Every new iPad now works with Apple Pencil – Updated iPad Air and Mini announced

After a long long wait, Apple have updated the iPad Mini and introduced Apple Pencil support across the entire iPad range.

Two new iPads were announced overnight, though not at a keynote event – which poses the question – will there be any hardware at next week’s event? Interesting!

The new 10.5 inch iPad Air sits above the standard iPad on size, and performance and will kick off at $779 in a 64GB configuration with the 4G capable model coming in at $979.

At $599 the iPad Mini is still more expensive than the basic “iPad” ($469), but packs a whole lot more power with the A12 chip and like the iPad Air is just 6.1mm thick.

“The iPad continues to provide magical new experiences for a growing range of uses where it is the absolute best device, from playing games in augmented reality to note-taking and drawing with Apple Pencil, from streaming HD movies and editing 4K films to learning to develop apps with Swift Playgrounds,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“Today the iPad family takes two big leaps forward with an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Air that brings high-end size, features and performance at a breakthrough price, and a major upgrade to the 7.9-inch iPad mini, which also brings Apple Pencil, Retina display and the A12 Bionic chip to the many customers that love its compact size.”

Both the new iPad Air and iPad Mini feature compatibility with the original Apple Pencil ($145) along with the standard iPad, while the iPad Pro models both support the updated (and more expensive) Apple Pencil second generation ($199)

They are in store now.

As of today, the full iPad range is:

• iPad : 9.7inch from $469
• iPad Mini : 7.9 inch from $599
• iPad Air : 10.5inch from $779
• iPad Pro : 11 inch from $1,229
• iPad Pro : 12.9 Inch from $1,529