dempson

The USB-IF document referenced by the article is only the cable specification. The USB Power Delivery 3.1 specification was published yesterday and goes into more detail on the mechanisms.

In brief (from a quick read): a new extended power range is used for >100W to 240W. It supports fixed voltage supplies able to operate at 28V, 36V or 48V as well as adjustable voltage supplies up to those limits. In all cases, maximum current is 5A so the higher fixed voltage options go up to 140W, 180W and 240W respectively. There is an additional negotiation phase (between source, sink and cable) before stepping up from standard to extended power range.

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).

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.

AppleInsider said:

During its September 10 iPhone event, Apple also launched a new iPad, which is meant to take the spot of the existing entry-level model. Apple says it's twice as fast as the previous model

No they didn't. They said "up to two times faster performance over the top-selling Windows PC". https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/09/apple-introduces-new-version-of-the-most-popular-ipad-starting-at-329/

The 7th gen iPad has the same A10 Fusion processor as the 6th gen iPad, so they should have almost identical performance. Clock speed and thermal changes might make it slightly faster, but that will be counteracted somewhat by needing to drive more pixels.

moustache said:

My first generation iPad Mini is still on 9.3.5 with software update telling me is up to date

I still can’t load all my iCloud books on iBooks. ((

These updates are for cellular models only. WiFi-only iPad mini, iPad 2, 3 and 4, and 5th gen iPod Touch are not getting these updates (I can confirm for the iPod Touch).

These updates do not include any security fixes, only a GPS bug fix. Only iPhones and cellular iPad models have GPS hardware.

Oddly the iPhone 5C misses out even though the iPhone 5 is getting an update. Perhaps the GPS hardware/firmware in the iPhone 5C is different because the model is a year newer, and doesn’t have the bug?