point at the model they want, purchase it then go home & enjoy their purchase.

It's really not as horrifying as some of you are making out.
 
So iPad Pro is the only tablet compatible with Apple Pencil 2? Cue the Apple fanboys that don't see a problem with this and argue price points. Apple has been failing miserably these past 4 years!
 
I suggested that they use "Plus" instead of "Air". They didn't respond.
Air makes sense, this is a great follow on model to the old 9.7” Air 2. The $329 iPad has nowhere near as nice a screen and is significantly thicker at 7.5mm. This 10.5 Air and the Air 2 are 6.1mm.
 
The 11" pro isn't an oddity

I was mainly referring to screen size; it is an odd aspect ratio of 199:139 whereas every other iPad ever made is 4:3; and so we have to endure apps with black bars; and I do understand why they did it, but it is an oddity none the less.
 
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It’s the iPad Pro 10.5” rebranded as iPad Air and upgradeed to an A12 chip

This...

I can understand that they needed to differentiate from the current gen ipad pros (i.e. A12X vs A12, and FaceID vs TouchID) but omitting USB-C and ProMotion screen is a bit of a letdown. Yea it's great that it supports the older apple pencil which costs (outrageously) $99 despite being deprecated, but the screen doesn't have the adaptive refresh rate to make good use of it.

All in all, yet another set of let-down "new" products, which to me seems like they are desperately trying to milk the people who are frustrated by the pricing in the recent years.
 
We found a 2017 ipad pro 10.5 for 499 at best buy a few weeks ago. So happy to get that especially after this update.

I feel the same. We got 10.5 Pro for $499 several months ago. After seeing this new Air, I am convinced that Pro at $499 was still a better deal. Better speakers, better screen, better camera. the only sacrifice is marginally slower CPU - I can deal with that.
 
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Lose the touchscreen, add a real keyboard, keep the cellular connection, and replace iOS with macOS. Price it at $799. Boom - easily the best selling laptop there's ever been.

I'd buy one (or two - might get one for the wife, too), and I'm pretty sure Apple would have a great margin on it.
So you think them making something specifically tailored to YOU means it will be "easily the best selling laptop there's ever been" huh? Lol people are so self absorbed these days...its insane
 
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I always wanted an iPad Mini but this Air is way better for productivity... So I honestly don't know what to do.
Go outside, look at some trees or a lake.
Then find a coffee bar (not Starbucks) and smile at a random attractive girl (or person that you prefer)
It will be great.
No need to worry about throwing money at Apple.
 
So iPad Pro is the only tablet compatible with Apple Pencil 2? Cue the Apple fanboys that don't see a problem with this and argue price points. Apple has been failing miserably these past 4 years!
Yes. If a magnetically-attached, wireless charging Pencil 2 is important to you, you’re looking at $799 minimum.

The Pro models have all kinds of exclusives: FaceID, smaller bezels, brighter screen, 120Hz ProMotion, USB-C, 4K video recording, f1.8/12 MP rear camera with flash, 4 speakers, 5 microphones, 4GB RAM and Pencil 2 support. That, among other upgrades, is what the extra $300 buys.

Apple decides which features are exclusive to the Pro, you don’t get to pick and choose a la carte. btw Apple has been doing tremendously well the last four years!
 
People who want a balance of pro & basic iPad tech, basically the mainstream.

Precisely. I have the 10.5 Pro, coming from the original Air when the 10.5 was released. If I didn’t already have the 10.5 Pro, this would be my selection. The new Air is perfect for me—the Pro is overkill for my needs.
 
OMG this is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for - IF it has more ram than the old 9.7” pro. Please have more RAM.. 4GB I guess?

Nice that the entire iPad lineup supports the Apple Pencil now.
 
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The average consumer couldn't care less about the pencil. Most non-tech savvy consumers will walk into the store, point at the model they want, purchase it then go home & enjoy their purchase.

It's really not as horrifying as some of you are making out.
The Pencil has been a heavily-marketed feature for iPads, and is one of the reasons an average consumer may decide to purchase an iPad as their smartphone is no longer adequate. I'm not trying to claim this is true in the majority of cases, but enough that it should matter from Apple's point of view.

IMHO, here's what Apple should have done: iPad Classic and iPad Pro. Clearly distinct product groupings in terms of design, Touch ID and home button vs. Face ID, and Apple Pencil support. Two screen sizes of each.
 
The iPad Product Lineup is getting more confusing by the minute...


Fortunately, most consumers easily figure it out with a little time in the store or on line with the website, and decide what is the best combination of features and price for them. That's how MILLIONS of people will buy a new iPad Mini and many millions more buy the other iPads this year.
 
The iPad Product Lineup is getting more confusing by the minute...
Not really. There's only four different iPads (five if you count the two different sizes of the Pro line). But this lineup is pretty simple and they're arranged on Apple's website in order of power/size. Really not that difficult.
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Have you tried looking at the Apple website?

This is literally something added to the lineup.
No, it's not. It's LITERALLY the 2017 iPad Pro with a new name to show that it's both different from the regular iPad and the 2019 iPad Pro.
 
If I didn’t already have the 10.5 Pro, this would be my selection. The new Air is perfect for me—the Pro is overkill for my needs.

This is the upgrade to my iPad Air 2 I have been waiting for. Entry level iPad — a backward step. iPad Pro — too pro and too pricey. This new iPad Air hits a sweet spot for me. I ordered within minutes of it being announced.
 
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Has there been any info on the amount of RAM? Granted, I'm guessing safe enough to assume the floor is probably 3GB (same as XR).
 
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