MacRumors

Apple has launched a new 10.5-inch iPad Air that can be viewed as a lower-priced successor to the second-generation 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which has been discontinued. Below, we compare tech specs and features.

Pricing is key, with the new iPad Air starting at $499 with Wi-Fi only and $629 with LTE connectivity in the United States. The 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ started at $649 with Wi-Fi and $779 with LTE connectivity until it was discontinued. Both have 64GB or 256GB of storage, but the new ‌iPad Air‌ lacks a 512GB option.

Design wise, the iPads have a lot of similarities, including dimensions, thinness, and overall appearance. Both have a Touch ID home button, a headphone jack, and a Lightning connector, but the new ‌iPad Air‌ has only two speakers along the bottom, whereas the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ has four speakers.

The new ‌iPad Air‌ is available in Silver, Space Gray, and a newer Gold finish that essentially merges the previously separate Gold and Rose Gold finishes that were available for the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Both iPads feature a fully laminated Retina display with a resolution of 2224×1668 pixels and 264 PPI, True Tone, and support for the P3 wide color space, but the new 10.5-inch ‌iPad Air‌ has a 60Hz refresh rate while the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ has a so-called ProMotion display with up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

Processor wise, the new ‌iPad Air‌ sports Apple's A12 Bionic chip compared to a slower A10X Fusion chip in the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. The new ‌iPad Air‌ also has dedicated hardware called the "Neural Engine" that handles artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks, while the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ does not.

In terms of battery life, both iPads last up to 10 hours per charge, according to Apple's internal testing.

With its lower price point, the new ‌iPad Air‌ has a lower-end 8-megapixel rear camera, compared to a 12-megapixel sensor on the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌. The rear camera on the new ‌iPad Air‌ also lacks LED flash, optical image stabilization, and Focus Pixels, but one benefit is that there is no camera bump.

The front FaceTime HD cameras are the same 7-megapixel sensors with Live Photos, Retina Flash, and other identical features on both iPads.

As for connectivity, both iPads have 802.11ac Wi-Fi, but the new ‌iPad Air‌ has Gigabit-class LTE versus the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌'s theoretically slower LTE Advanced support. The new ‌iPad Air‌ also gets a bump to Bluetooth 5.0 versus Bluetooth 4.2 out of the box for the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.

Both iPads are compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil and the 10.5-inch Smart Keyboard.

Summary

• The new ‌iPad Air‌ starts at $150 less than the 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ and thus has some tradeoffs: two speakers versus four, no ProMotion display, and a lower-end 8-megapixel rear camera with no LED flash or optical image stabilization.
  

• The new ‌iPad Air‌ has the same dimensions, thinness, and overall appearance as 10.5-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.
  

• Both iPads have a 10.5-inch Retina display with 264 PPI, headphone jack, ‌Touch ID‌, Lightning connector, 7-megapixel front camera, up to 10 hours of battery life, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
  

• The new ‌iPad Air‌ has some advantages: faster A12 Bionic chip vs. A10X Fusion, Gigabit-class LTE vs. LTE Advanced, and Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2.

The new ‌iPad Air‌ can be ordered starting today with in-store availability beginning next week in the United States and many other regions.

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming iOS 12.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fifth beta of iOS 12.2 and two months after the release of iOS 12.1.4.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.2 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

iOS 12.2 will see the launch of a new subscription service within Apple News, which Apple is planning to unveil at an upcoming March 25 event. Apple plans to offer unlimited access to magazines and paywalled news services for a single monthly fee, with all of the content available through the News app.

iOS 12.2 expands Apple News to Canada for the first time, with Canadian iPhone and iPad users able to read news stories in English, French, or both. Apple says that during the beta, content will be more limited than it will be when the update is released.

There are four new Animoji included the iOS 12.2 beta, including a boar, a shark, a giraffe, and an owl. Animoji can be used within the Messages and FaceTime apps.

The software introduces initial support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on third-party TVs in light of recent AirPlay 2 announcements, with a new option for limiting TV access joining the speaker access option in the Home app. There's also a redesigned TV remote in Control Center, and when paired with tvOS 12.2, you can ask Siri to play specific TV shows, movies, and music on your ‌HomeKit‌ devices like the Apple TV.

For some AT&T users, there's a new "5G E" icon for the cellular signal, replacing the standard LTE icon. This is a bit misleading of AT&T, because the ‌iPhone‌ does not support 5G, nor is the network AT&T calls 5G E actual 5G. Instead, it's an upgraded version of LTE, with more info available here.

The Wallet app's interface has been streamlined and tweaked because Apple is planning to introduce support for an Apple credit card that will be made available through a partnership with Goldman Sachs. The credit card could have unique features like rewards tracking, access to balance management tools, notifications about spending habits, and options to set spending limits.

The Downtime feature in Screen Time can be customized by day in iOS 12.2, Apple has made minor changes to some icons (including ‌Apple News‌, ‌AirPlay‌, and Remote in Control Center), audio messages are now better quality, and there are new Safari features, with a full list of changes introduced throughout the beta testing period available in our iOS 12.2 tidbits post.

Apple is improving Safari's privacy in iOS 12.2 through a new Motion & Orientation toggle located under Settings > Safari > Privacy >Security, which is disabled by default. The setting needs to be enabled on to allow websites to display content that relies on motion data from the accelerometer and gyroscope in the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌.

iOS 12.2 confirms that Apple is planning to release second-generation AirPods with "Hey ‌Siri‌" support, thanks to a hidden "Hey ‌Siri‌" AirPods setup screen in the beta. The inclusion of the AirPods setup option in the beta indicates that Apple could perhaps be planning to release new AirPods when iOS 12.2 is released. There have also been hints of additional work on AirPower, suggesting that product is still coming.

