The new $329 iPad with Wi-Fi and 32GB of storage is the cheapest 9.7-inch iPad yet. But iFixit claims that this tablet isn't that new at all, calling it a "throwback that's "under specced."
Should you believe that?
Besides having Touch ID and being equipped with a new A9 chip, iFixit says the new iPad is not any different from the iPad Air, which was launched four years ago. On the surface, Apple's move here seems reminiscent of last year's introduction of the iPhone SE, which looked an awful lot like the iPhone 5, albeit with newer innards.
But you probably shouldn't write off these internal changes. For starters, the A9 chip is designed to be 2 to 3 times faster than the A7X in the ancient iPad Air, while also being more efficient. That should result in longer battery life.
In addition, the screen in the new iPad is 25 percent brighter than the iPad Air 2. In fact, iFixit later tweeted that they measured 44 percent higher brightness than the iPad Air 1.
Our advice. Don't trust this teardown as sound buying advice. We'll have our full review of the new iPad sometime next week with our own test results.
