Big news everybody, Apple has introduced a new 9.7-inch iPad. It supports the Apple Pencil, which means students will be able to take notes, draw and more on a growing array of apps. Starting at $329 ($299 for schools), the 1-pound iPad has an A10 processor that offers faster speeds than Apple’s previous generation slate. At $299 there is no reason any student would buy a different tablet.
The new 9.7-inch iPad closely resembling the existing iPad Pro It’ll feature 10 hour battery life and LTE support along with an 8-megapixel HD camera, 9.7-inch Retina display, and the same Apple A10 Fusion chip that powers the iPhone 7. They have added a new dedicated apps for schools, starting with the new Apple School Manager tool that will allow education admins the abilities to manage everything. Apple also teased software features such as smart annotations to help teachers mark up papers, and augmented reality support which will “enable new ways to learn.
Apple also revealed a series of apps for the classroom, such as Schoolwork, and a progress tool called Apple Teacher, allowing users to see what other teachers are working on in the classroom. Meanwhile, its new ClassKit platform allows developers to create puzzles, tests and lesson plans for students.
The new iPad works with the Apple Pencil to support art projects — similar to what comes packaged with the higher-end iPad Pro tablet. “Instead of dissecting frogs … students can dissect frogs with Apple Pencil,” Apple executive Greg “Joz” Joswiak told attendees. This should solve the age old debate and the students holding out in science class once and for all.
What Did Tim Have to Say
Tim Cook took to the stage to discuss Apple’s focus on education, saying: “At Apple we care deeply about education because we love kids and we love teachers”.
Cook said education has been a big part of who Apple is for 40 years. “We had a unique insight into how technology could inspire kids to unleash their creative genius. And we believed that technology could help teachers deliver a unique and personalised learning experience to all kids. We’ve never stopped believe this, and we’ve never stopped working on it.”
He added: “We know our products can help bring out the creative genius in every kid”.
In fact, ”Macs and iPads are used throughout schools by students for everything from music to language arts and even advanced robotics”.
The Final Thought
All in all this is an exciting announcement and should pay dividend in our school systems for years to come. At $299 a vast majority of america can afford to make this jump to better learning. This could be the start to the overhaul our school systems need.
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