Apple Launches New 9.7-Inch iPad With Apple Pencil Support, $299 for Schools and $329 for Consumers

[GFLPraxis]

It's basically the iPad Air 2, with Apple Pencil support, with a better CPU/GPU, at a lower price point.

Which was needed. Good job, Apple.

Only problem- it makes the iPad Mini look downright silly right now. The Mini is more expensive, yet uses a positively-ancient-by-comparison A8 chip.

 

[BarracksSi]

Why would having GPS on a non-LTE model be a buying decision factor? Without LTE, you would assume that the iPad will mostly be kept close to a stationary WiFi network.

It's so that, when you take your iPad on the jogging trail, it will help you keep track of your workouts. It would be great for open-water swims, too, if you could strap it to your back.

 

[loveandhavefun]

My prediction for new Mac Mini.

• 16 Core AMD Threadripper
• 4TB PCI Storage
• 64 GB Ram
• GTX 1080 Ti Graphics Card

That's sounds like my grandmas computer! Needs to be in the realm of 600 million GB of RAM at least

 

[yaxomoxay]

i think its great that apple is pushing education... but i just did a post grad and studied a lot....i had an ipad pro. it was next to useless. Old school as it may seem, nothing beats pen and paper for note taking and a real laptop for writing essays.
I tried so hard to make it work, tried pretty well every app and I found nothing, even with the pencil, comes close to the efficiency of old school notetaking with real pen and paper.

also, pen + paper is a lot less distracting than a full fledged entertainment/procrastination machine disguised as an education tool.

- Remove all useless Apps (including Facebook)
- Remove ALL notifications
- Read Cal Newport’s “Deep Work” (you will thank me for many years )

 

[MacsRgr8]

New iPad is at $309 on the Education site. Somebody did not read the memo from Tim Cook this morning they must have changed their mind last minute.
AppleCare is $69, wasn’t it $99 before?

Indeed..?
Typo or big mistake?

https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-9-7

 

[mi7chy]

Acer ChromeOS tablet

Why would having GPS on a non-LTE model be a buying decision factor? Without LTE, you would assume that the iPad will mostly be kept close to a stationary WiFi network.

There are useful apps that utilize GPS without LTE such as offline maps navigation. GPS exclusion on WIFI models is just another way for Apple to profit from stripping features.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Indeed..?
Typo or big mistake?

https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-9-7

Inflation

 

[kazmac]

Hmmm...no lamination or promotion? Okay, Mom gets this 9.7 iPad then. She probably will not use the pencil. It will be a huge step up for her though regardless.

 

[cashville2400]

God, I want to love this company the way I use to, but I just can't. It seems like they are going back to the way they were before Jobs came back and cleaned up everything. How many different iPads and phones do we really need? I can barely keep up, and most of them are the same thing with very small differences. Companies like Google and Amazon seem to have completely passed Apple by in tech.

 

[Krayzkat]

Old school as it may seem, nothing beats pen and paper for note taking and a real laptop for writing essays.

Laptops in school is 'old school'? Man i feel old.....

 

[apolloa]

Kocking previous 9.7 Pros valuation into the dumpster. Probably a good time for an ipad fan to pick up a nice 9.7 Pro.

I wouldn’t as mine runs like doggy what’s it on iOS 11! Not very well...

 

[PTLove]

This seems like a perfectly good entry level iPad, but I really do not buy this school stuff. Chromebooks are winning because they have full cloud access through Chrome and proper keyboards. iPads are catching up on 1, but still lacking 2, and both are pretty fundamentally important for schoolwork.

 

[Wags]

1st gen touch ID... let me repeat that, 1st gen touch ID... wtf are they smoking in apple? What the hell?

Keep cheap wherever they can. The average consumer will never know the difference before buying. Very limited effort by Apple and have no problem hosting event to pretend their investment in education.

 

[batrush]

Indeed..?
Typo or big mistake?

https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/buy-ipad/ipad-9-7

Retailers like Best Buy have offered apple care for the 9.7” at $69 for a while now.

