With the entry-level iPad and super powerful iPad Pro taking centrestage for some time now, it was long assumed that the iPad Air and iPad mini’s days were numbered. The ultrathin iPad Air, once the top-of-the-line Apple tablet, has since been superseded by the iPad Pro. Truth be told, the iPad mini, once a popular compact tablet, has not been updated since 2015. Well, Apple sprung a surprise on Tuesday—reviving both with one fail swoop—announcing 2019 versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Air and 7.9-inch iPad mini. The bigger surprise? Both support the Apple Pencil.
The new tablets follow the lines of the entry-level iPad, retaining the physical home button with Touch ID and noticeable bezels.
They both gain the A12 Bionic chip with Apple’s Neural Engine and new Retina displays with True Tone technology. Compared to the previous generation iPad Air, the new iPad Air gets a 70 percent boost in performance and twice the graphics capability. The iPad mini on the other hand is three times more powerful in compute performance and nine times faster in graphics.
What’s awesome is that the new iPad Air and iPad mini now support the Apple Pencil—making the entire iPad lineup Apple Pencil-friendly. Being the first generation Apple Pencil though, it means you’ll have to charge it awkwardly via the iPad’s Lightning Port.
Both run iOS 12 and has access to over one million iPad apps on the App Store.
iPad Air
The 10.5 iPad Air now sits snuggly between the budget iPad and the pro-level iPad Pro. It packs powerful hardware in a familiar form factor. It weighs just 456g and is just 6.1mm thin.
Battery life is up to 10 hours and the tablet includes an 8MP main camera that’s capable of shooting 1080p HD videos. On the front is a 7MP FaceTime HD camera.
Now with Apple Pencil support, the iPad Air also comes with Smart Keyboard support in case you need a full-sized keyboard for enhanced productivity.
iPad mini
The compact 7.9-inch iPad mini weighs just 300g and measures 6.1mm thin—a portable, pocketable tablet that now supports the Apple Pencil.
It boasts all-day 10-hour battery life on a single charge.
It features the same camera setup as the iPad Air—an 8MP rear camera and a 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front.
Pricing and availability
The new iPad mini and iPad Air come in silver, space grey and gold colourways in 64GB and 256GB storage configurations.
Pricing is as follows:
- iPad mini 64GB (Wi-Fi) – MYR1,699
- iPad mini 64GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) – MYR2,249
- iPad mini 256GB (Wi-Fi) – MYR2,349
- iPad mini 256GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) – MYR2,899
- iPad Air 64GB (Wi-Fi) – MYR2,199
- iPad Air 64GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) – MYR2,749
- iPad Air 256GB (Wi-Fi) – MYR2,849
- iPad Air 256GB (Wi-Fi + Cellular) – MYR3,399
- Apple Pencil (1st generation) – MYR379
- Smart Keyboard for iPad Air – MYR649
- Smart Cover for iPad mini – MYR189 (charcoal grey, white, pink sand, papaya)
- Smart Cover for iPad Air – MYR229 (charcoal grey, white, pink sand, papaya)
- Leather Smart Cover for iPad Air – MYR289 (black, saddle brown, midnight blue, red)
The new iPad models are available to order starting today from apple.com and in the Apple Store app in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, UK and US. Starting next week, the new iPad models will be available in those countries and regions, as well as in China (Wi-Fi models only), Macau (Wi-Fi models only) and Mexico with more countries and regions to follow soon, including Colombia, Greece, India, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand (Wi-Fi models only) and Turkey.
Now word on Malaysian availability yet.
Learn more about the iPad family at apple.com/my/ipad/compare.
