Teardown finds Apple's new iPad largely similar to first-gen iPad Air
Apple's new 9.7-inch budget iPad is in many respects the original iPad Air with a few key upgrades to keep it relevant in 2017, according to a teardown published on Thursday.
The tablet for instance uses the same screen as the Air, which is thicker and easier to repair since the LCD and digitizer aren't fused together, iFixit observed. The firm was in fact able to swap in the same parts from a genuine Air and make the connectors fit, although it has yet to test them.
The display also uses the same LCD timing controller from the Air, and is said to look the same in action. Apple is marketing the new tablet as being "brighter," but iFixit suggested that if the company is comparing against the iPad Air 2, an unfused display may explain the difference.
The new iPad even has the same 32.9 watt-hour battery as the Air 1, beating out the 27.6 watt-hour unit in the Air 2 and the 27.9 watt-hour supply in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
The key difference with the old tablet is an A9 processor paired with 2 gigabytes of DDR4 RAM, versus the Air's A7 chip and 1 gigabyte of DDR3. Apple has also boosted base storage to 32 gigabytes, and added a Touch ID sensor, notably linking it to a "real" button instead of the solid-state button introduced on the iPhone 7.
There is also no lock switch, and speaker holes have been reduced to a single row. Earlier microphone slots have been scaled down to holes, and Apple is using the same NFC controller and USB charging circuitry found on the iPhone 7.
AppleInsider will be giving first impressions of the new iPad on Thursday afternoon.
The first online orders of the new iPad should be shipping today. Prices start at $329, making it the cheapest iPad option outside of refurbished models.
The tablet for instance uses the same screen as the Air, which is thicker and easier to repair since the LCD and digitizer aren't fused together, iFixit observed. The firm was in fact able to swap in the same parts from a genuine Air and make the connectors fit, although it has yet to test them.
The display also uses the same LCD timing controller from the Air, and is said to look the same in action. Apple is marketing the new tablet as being "brighter," but iFixit suggested that if the company is comparing against the iPad Air 2, an unfused display may explain the difference.
The new iPad even has the same 32.9 watt-hour battery as the Air 1, beating out the 27.6 watt-hour unit in the Air 2 and the 27.9 watt-hour supply in the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
The key difference with the old tablet is an A9 processor paired with 2 gigabytes of DDR4 RAM, versus the Air's A7 chip and 1 gigabyte of DDR3. Apple has also boosted base storage to 32 gigabytes, and added a Touch ID sensor, notably linking it to a "real" button instead of the solid-state button introduced on the iPhone 7.
There is also no lock switch, and speaker holes have been reduced to a single row. Earlier microphone slots have been scaled down to holes, and Apple is using the same NFC controller and USB charging circuitry found on the iPhone 7.
AppleInsider will be giving first impressions of the new iPad on Thursday afternoon.
The first online orders of the new iPad should be shipping today. Prices start at $329, making it the cheapest iPad option outside of refurbished models.
Comments
The NFC chip found inside is only being used as a Secure Element for Apple Pay purchases in apps. It doesn't contain any NFC antennas, only the chip. It cannot be used for contactless transactions.
While I understand your thinking with this, it's just too many names and choices. I think they're smart to head in the iPad/iPad Pro, MacBook/MacBook Pro direction for simplicity along their computer lines. Maybe the iMac will head in that direction too. Just Mac/Mac Pro. Who knows, maybe the "i" desgination will be for iOS devices going forward, rather than consumer products as it used to be when the iMac and iBook were first released.
As far as branding goes, the Pro basically became what the original iPad was, and the "mini" is the distinctively smaller version.
Edit: taking a look at the website, the iPad 2017 is essentially an iPhone 6S in an iPad chassis.
iPad, iPad Pro
They're simplifying the lines. Good move.
My guess is that the September iPhone will be just "iPhone', but don't think they're done normalizing the names for that line yet.
But I agree with you're postulation and hope it turns out that way but on going trends at Cupertino leave little confidence that it will