Tim Cook took to the stage in San Francisco to unveil the next iPad in front of the world's top tech jounalists. Like most Apple keynotes Cook waxed lyrical about Apple's continued success in the post-pc world.
"We think that iPad is the poster child of the post-PC world," said Cook. "The momentum behind iPad has been incredible and it has surprised virtually everyone.
"When we set out to create the iPad we set out to create not just a new product but a new category. In order to do that, the iPad had to be the best device for doing some of the things that you do most often. This is remarkable for a device that has been on the market for less than two years."
Tim Cook, surprisingly, stepped aside to let Phil Schiller, Head of Marketing, to take centre stage to unveil the new iPad. Schiller announced that the new iPad screen would indeed be a “Retina Display”. The screen will come with a resoloution of 2048×1536 and contains a total of 3.1 million pixels at 264ppi, although not as high as the iPhone 4S. Apple is claiming, though, a major breakthrough in the iPad's Retina Display, lifted the pixels out of the signal paths so there's no interference in communication, basically a sub-pixel.
Cook said: “When a screen becomes this good, colors become more vibrant, words are pin-sharp, everything is more brilliant.”
Schiller told that audience that the new iPad will come with a new iSight camera on the rear. Schiller declared the new camera is the best you’ll find on any tablet. The rear camera is a 5-megapixel snapper, capable of capturing 1080p videos. The camera comes with some nifty tricks: auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-face detection, great edge-to-edge detail, AF-lock – with Cook declaring: "It is just a blast to use."
For the first time in its history Apple is supporting new 4G LTE technology meaning users will be able to enjoy in the increased speed of 4G networks up to 72Mbps.
"It's no small feat," said Schiller. "This new iPad has the most wireless bands that has ever shipped."
Another new feature: voice dictation, powered by a microphone. There’s a new key on the bottom of the device to trigger it. Voice dictation supports US English, British English, Australian, French, German and Japanese.
Despite the new screen and 4G capability the new iPad will boasts 10 hours of battery life and 9 hours on 4G. Incredibly the new tablet is the same thickness of the last: 9.4mm. It weighs 1.4lbs and will cost the same price as before.
$499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599 and 64GB for $699. If you want 4G it's $629, $729 and $829. Same prices as current iPad, available on March 16 in US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan.
Apple also announced the heavily rumoured Apple TV. Apple boss Tim Cook took to the stage before the iPad announcement to unveil the new $99 Apple TV – which will now run at 1080p and uses iOS.
Cook showed off the new interface which has five new buttons: movies, TV shows, music, computers and settings. You’re able to back up movies to the iCloud.
Meanwhile, Apple announced operating system iOS 5.1, which goes live today. It brings Japanese language support for Siri too.
UPDATE: Apple has confirmed the new iPad prices for the UK.
Wi-Fi:
- £399 16GB
- £479 32GB
- £559 64GB
Wi-Fi + 4G:
- £499 16GB
- £579 32GB
- £659 64GB
The iPad 2 is now: Wi-Fi £329 16GB; Wi-Fi + 3G £429 16GB.
