Apple has finally updated its iPad with support for Apple Pencil plus, besides giving it a facelift on performance, priced at $329 onwards. The new 9.7-inch iPad and Apple Pencil provides users to be more creative and productive, from sketching ideas to jotting down handwritten notes to marking up screenshots, said the company.

The new iPad features a large Retina display, the A10 Fusion chip and advanced sensors to deliver immersive augmented reality, and provides unmatched portability, ease of use and all-day battery life, claims the company. “iPad is our vision for the future of computing and hundreds of millions of people around the world use it every day at work, in school and for play,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Product Marketing.

The new addition, Apple Pencil, helps users with more creative tools. The new iPad has the A10 Fusion chip, combined with a big Retina display, advanced cameras and sensors that provide AR experience.

The 9.7-inch Retina display features a higher-resolution touch sensor that enables Apple Pencil support. First introduced for iPad Pro, Apple Pencil has become a popular and versatile tool among students, professionals and creatives and is now available to other customers.

Apple Pencil not only gives fluid and natural drawing experience but also its advanced sensors measure both pressure and tilt, and provide pixel-perfect accuracy and low latency for activities from note taking to illustration in apps like Notability, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and Microsoft Office, said the company in a statement.

iPad is also coming with palm rejection technology making it possible to rest your hand on the screen while you use Apple Pencil.

The new iPad features the Apple-designed A10 Fusion chip with 64‑bit desktop-class architecture, delivering 40 percent faster CPU and 50 percent faster graphics performance for seamless multitasking and graphics-intensive apps.

The front- and rear-facing cameras offer exceptional low-light performance and HD video recording for document scanning, moviemaking and FaceTime calls.

iPad is designed for powerful AR apps with its large Retina display, powerful chip, enhanced cameras and advanced sensors.
The new iPad is a stunning, large viewfinder for immersive AR experiences.

Its Retina display, powerful chip, enhanced cameras and advanced sensors, including a gyroscope and accelerometer for accurate motion tracking, are designed to support the next generation of AR apps.

Built for durability and mobility, the new 9.7-inch iPad features an aluminum unibody construction and ultrafast wireless that can deliver two times faster cellular data connections, so it is even easier to stay connected anywhere.

With Apple SIM, customers can connect to wireless data plans right from their device when traveling in more than 180 countries and regions.

iOS 11 makes iPad more capable than ever with features like enhanced multitasking.

iOS 11 introduces powerful new features for iPad. The Dock provides quick access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen, and makes it easier to multitask with Split View and Slide Over.

Drag and Drop makes moving images, text and files between apps easier than ever. Apple Pencil is more deeply integrated into iPad with support for inline drawing.

The Files app provides a central place to access and organize files no matter where they are located — on iPad or in the cloud with built-in support for iCloud Drive and providers like Box, Dropbox and others.

Pricing and Availability

iPad comes in silver, space gray and a new gold finish and starts at an Apple retail price of $329 (US) for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model and $459 (US) for the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model at apple.com and Apple Stores.

It is also available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary).

Apple Pencil is available for purchase separately for $99 (US).

Schools can purchase iPad starting at $299 (US) and Apple Pencil for $89 (US).

iPad is available to order today and starts delivering to customers and arriving in stores later this week in more than 25 countries and regions:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the US.

India, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and other countries and regions will follow in April, with South Korea and other countries and regions following in May.

Smart Covers for iPad are available for $39 (US) in charcoal gray, midnight blue, (RED), white and pink sand at apple.com and Apple Stores.

Every customer who buys iPad from Apple will be offered free Personal Setup, in-store or online, to help them set up email and iMessage, and download apps from the App Store.