If you thought the newly reborn iPad Air seemed familiar, you're not wrong. A new report shows that the slate features plenty of similarities with Apple's 10.5-inch iPad Pro from 2017.
This news comes from iFixit, whose teardown shows similar exterior features, as the 2019 iPad Air shares the same dimensions and proprietary Smart Connector as that previous iPad Pro. Differences include a dual-speaker setup (as opposed to the Pro's quad-speakers) and a shaved-off camera bump, for a cleaner design.
MORE: Apple iPad Air vs. iPad Mini (2019): Which One Should You Buy?
Inside, the tablets share a structural design, including the placement of their logic boards, a dual-cell 30.8 watt-hour battery, similar touchscreen sensors and chips similar to those that enable support for the Gen 1 Apple Pencil.
And while that might make the new iPad Air seem like a rehash-- as if Apple's selling old parts as new, there's a nice price drop in this re-branded tablet. The new iPad Air costs $499, which is $150 cheaper than the $649 price attached to the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.
Also, the new iPad Air features an A12 Bionic chip, an upgrade from the A10X processor found in the previous-gen iPad Pro. The A12 pushed the Air to a 11,471 on the Geekbench 4 performance benchmark, beating the old iPad Pro's 9,233 score.
This reveal makes some sense, as Apple.com doesn't sell the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, simply stating it's "available at authorized resellers."
