Apple
turns 40 on April 1, and it celebrated a little early by announcing a
new iPhone and a new iPad Pro, both smaller than their predecessors.
iPhone SE
The
iPhone SE sports a 4-inch screen (like the iPhone 5s that it replaces),
but inside it has the guts (including the 64-bit A9 chip) of an iPhone
6s. That means, according to Apple VP Greg Joswiak, the same performance
as the 6s and twice that of the 5s (with a claimed 3X boost in
graphics), while also improving battery life.
Joswiak
rattled off a laundry list of other improvements: A better camera (with
a 12 megapixel sensor and support for the Live Photos feature that
turns still shots into mini-videos); 50% faster cellular data speeds;
and more.
The
SE will come in two configurations: 16GB and 64GB. The first is free
with a two-year contract; if you choose an installment plan, it’d be $17
a month. The 64GB, meanwhile, lists for $499. Both are available for
pre-order on March 24th and they go on sale the 31st.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also noted that the latest version of iOS — 9.3 — is now available as a free update.
iPad Pro
The
company also introduced a new version of its iPad Pro tablet. As with
the iPhone SE, this new iPad Pro packs the power of the company’s
full-sized models into a smaller package.
The
new iPad Pro has a 9.7-inch screen, compared to the original’s 12.9
display. That screen is just as sharp (264 pixels per inch) as its
bigger sibling. Apple reps say the new iPad Pro’s screen is brighter and
less reflective and produces truer colors than the iPad Air 2. And it
now pulls the same nifty trick as plain paper: It adjusts its color
temperature based on the ambient light. The drop in screen-size
predictably produces a lighter iPad: less than a pound (compared to the
1.5 pounds of the full-size model).
But
the new iPad Pro’s other specs are full-sized: Inside, it relies on the
same 64-bit A9X chip as the original. Like the iPhone SE, the iPad gets
a new 12 megapixel camera, which can shoot Live Photos and 4K video.
The new iPad Pro also supports the popular Apple Pencil, and there’s a
new, appropriately sized Smart Keyboard cover.
The
base 32GB model costs $599; the 128GB and a new 256GB configuration
costs $749 and $899, respectively. As with the iPhone SE, preorders for
the new iPad Pros start March 24th, and they’ll ship on March 31st.
