dempson

fastasleep said:

I’m surprised the Air is still in the lineup now. .3” difference and A12 vs A10, is that it? Weird. 

No, that is not all. Just considering the processor, the A12 benchmarks 38% faster (single core) to 95% faster (multi core), probably more than 100% faster for graphics, plus adds the Neural Engine which gives extra capabilities in areas such as AR.

Apart from that, the Air has: more RAM (3 vs 2 GB), double storage at each tier, slightly thinner and lighter, fully laminated display, antireflective coating, P3 colour gamut, True Tone, better Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a few other minor advantages.

Compared to the 6th gen iPad, the 7th gen catches up on the Air on two features: smart keyboard support, and nearly matching the display size. Everything else appears to be identical between 6th and 7th gen.

It seems odd for Apple to introduce a new iPad with the A10 Fusion at the same time as discontinuing the iPhone which used that processor. It makes me wonder how many years of software updates the 7th gen iPad will get. The A12 Bionic should get two years/versions more than the A10 Fusion.

mcdave said:

What modern computers need that much power?

The new 24-inch iMac has a 143W power adapter, which needs to cover the requirements of the computer and display, plus a moderate amount of power delivery to peripherals via up to four USB-C ports.

The iMac's power adapter might be using a draft version of the USB Power Delivery 3.1 standard (with a proprietary connector) since Apple is one of many companies involved in USB standardisation. If so, at maximum output it would be producing nearly 4A at 36V. In normal operation of the iMac, power output should be much lower: the iFixit teardown suggests 60W is typical (which would be 3A at 20V for USB Power Delivery).