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Apple set to update iPad lineup at Chicago education event

The new iPad measure in at 9.7-inches and notably includes Apple Pencil support, a feature typically kept exclusive to Apple’s iPad Pro line.

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At its “Let’s take a field trip” event in a Chigaco high school, Apple launched the brand new 9.7-inch iPad.

That’s right, these things which were announced today, are already available for purchase on Apple Canada’s website. Apple’s 501 stores in 21 countries have already taught almost 5,000 hands-on Teacher Tuesday sessions on topics including coding and app design, movie and music creation, and presentations or spreadsheets.

It’s been rumoured for several months that Apple was considering releasing a low-priced iPad.

None of Apple’s spokespersons said anything about how much system memory was present in the new iPad, but we imagine it’s the same 2 GB as the last model.

Every time before any Apple event, there generally is a pool of speculation in which various leaks and rumors float and people fish out the ideas they like or would want to see turned into reality. Tim Cook talked about iPads’ popularity in schools and efforts to bring coding classes to community colleges, along with the Everyone Can Code initiative including Swift Playgrounds. The app also lets teachers monitor student progress, including completion percentages and student-specific views of completed work.

“More and more Apple Pencil Apps just keep coming”, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of product marketing. Unlike Chromebooks, which automatically update over Wi-Fi, come with physical keyboards, and routinely sell for as little as $200, iPads require active maintenance, lack keyboards, and cost more for schools to procure-usually $300 per unit.

Last year, Apple surprised the market by lowering the base price of its 9.7-inch iPad.

Apple made up just 17 percent of the K-12 US educational market in the third quarter, according to data from Futuresource Consulting.

The company announced a new collection of spring Apple Watch band colours on March 21, which may go on sale following Tuesday’s event.

Tech giant Apple introduced on Tuesday a new powerful – and affordable – iPad that’s geared for teachers and students.

Specifically, Kuo adds that new Apple Watch models will likely feature improved battery life and a “15% bigger display size”.

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Missing from the new iPad is the iPad Pro’s keyboard connection, which seems like a odd thing to miss out, given the amount of typing students are likely to do on a school-issued iPad. “Privacy is integral to everything we do at Apple… it is something we are very passionate about”.

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