New Apple iPad Pro release date, price, spec: 12.9 inch tablet with keyboard and stylus unveiled along with iPad Mini 4
Apple has unveiled a new larger iPad, called the iPad Pro, which chief executive Tim Cook has said is "the biggest news in iPad, since the iPad".
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, said the new iPad, which measures 12.9 inches (three inches larger than the current largest iPad) would bring “desktop-class performance” to the tablet.
The iPad Pro also comes with a keyboard and new stylus, called simply Pencil, both of which are produced by Apple. Previously the tech company has tended to leave accessories to third party makers and the addition of a keyboard is similar to Microsoft's Surface tablet.
Here's the spec of the new iPad, revealed so far.
Weight: 1.57lb
Thickness: 6.9mm
Four speakers
Battery life: 10 hours
Pixels: 5.6m
Price: $799 (32GB), $949 (128GB), $1079 (128GB), Apple Pencil $99, Smart Keyboard $169.
Release date: November (exact date as yet unspecified)
“iPad Pro is the most advanced and powerful iPad we have ever made," said Schiller. "Its beautiful and large 12.9-inch Retina display has 5.6m pixels and provides an immersive experience for content and apps. The iPad Pro is far and away the fastest iOS device we have ever made — its A9X chip beats most portable PCs in both CPU and graphics tasks, but is thin and light enough to hold all day,”
Apple has experienced a decline iPad sales, and there has long been rumour of plans for a larger version to boost flagging sales. In the third quarter of this year, Apple shipped 10.93m iPads, falling from an all-time high of 26m in the first quarter of 2014.
The fourth generation of the iPad Mini was also announced, which includes updates such as new, faster, processors, and a better eight megapixel camera.
Here's the Pro in action.