14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has unveiled a new iPad model today during its "Let's Take a Field Trip" event at Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois, United States, targeted at the education market.
Designed for use in schools by students of all ages, as well as by teachers, the new iPad features a 9.7-inch Retina display, up to 128GB storage capacity, and up to 10‑hour battery life. The iPad is compatible with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories to help students and teachers communicate better in the classroom.
The new iPad includes new versions of Apple's Keynote, Pages, Numbers, GarageBand, and Clips app with support for Apple Pencil. In addition, Apple is bringing digital book creation to the Pages app on iPads, allowing students and teachers to create digital books that include include photos, videos, and other illustrations.
The new digital books created on the iPad will allow others to collaborate on your project, said Apple. The device is powered by Apple's A10 Fusion chip to provide students with new AR (Augmented Reality) experiences. It has an 8MP camera, LTE support, GPS, and compass.
"iPad is our vision for the future of computing and hundreds of millions of people around the world use it every day at work, in school and for play. This new 9.7-inch iPad takes everything people love about our most popular iPad and makes it even better for inspiring creativity and learning," said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing.
The new iPad is available today and ships this week worldwide
Apple said that new iPad it designed specifically for students is available today and has a price tag of $299 for schools, but the rest of the world will have to pay $329 for the device. The iPad will be shipping worldwide this week and you can purchase one from Apple's online store or your local Apple Store or Apple Retailer.
Apple is also bumping the iCloud storage for students from 5GB to 200GB, for free. In addition, the company announced a new feature called "Shared iPad" which will allow multiple students to use a single device, thanks to a tool called Apple School Manager, and a new app called Schoolwork.
However, the Schoolwork app will be available in June and can be integrated with other apps through the ClassKit framework aimed towards educational apps. Apple's new iPad for schools can also be used with Logitech's Crayon pencil, which cost $49 USD.
The new iPad comes in Space Gray, Silver, and a new Gold finish, in two models, with 32GB and Wi-Fi support or 32GB with Wi-Fi and Cellular support, which will cost $459 USD. The iPad is powered by Apple's latest iOS 11 mobile operating system. The Apple Pencil will cost $89 USD for schools and $99 USD for customers.
