SAN FRANCISCO – The leaked images, videos and specs we've been seeing for months now have proven true. Apple's fifth generation iPad is here, and it looks like the iPad mini's big brother. But Apple managed to throw in one major surprise to the mix by giving the device some new branding: Meet the iPad Air.
The iPad Air certainly earns its new surname. It's only 7.5 millimeters thick, which is 20 percent thinner than the previous full-size iPad. Apple claims its tablet is the world's thinnest (and even said so on stage), but Sony's latest Zperia Z tablet has it beat by .6 millimeters1. The bezel around the display is 43 percent thinner. The new iPad is also extremely light – it weighs only 1 pound, which is a significant reduction compared to the 1.4-pound weight of the previous version.
"It's so new in so many ways, it deserves a new name," Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said on stage here at a company event. "This is probably our biggest leap forward in a full-size iPad."
The iPad Air will be available on November 1 around the world, starting at starts at $499 (or $629 with cellular data).
Inside, the fifth-generation iPad houses a 64-bit A7 processor, the same chip found in the new iPhone 5s. It's a 64-bit chip with one billion transistors, and users should see twice the performance of the previous generation iPads. The tablet is designed specifically to run iOS 7, the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system. Another first on this iPad: dual Wi-Fi antennas and MIMO technology, which should see significant wireless data improvements. Apple claims the iPad Air gets the same 10-hour battery life as previous generations.
Design-wise, it shares the same aesthetic as the iPad mini, with an aluminum rear plate rounded gently at the edge and a shiny metallic detail where the back meets the bezel. The thin bezel, either black or white, rims the glass-fronted 2048 x 1536 resolution Retina display. It comes with a silver back and a white bezel, and in the new "space gray" back with a black bezel. On the front is the FaceTime camera, which can shoot in HD quality, and on the rear, the 5-megapixel shooter that features all the same bells and whistles as the one found in previous versions.
It'll be available in 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB flavors (the latter option was introduced to the iPad family in January).
Also see photos of the new Mac Pro, new MacBook Pro, and iPad mini. Also read WIRED's summary of all the Apple news from Tuesday's event.
1 10/22/13 7:00 PM EST Updated to clarify world's current thinnest tablet
