Apple iPad Air 3, iPad mini 5 with A12 Bionic SoC, Pencil support launched: Top facts

Cupertino-based technology behemoth Apple was slated to host a big event at Steve Jobs Theater on March 25, where new iPads along with the announcement of foraying in to the multimedia streaming service business, but to everyone's surprise unveiled the new generation tablets—iPad Air (3^rd gen) and iPad mini (5^th gen) a week before the D-Day.

The new iPad Air holds on to some key aspects of the predecessor such as the Touch ID, but is incorporated with a powerful processor, improved camera and also comes with support for Apple Pencil, which will greatly benefit professional users and to children for learning educational concepts from apps like Froggipedia and others.

The iPad Air (3^rd gen) features a 10.5-inch retina display, Apple's proprietary A12 Bionic with M12 coprocessor and embedded Neural engine, which will make the device work buttery smooth be it playing graphics-rich Augmented Reality (AR) gaming, using multiple apps, watching HD videos and several other tasks.

"With the A12 Bionic chip with Apple's Neural Engine, the new iPad Air delivers a 70-percent boost in performance and twice the graphics capability, and the advanced Retina display with True Tone technology is nearly 20-percent larger with over half a million more pixels," the company says.

It also comes with a big battery, which offers up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‐Fi, watching the video, or listening to music. The new iPad Air also comes with 8MP primary shooter on the back and a 7MP FaceTime camera for video chatting.

On the other hand, the iPad mini (5^th gen) too, features similar hardware seen in the new iPad Air, but as the same suggests comes in smaller 7.9-inch Retina display.

Like its bigger sibling, the new iPad mini with Apple A12 Bionic is a powerful multitasking machine, delivering three times the performance and nine times faster graphics. The advanced Retina display with True Tone technology and wide colour support is 25 percent brighter and has the highest pixel density of any iPad, delivering an immersive visual experience in any setting.

And with Apple Pencil support, the new iPad mini is the perfect companion of youth or professionals, take-anywhere notepad for sketching and jotting down thoughts on the go.

Apple iPad Air and iPad mini price and availability details:

The new iPad mini and iPad Air come in silver, space grey and gold finishes in 64GB and 256GB configurations. The new iPad mini starts at Rs 34,900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 45,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model and the 10.5-inch iPad Air starts at Rs 44,900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 55,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

Apple has not officially revealed the release date, but the new iPads are expected to be made available for purchase in April.

Besides the new iPad Air and the mini, the company is offering Apple Pencil (1st generation) for Rs 8500. The Smart Keyboard for the 10.5-inch iPad Air is available for purchase separately for Rs 3500 with layouts for over 30 languages, including simplified Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

There is also Polyurethane Smart Covers available for Rs 3500 for iPad mini and Rs 3700 for iPad Air in charcoal grey, white, pink sand and new papaya, with additional Leather Smart Covers available for iPad Air in black, saddle brown, midnight blue and red.

Key specifications of Apple iPad Air 3rd Gen and iPad mini 5th Gen: