Apple iPad 9.7-inch vs iPad Air 2 vs iPad Pro 9.7-inch: a specs comparison

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No, you're not dreaming - Apple just announced a new tablet. We can't say it came out of the blue since we were somewhat expecting a similar device announcement for this week, but anyways, the newest slate from Cupertino is here and it's called the... iPad 9.7-inch and will go for $329. 

If its name is ambiguous enough for you, make no mistake - the iPad 9.7-inch comes with 9.7-inch Retina display that is brighter than the one on the Air 2 but dons the same resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. There are close to no changes on the outside, but that's not an issue given that the most important change is inside the slate. It comes with a 64-bit A9 chipset, which is way faster than the one inside the new iPad's predecessor. That's a win, no?

To put things into perspective, we thought it will be neat to compare new versus old and see what the fuss with that fresh iPad 9.7-inch is all about. Here goes:

Apple iPad 9.7-inch Apple iPad Air 2 Apple iPad Pro 9.7-inch

Design

Dimensions
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.30 inches
240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.24 inches
240 x 169.5 x 6.1 mm
9.4 x 6.6 x 0.24 inches
238.8 x 167.6 x 6.1 mm
Weight
16.86 oz / 478.0 g 15.41 oz / 437.0 g 15.66 oz / 444.0 g
Materials
Back: Aluminum Back: Aluminum Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Right: Volume control Right: Volume control Right: Volume control
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver Gold, Gray, Silver Gold, Gray, Pink

Display

Size
9.7-inch, 71.65% screen-to-body 9.7-inch, 71.65% screen-to-body 9.7-inch, 72.80% screen-to-body
Type
IPS LCD IPS LCD IPS LCD
Resolution
2048x1536px, 4:3 ratio, 264 PPI 2048x1536px, 264 PPI 2048x1536px, 4:3 ratio, 264 PPI
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Apple A9 APL0898 (16 nm) Apple A8X Apple A9X APL1021 (16 nm)
Processor
Dual-core
1850 MHz
Twister
Triple-core
1500 MHz
Cyclone
Dual-core
2260 MHz
Twister
GPU
PowerVR GT7600 PowerVR GXA6850 PowerVR Series 7XT
Memory
2GB (LPDDR4)
2GB/32GB
2GB/128GB
2GB (LPDDR3)/128GB
2GB/16GB
2GB/64GB
2GB/128GB
2GB (LPDDR4)/256GB
2GB/32GB
2GB/128GB
2GB/256GB
OS
iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x) iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x) iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x)

Battery

Type
8827 mAh, Li - Polymer 7340 mAh 7306 mAh, Li - Polymer

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Pixel size: 1.1 μm
8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 31 mm
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 29 mm
Sensor size: 1/3"
Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
Dual LED
Video recording
1080p (30 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
1080p (30 fps), 720p (120 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (120 fps), 720p (240 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
1.2 MP (HDR)
Video capture: 720p
1.2 MP
Video capture: 720p (30 fps)
5 MP (HDR)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.0 4.2
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
Lightning Lightning Lightning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Other
UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers Multiple speakers Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share TV-out
Additional microphone(s)
Yes Video recording

Cellular

4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41 38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands
5, 8, 4, 2, 1 5, 8, 4, 2, 1 5, 8, 4, 2, 1
Data Speed
LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s) LTE, HSPA, UMTS LTE, HSPA, HSUPA, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Flight mode, Silent mode
Other features
Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Oct 16, 2014
FCC ID value: BCGA1566
Measured SAR
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Mar 21, 2017 Oct 16, 2014 Mar 21, 2016
Prices (MSRP)
$559 $829 $1029




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