substance

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!  Long overdue, but I won't complain, just glad that we got it at all.

Great announcement, it shows that Apple is still willing to bring the premium features of the iPad line down to the entry-level devices of the platform over time, increasing the attractiveness of the iPad line to a wider audience.  Hopefully we will get some new iPad Pros with lower price-points on top of this.

Fantastic review!  I particularly loved the "Day in the Park" section which gives us a glimpse of what life without our phones and just the Watch can be like.  Great observation about having everything you usually need from the phone except for the camera.  I could relate to these experiences very well based on how the author described theirs.  

To me this is very simply just a lower entry point for those people who are not in the iPad ecosystem yet or those who are but only need to add a simple iPad at a low cost.  If you're an existing iPad owner and want to upgrade, your upgrade path already exists and leads you straight into the pro lineup.