ow in its seventh generation, the “most popular” iPad that Apple sells has grown from 9.7- to 10.2-inches, ships with iPadOS and added a connector to support the company’s still-pricey keyboard add-on.
iFixit has attacked the new model with their assortment of tools, and found that despite the new size, inside it’s still very similar to the previous model. Unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max, for example, which made room for a larger battery than ever before, this new iPad has a unit that’s the same size as its predecessor at 8,827mAh or 32.9 watt hours, and presumably relies on other tweaks to the hardware and software to achieve its extra hour of estimated battery life.
The new iPad does include 3GB of RAM, an extra gig compared to the sixth gen models, and nice to have at its $329 starting price. The display is obviously larger, and iFixit notes that it’s still set up for easier replacements than the unit used on Apple’s Pro tablets, if you’re into DIY repairs. The iPad doesn’t make for as exciting of a teardown as smaller units, but it’s still new for 2019.
