Apple today announced a new ninth-generation iPad at its "California Streaming" event, which features an A13 Bionic chip offering up to 20% faster performance, a True Tone display, an upgraded front camera, and more.
The new iPad features an upgraded 12MP ultra-wide front camera with Center Stage, which uses machine learning to automatically detect people in the frame, panning and zooming to keep them in view during FaceTime calls. The feature recognizes when other people join or exit a call, adjusting the camera position to fit everyone in.
With the A13 Bionic chip, Apple claims the new iPad is up to three times faster than the top-selling Chromebook and six times faster than the top-selling Android tablets.
All models will ship with iPadOS 15, which introduces a new Home Screen design with integrated widgets and the App Library, system-wide fast note-taking with Quick Note, new features for FaceTime calls, a redesigned Safari experience, new tools to reduce distractions, and more.
The new iPad starts at $329 or $299 for education customers, while the Wi-Fi plus cellular model starts at $459. Additionally, the iPad now starts with 64GB of storage, and there's also a new 256GB storage option available. All models can be ordered starting today on the Apple online store with availability starting on Friday, September 24.