Apple plans to introduce the ‌Apple News‌ service at an event that will take place on March 25, and it's likely the company plans to release iOS 12.2 shortly afterwards to provide iOS users with access to the new subscription options.

LG today detailed upcoming availability of its 2019 NanoCell LED 4K Ultra HD smart TVs with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support.

The new NanoCell lineup is divided into the Nano 8 and Nano 9 series, with 11 models in total ranging in size from 49 inches to 86 inches. Seven models will be available starting in April, followed by one model in May and three in June. Prices range from $799 to $4,299 in the United States.

LG detailed availability of other AirPlay 2 TVs coming to its lineup last week and says more will be announced later this year.

‌AirPlay‌ 2 support will allow users to stream videos, music, photos, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, and Mac to compatible LG smart TVs, complete with lock screen controls. ‌HomeKit‌ support will enable users to easily control the TVs using Siri voice commands or the Home app on ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, and Mac.

Samsung, Sony, and Vizio also plan to release ‌AirPlay‌ 2-enabled smart TVs this year. Last month, Samsung's new 2019 lineup of QLED 4K and 8K TVs with ‌AirPlay‌ 2 support became available to pre-order in the United States. MacRumors also reported that Roku is in talks with Apple about AirPlay 2 integration.

LG's 2019 TVs will also feature Amazon Alexa alongside Google Assistant.

Apple today introduced an all-new iPad Air with a 10.5-inch Retina display, A12 Bionic chip, and first-generation Apple Pencil support.

The new iPad Air is a lower-cost replacement for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which was priced from $649 prior to being discontinued today.

The new ‌iPad Air‌ is available to order on Apple.com starting today with 64GB and 256GB storage. Apple Store and reseller availability will begin next week. Prices start at $499 for Wi-Fi models and $629 for Wi-Fi + Cellular models in the United States.

Initial launch countries include 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, the UK, and the US.

More countries and regions will follow "soon," including Colombia, Greece, India, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.

Apple also introduced a new iPad mini with the A12 Bionic chip and first-generation ‌Apple Pencil‌ support. The 9.7-inch iPad was not updated today.

Apple today launched a new fifth-generation iPad mini, featuring an upgraded A12 Bionic processor, first-generation Apple Pencil support, a new advanced Retina display panel, and the same $399 price tag as the previous model.

Apple says that with the new A12 Bionic chip, the ‌iPad mini‌ now delivers three times the performance and nine times faster graphics. Meanwhile the advanced Retina display with True Tone technology and wide color support is 25 percent brighter and has the highest pixel density (3 million) of any iPad.

Elsewhere, an 8-megapixel rear camera brings improved low-light performance and HD video recording, while the front facing camera has been bumped up to 7 megapixels for better-quality selfies and FaceTime HD.

The new ‌iPad‌ also benefits from the same Wi-Fi performance and Gigabit‑class LTE that's built into the latest iPad Pro models, and retains the headphone jack found in previous ‌iPad mini‌ models.

"iPad continues to provide magical new experiences for a growing range of uses where it is the absolute best device, from playing games in augmented reality to note-taking and drawing with Apple Pencil, from streaming HD movies and editing 4K films to learning to develop apps with Swift Playgrounds," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Today the iPad family takes two big leaps forward with an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Air that brings high-end size, features and performance at a breakthrough price, and a major upgrade to the 7.9-inch iPad mini, which also brings Apple Pencil, Retina display and the A12 Bionic chip to the many customers that love its compact size."

Available in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold, and in 64 and 256GB storage capacities, the new ‌iPad mini‌ starts at $399 for the Wi-Fi model and $529 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. An ‌Apple Pencil‌ (1st generation) is available for purchase separately for $99. Online orders for the new ‌iPad mini‌ begin today on the Apple website, with availability in Apple stores and select resellers starting next week.

The ‌iPad mini‌ 4 has been discontinued.

Apple's online store has gone down this morning. The company typically takes the site down pending changes to its product lineup, so we may well see new product announcements later today.

Apple has several rumored products debuting soon, including a new affordable iPad, iPad mini 5, next-generation AirPods, and its long-delayed AirPower wireless charging mat.

At least some of these product announcements were expected to be made via press release during the company's March 25 "It's Showtime" event, which will reportedly be service-focused, but Apple could feasibly announce new products sooner.

Indeed, well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman recently suggested Apple could decide to announce new iMacs and iPads ahead of its upcoming media event in order to underline how much it intends to focus on news and video services.

We'll follow up on this development shortly when we learn more.

Spotify on Wednesday announced it filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with the European Commission over unfair App Store practices. Apple responded two days later, labeling the complaint as "misleading rhetoric" and arguing that "Spotify wants all the benefits of a free app without being free."

The war of words has since continued. In a statement issued to Variety, Spotify said "every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong" and that, consequently, Apple's response was "entirely in line" with its expectations.

Spotify's statement:

Every monopolist will suggest they have done nothing wrong and will argue that they have the best interests of competitors and consumers at heart. In that way, Apple's response to our complaint before the European Commission is not new and is entirely in line with our expectations.

We filed our complaint because Apple's actions hurt competition and consumers, and are in clear violation of the law. This is evident in Apple's belief that Spotify's users on iOS are Apple customers and not Spotify customers, which goes to the very heart of the issue with Apple. We respect the process the European Commission must now undertake to conduct its review.

See Spotify's Time to Play Fair website and Apple's Addressing Spotify's Claims press release for each company's stance.