Today, Apple announced the latest version of both the iPad and the Apple TV. While the upgrades to both devices may not be as earth shattering as previous Apple announcements, there’s plenty to love about what they’ve done. Read on for a brief summary of the notable improvements. If you’d like to learn about the devices in more detail, check out the video of Apple’s iPad media event.
iPad
The new iPad is available for pre-order today, and the pricing structure hasn’t really changed. Physically, the new iPad (and yes, it’s back to just ‘iPad’ now, as opposed to ‘iPad 3’) doesn’t look all that different from the iPad 2. But, of course, there are some notable changes on the inside:
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Souped-Up Display: The new iPad boasts a Retina display, which means that the screen resolution has improved to 2048 x 1536. In layman's terms, the new display is awesome, and based on Apple's marketing decisions (they call the new iPad 'resolutionary') this is the improvement they most want to stress.
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Improved Processor and Graphics: The new tablet includes Apple's latest mobile CPU, the A5X dual core processor. Oh, and there's a quad-core graphics chip to back up the improved display.
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LTE Support: As expected, you can get the new iPad with 4G LTE support, depending on your carrier's stipulations.
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Siri (Dictation Only): While the new iPad doesn't include the full version of the Siri personal assistant included in the iPhone 4S, it does contain the portion of the software that lets you use voice dictaton to talk instead of type.
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Improved Camera: The iPad's 5 megapixel back camera got a boost with a 5-element lens. Oh, and it shoots 1080p HD video.
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iPhoto for iPad: Along with the improved camera, there's now an iPhoto app available for the iPad, which allows you to do photo editing right on the tablet.
Apple TV
As we've mentioned before, we're big fans of the Apple TV. And the new version (still only $99), while still similar to its 2010 predecessor, does boast a couple notable changes:
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1080p HD Video: That's right, the new Apple TV will give you full 1080p HD video, which is a welcome improvement.
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Updated User Interface: The new device's user interface is certainly an upgrade, and the new feel looks a lot like iOS.