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Apple's 7th-gen iPad gets bigger but keeps the same size battery
In case you forgot, the iPhone 11 and Apple Watch weren't the only new hardware Apple showed off at its big event a couple of weeks ago, it also upgraded the base iPad line. Now in its seventh generation, the "most popular" iPad that Apple sells has grown from 9.7- to 10.2-inches, ships with iPadOS and added a connector to support the company's still-pricey keyboard add-on. The folks at iFixit attacked the new model with their assortment of tools, and found that despite the new size, inside it's still very similar to the previous model. Unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max, for example, which made room for a larger battery than ever before, this new iPad has a unit that's the same size as its predecessor at 8,827mAh or 32.9 watt hours, and presumably relies on other tweaks to the hardware and software to achieve its extra hour of estimated battery life.
A brief first look at Apple's seventh-generation iPad
It didn't receive much lip service at today's keynote, but Apple has unveiled a new 10.2-inch iPad, the seventh generation in the company's long line of tablets. This also means Apple has axed the last 9.7-inch model, a size that once defined the iPad line. Like the device that it replaces, this new 10.2-inch tablet supports Apple Pencil input, though that writing implement continues to be sold separately. This time, though, the entry-level iPad also gets Apple's Smart Connector, allowing you to snap on Apple's $159 keyboard folio, also sold separately. In my brief demo, I was most struck by how bright the screen is. At 500 nits it doesn't compare to a new flagship iPhone (one device announced today tops out at 1,200 nits), but I'm old enough to remember when 500 nits was the spec on high-end notebooks. This is a $329 tablet, cheaper than even most low-end laptops. The new iPad is up for pre-order today, with shipments starting September 30th. As stated, it starts at $329, but if you want LTE too, then the base price goes up to $459. All told, built-in storage ranges from 32GB to 128GB.
Apple’s budget $329 iPad gets a 10.2-inch screen
Bloomberg's predictions proved accurate at Apple's September iPhone event held in Cupertino on Tuesday. The company announced on stage that the iPad's 9.7-inch base model will slightly increase in size, to 10.2 inches, for its 7th generation. This move follows April's revamping of the iPad Mini and iPad Air lines.
