iPad 2018 Specs, Price Details: New 9.7-Inch Tablet With Apple Pencil Support Out Now

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, March 29, 2018

The first iPad for 2018 is here, and the 9.7-inch model it comes with a stylus. Apple introduced the latest refresh of their tablet at a Chicago media event, and it looks like the company is aiming for schools and homes with their relatively low price for the model.

Apple also laid out all the new features and specs they have put into the new 9.7-inch iPad with a press release on their website's newsroom, earlier this Tuesday, March 27. As the company revealed in their Chicago show, the new iPad offers support for their proprietary stylus, the Apple Pencil, and offers improved performance over past models with a new chipset.

The 2018 iPad starts at $329, and for this price, users get a standard Retina display, now powered by Apple's own A10 fusion chip. The company has designed the tablet to be able to handle intensive games, video editing, and their new focus — immersive augmented reality apps.

"Our most popular and affordable iPad now includes support for Apple Pencil, bringing the advanced capabilities of one of our most creative tools to even more users," Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Product Marketing, said in their product reveal.

"This iPad also has the power of the A10 Fusion chip, combined with the big, beautiful Retina display, advanced cameras and sensors that enable incredible AR experiences simply not possible on other devices," Joswiak claimed as well.

Special cameras and sensors have been added to the new iPad, letting AR apps superimpose interactive 3D images over the room the user is in as captured by the tablet's camera.

Media reporters who were present at the unveiling noted how Apple managed to keep the new 9.7-inch iPad light and portable even with the new hardware, as Apple Insider reported. The device looks to have an estimated 10 hours of battery life, although how long the battery lasts when the A10 Fusion chipset gets loaded with AR apps remains to be seen.

If there's one thing that Apple skimped on with this new model, it would be the camera. The same 8-megapixel sensor from the previous iPad models has been retained in this new version, and aside from the lower still image resolution, this camera is only capable of capturing 1080p video, as well.

It's certainly a mismatch with the capabilities of the new A10 Fusion chip, which Apple goes so far as to claim to be capable of editing a 4k resolution video clip.

There's also the fact that Apple has not bundled the Apple Pencil with the $329 tablet, which would have saved new iPad buyers a good $99. On the other hand, Apple is currently offering the device for $299 with an education discount so that schools would be able to consider getting a stylus with every tablet they buy.