The competition brought by Google in classrooms is now forcing Apple to unveil a new product that will allow them to compete in the education market.
The Cupertino-based tech firm introduces a cheaper new iPad, with a selling point being optimized for schools. It was recently unveiled at an educational event, which focused on the number of uses of the iPad for schools.
iPad For Schools
Apple started the educational event, emphasizing the different uses of the new iPad in schools. It brought out educators and demoed the latest features, including the apps that will available for the device.
The 9.7-inch iPad will be sold to schools for only $299 and it will be available to the rest of potential buyers for $329. Apple emphasized that this is its most affordable iPad ever.
The new iPad will also feature a support for the Apple Pencil, which costs an additional $99. It comes with a third-party support for the $49 Logitech Crayon as well.
Other than support for the Apple Pencil, the new iPad boasts a 10-hour battery life, an 8-megapixel camera, LTE option, A10 Fusion chip, GPS, and compass. The new chip makes the device more powerful than most laptops and its main rival, Google's Chromebook.
All three iWork apps are loaded on the iPads for free. This is viewed as Apple's biggest push into the education market since Google began gobbling it up with its Chromebooks.
Integration
Apple stated that the uses for the new iPad include the revamp of existing apps. Students will now be receiving a free 200 GB of storage on iCloud, and it's a huge leap from the free 5 GB in the past.
One of the features that it markets heavily is the augmented reality. During the presentation, Apple referred to iOS as the biggest AR platform in the world. It showcased the apps Boulevard AR that lets users see the art up close and Free Rivers by the World Wildlife Fund that shows how changes in the environment can have an impact.
Another one of the showcased apps is the Froggipedial that shows how students are able to dissect a virtual frog using the Apple Pencil.
Since the iPads will be used in school, they will feature multiuser support. They will be managed using Apple School Manager, which will use Apple IDs.
Another new feature added to Pages is called Smart Annotation. Teachers will be able to mark reports done on Pages directly, and those notes will be anchored to the specific word that is being marked.
Consumers can purchase the new iPad starting Tuesday, March 27, and is set to begin shipping this week.
