Cellular models rolling out across China this week

Dec 11, 2014 07:54 GMT  ·  By

Chinese customers looking to buy the latest and greatest tablets from Apple can do so this week through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores, and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

In a press release issued minutes ago, Apple confirms that “models of iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 with cellular networking will be available in China starting this week.”

WLAN + Cellular

The company sells iPads as Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi + Cellular, for customers who want only local connections or for those who want an Internet connection everywhere, respectively. For the Chinese models, Apple uses the WLAN designation, stating that both Wi-Fi and FDD-LTE connections are faster on iPad Air 2 than on previous models. Cellular is some 50% faster, according to the Cupertino company.

Apple retails a single model packing TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, as well as TD-SCDMA, DC-HSDPA, HSPA+ and other networking standards. As far as the new iPad mini 3 is concerned, the Mac maker only says it “joins iPad Air 2 in offering users the simplicity and security of Touch ID.” Mainly because that’s the only enhancement present on the smaller iDevice and one of the reasons some customers might be inclined to purchase the second-generation model, which sells for much less.

Both the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3 are capable of running over a billion different apps from the iTunes Store. More than 675,000 titles have been specifically designed for iPad. The tablets come in three color options – gold, silver, and space gray – and a metallic finish.

iPad Air 2 steals the spotlight

iPad Air 2 is by far the better choice between the smaller and the bigger model, if portability isn’t an issue. The thinnest tablet ever made by Apple and one of the thinnest ever created by anyone, iPad Air 2 measures just 6.1 mm in depth and weighs less than a pound.

The tablet further sports an improved Retina display with an anti-reflective coating, improved iSight and FaceTime cameras, a 64-bit A8X chip that has a faster CPU and also boasts improved graphics performance, the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and more. The tablet retails for 3,588 RMB ($580 / €466) for the 16GB WLAN model and 4,488 RMB ($730 / €586) for the 16GB WLAN + Cellular version. Prices go higher in accordance with the storage options.

Apple currently sells the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 in more than 110 countries across the world, including China, the US, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Singapore, and the UK. Since the new models have become available, iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini have all seen their prices drop.

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