Redesigned iPad Mini, new base iPad and Watch Series 7

The iPhone 13 lineup might have taken the spotlight today, but there are also other new announcements for Tim Cook and friends. They’ve made minor upgrades for the base iPad and the new Apple Watch that’s now in its 7th generation, but another tablet had a major revamp.

iPad Mini

The smallest iPad now follows the design of its more expensive sibling, the iPad Pro. It does away with the Home button and now features a bigger 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, narrower bezels, flat sides, and a Touch ID power button up top. 

The sole accessory infront is the new ultra wide camera that’s also capable of Center Stage. It’s a feature that takes advantage of the wide view so that it can digitally pan and zoom with the user that’s speaking. If another speaker enters the frame that it detects, it would zoom out to include them. The rear camera is also improved with a larger aperture and now has True Tone flash for more natural images even with the artificial light. 

USB-C also made its way into the iPad Mini which is 10x faster than the old Lightning connector. It also now supports Apple Pencil 2, giving it more versatility for more kinds of people.

It’s powered by the same processor as the iPhone 13 Pro line which is the A15 Bionic with 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and 16-core Neural engine. 

The new iPad Mini will be available in purple, pink, space gray, and starlight and will start at P29,990. 

2021 iPad

The cheapest iPad in the lineup gets a slight boost courtesy of Apple’s parts bin. It now has an A13 Bionic processor which is 20% faster than the previous, despite not being the latest processor in the lineup. It also gets the Center Stage feature in its 12mp front camera with ultra-wide lens. 

It still has the same look and dimensions as before, so users won’t have to worry about new investment for accessories should they desire to upgrade. 

The new iPad will ship with the latest iPadOS 15 but will come with one less color option. Apple dropped the Rose Gold and is now only available in Space Gray or Silver. But it now has double the storage as it starts with 64GB but is still priced P19,990. 

Apple Watch Series 7

The new Series 7 is designed for people who are more outgoing and rugged with their activities with the Apple Watch. It has a 50% thicker crack-resistant front crystal to withstand more harsh surroundings. It still has WR50 water resistance but new is the IP6X dust resistance for added durability. 

As the screen got thicker, it called for a slight change. The corners are now more rounded, and the display itself goes slightly over the edges while the bezels are 40% thinner on all sides. 

It still has the 18-hour battery life as the Series 6 but Apple improved on the charging time that’s now 33% faster. 

The new Apple Watch Series 7 is available in five new colors – green, blue, (PRODUCT) RED, starlight, and midnight. There’s no official pricing for the Philippines yet but Apple announced a $399 SRP for the US.