Apple reconfigures tablet line-up, drops iPad 2 in favour of 4th generation iPad
4th generation iPad offers a sharper Retina display and improved processor compared to older iPad 2
As well as introducing a new iPhone 5C at a lower price point, Apple has also shaken up their tablet range today, dropping the mid-range iPad 2 in favour of the fourth-generation iPad at the same price.
Thanks to the numbering involved the switch might seem a little counter-intuitive, but the fourth generation iPad is the more recent and more powerful model, released in 2012, a year after the iPad 2.
The fourth-generation iPad will now sell for £329 for the Wi-Fi only model with 16GB, with version with a mobile data connection costing £429. The tablet has a 9.7-inch Retina display, Apple’s A6X chip, and run on iOS 7.
This means that all of Apple’s current line-up of tablets use the company’s own lightning connector, with the iPhone 4s the only iOS device still sold by Apple to use the older 30-pin port.
The fourth-generation iPad costs £10 more than the iPad mini with Retina display, Wi-Fi only and 16GB of storage, and £70 less than the iPad Air with the same configuration.
See below for a full comparison of Apple’s new tablet range:
| iPad Air | iPad with Retina display | iPad Mini with Retina display | iPad mini |
Specs | 9.7-inch screen (264 ppi); A7 chip; 469g | 9.7-inch screen (264 ppi); A7 chip; 652g | 7.9-inch screen (326ppi); A6X chip; 331g | 7.9-inch screen (163ppi); A5 chip; 308g |
Wi-Fi | 16GB, £399 32GB, £479 64GB, £559 128GB, £639 | 16Gb, £329 | 16GB, £319 32GB, £399 64GB, £479 128GB, £559 | 16GB, £249
|
Wi-Fi and mobile data | 16GB, £499 32GB, £579 64GB, £659 128GB, £739 | 16GB, £429 | 16GB, £419 32GB, £499 64GB, £579 128GB, £659 | 16GB, £349
|
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