 

[JPack]

Why is it so damn hard to put the Smart Connector there?

Because Smart Connector serves no purpose when a $49 Bluetooth keyboard works just as well.

 

[bobtem]

Isn't this just the previous smaller iPad pro 9.7"? Nice to see a competitive price though.

 

[2010mini]

Because it's Apple, and they were "brave", and people would buy it no matter what.



Yes, it can be used as PART of the tools, but not as the main tool, and that is the issue which several people in this thread have brought up.

Dunno ‘bout you, but as an artist myself the only real “main” trusty, never fails, tool I use is a paper and a pencil.

 

[deaglecat]

Anyone know how much RAM .. is it 2Gb ?

Starting to think a refurb Air 2 32Gb is the sweet spot. Sure slower chip but better display and also cheaper.

 

[ksec]

One of the many thing that isn't reported enough ( yet ) Is Apple is now giving 200GB of iCloud Storage by default to all Student account. That is value at $2.99 / month.

Assuming these iPad has a three years life span. Apple is basically handing out $108 discount on every iPad used by students.

I am sure Google and Chromebook have similar offering as well for education. But now the TCO and quality of iPad should be enough to sway the decision in flavour of Apple.

 

[sracer]

Anyone know how much RAM .. is it 2Gb ?

Starting to think a refurb Air 2 32Gb is the sweet spot. Sure slower chip but better display and also cheaper.

It's most likely 2 GB RAM.

 

[JPack]

No.

iPad History:

iPad Air -> iPad Air 2 -> iPad Pro 9.7 -> iPad Pro 10.5
iPad Air -> iPad 2017 -> iPad 2018

iPad 2018 is heavier and thicker than iPad Air 2 with a worse screen. The only advantage is speed and price.

If I were you, I would to buy a second hand iPad Pro 10.5.

iPad (2018) wins in speed, price, battery capacity, Pencil support, and ARKit support. The display is also much brighter.

 

[BarracksSi]

God, I want to love this company the way I use to, but I just can't. It seems like they are going back to the way they were before Jobs came back and cleaned up everything. How many different iPads and phones do we really need? I can barely keep up, and most of them are the same thing with very small differences.

Gotta agree with you there. I've stood near some conversations in the Apple Store and listened as buyers-to-be try to understand a salesperson's questions about which version of which device they want to get.

"I'd like to get an iPhone!"
"Great! Which model?"
"Uh, the new one."
"We just released the 8, 8 Plus, and the X."
"Oh, ok. What's the difference?"
"Well, blah blah blah blah blah...."
[eyes glaze over] "I guess I'd like the X Plus."

Companies like Google and Amazon seem to have completely passed Apple by in tech.

Um. What hardware does Amazon make?

 

[urkel]

One of the many thing that isn't reported enough ( yet ) Is Apple is now giving 200GB of iCloud Storage by default to all Student account..

Getting a Student account would require having a school that actually supports the Classroom app and administers their own fleet of iPads. Personally, I dont know any schools that do that.

That is value at $2.99 / month.

Assuming these iPad has a three years life span. Apple is basically handing out $108 discount on every iPad used by students.

I am sure Google and Chromebook have similar offering as well for education. But now the TCO and quality of iPad should be enough to sway the decision in flavour of Apple.

$108 discount? No offense, but Im not sure any schools on the planet are factoring the cost of iCloud per student into the value proposition of iPad purchases. Especially considering that (as you said) the Google Chromebook alternative has been offering pretty much unlimited storage for years.

 

[a.gomez]

After 2 years with my Vaio Canvas - it is just painful to see Apple still wasting time with iOS based tablets.

 

[jayducharme]

I was curious about how Apple was going to implement this. But 32 gb? Seriously? And they're going to pre-load them with iWork, which will consume about 2 gb of that. I guess the 200 gb of cloud storage helps, but Apple choice will make these iPads obsolete a lot quicker.