Apple launches new iPad for students with Apple Pencil support
As expected, Apple has launched a new iPad (2018) at its recently held education-themed event in Chicago. The 9.7-inch iPad comes with Apple Pencil support and is targeted at schools, students, and teachers. It features Touch ID, 10 hours of battery life, 8MP rear camera, and 1.2MP front camera. The tablet is powered by Apple's A10 Fusion chipset and runs iOS 11. The iPad is available in silver, space gray, and gold finish.
The new, cheaper iPad costs Rs. 19,400 for schools
The iPad is priced at Rs. 19,400 for schools and Rs. 21,300 for the rest of the consumers. The Apple Pencil, a separate stylus launched in 2015 for the iPad Pro at Rs. 6,400, is priced at Rs. 5,800 for schools. In India, the 32GB iPad (2018) Wi-Fi will cost Rs. 28,000, and the 32GB iPad (2018) Wi-Fi + Cellular will cost Rs. 38,600.
Apple rolls out slew of education-centric features in new iPad
Education-centric features in the iPad include Smart Annotation, which allows teachers to mark reports directly in Pages. Teachers will also be able to create digital books inside Pages. Apple has also launched new versions of its Keynote, Numbers, and Pages apps to support Apple Pencil. Further, Apple has introduced Schoolwork that lets teachers assign students work and which directly competes with Google's Classroom software.
Apple upgrading free iCloud offering from 5GB to 200GB
Apple highlighted the iPad's AR functionality with a Froggipedia app that allows students to virtually dissect frogs using the Apple Pencil. Apple is also upgrading its free iCloud offering from 5GB to 200GB. In comparison, Chromebooks offers 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years.
iPad (2018) to compete with Acer's Chromebook Tab 10
Notably, Acer has recently launched the first ever tablet that runs the Chrome OS called the Acer Chromebook Tab 10. It is also targeted at students and educators and has inbuilt stylus support which doesn't require a battery or any kind of additional charging. The tablet is priced at approximately Rs. 21,300, which is cheaper than the combination of the iPad (2018) and Apple Pencil.
Chromebooks more popular than Apple devices in classrooms
In 2013, Apple's iPads and MacBooks accounted for half of all mobile devices shipped to US schools. However, iPad sales declined for three straight years and now Chromebooks are dominating classrooms with nearly 60% of shipments in the US.
