While the headline act at Apple’s launch event today was always going to be the iPhone 13, the company also sprung a slight surprise by unveiling a couple of new iPads.
The most interesting of these might just be the new iPad mini, which has a swish all-screen design - think mini iPad Pro - and contains the same 6-core A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 13. There’s now a larger 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, along with USB-C connectivity and support for the second-generation Apple Pencil.
If you can stomach the smaller display, at first glance it looks like the new iPad mini could be a great choice as a music-making tablet. In fact, it’ll be interesting to see how its performance compares to that of the latest iPad Pro, which contains the M1 chip that made its debut on the Mac.
Prices for the new iPad mini start at $499/£479 for a WiFi model with 64GB of storage (the Cellular models support 5G, incidentally), and there’s also a 256GB option for $649/£619. It’s available in Pink, Starlight, Purple and Space Grey finishes, and will be on sale from 24 September.
The new entry-level iPad (9th generation) is less eye-catching, but it does now come with an A13 Bionic chip inside (an upgrade from the previous model’s A12). Perhaps more importantly, the entry-level model now offers 64GB of storage rather than 32GB, which is great news for musicians who need more space to install big apps and store large projects.
The cheapest iPad (9th generation, WiFi) will set you back $329/£319, and there’s also a 256GB model that costs $479/£459.
Find out more on the Apple website.
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