Apple kicked off its hardware event today by revealing two updated iPads that improve upon existing models. The base, 10.2-inch iPad may look the same as the previous version, but it packs better performance and a more advanced camera. The new iPad mini, on the other hand, has been completely redesigned to look like a smaller iPad Pro. Here's how you can pre-order both the new 10.2-inch iPad and the new iPad mini.

10.2-inch iPad

Apple

The updated 10.2-inch iPad is available to pre-order today from Apple starting at $329 and will be widely available on September 24.

Similarly to last year, Apple focused on updating the internals of this iPad rather than its design. Inside is a A13 Bionic chipset with neural engine, which the company claims will provide 20 percent better performance than the previous tablet. The other major update is the new 12MP ultra wide, front-facing camera that supports Apple's Center Stage feature. This allows the camera to automatically pan and zoom to keep you in focus during video calls even as you move around. Apple debuted this feature on the latest iPad Pros and now even those opting for the most budget-friendly iPad can get that advanced feature.

The base iPad still has 10.2-inch Retina display but it now supports TrueTone, which will make it easier on the eyes. It still has a physical Home button on its bottom edge and it still supports the first-generation Apple Pencil for those that want to doodle and take notes with the tablet. Notably, the base configuration comes with double the storage than the previous model — 64GB instead of 32GB — which was a much-needed update.

iPad mini

Apple

The updated iPad mini is available to pre-order today from Apple starting at $499 and will be widely available on September 24.

Apple needed to give the iPad mini some love. The company's smallest tablet received a minor update two years ago, and hadn't received a big update for three years before that. So the 2021 iPad mini represents the biggest change for the compact tablet in roughly five years, and Apple essentially made it look like a tiny version of its iPad Pros. It has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display that extends almost edge-to-edge, and that means the physical Home button is gone. Apple move its TouchID technology to the top button on this tablet, which makes it similar to the iPad Air. It also supports the second-generation Apple Pencil and the accessory can magnetically attach to the mini's side, just as it does with the iPad Pros.

The new iPad mini also has the 12MP ultra wide, front-facing camera found on the base iPad, which means Center Stage calls will be available on this device, too. The rear camera is a new 12MP shooter with Focus Pixels, True Tone flash and the ability to take Smart HDR photos.

Inside the iPad mini is the A15 Bionic chip, which has a six-core CPU and a five-core GPU, and Apple promises 40 percent better performance out of this slab than the previous version. It also has the neural engine which makes for more efficient machine-learning experiences. It'll come in WiFi and WiFi + Cellular versions and it now supports WiFi 6 and 5G connectivity. Another small yet important change is in the iPad mini's charging method — gone is the old Lightning port, as it's been replaced with a USB-C port for faster, more efficient charging.

By this time most kids have gone back to school and, here at Engadget, it’s time to get back to the phone grind. First up on the slate of fall announcements is Apple with the latest iteration of the iPhone, and this time around it’s got A15 Bionic and a bigger batter to tempt you to upgrade. But for dedicated Android users, are those enough to make the switch? We’ve squared off the specs of the iPhone 13 against Samsung’s Galaxy S20 and the OnePlus 9, though you’ll have to wait for our full review in a few weeks for the final verdict.

Apple’s iOS 15, iPad OS 15 and watchOS 8 updates are dropping September 20th, days ahead of iPhone 13 lineup. The latest version of iOS adds new features for FaceTime and Messages, smarter notifications and a new LiveText feature.

With the update, iPhone and iPad owners can take advantage of FaceTime improvements, including the addition of spatial audio and noise reduction features to eliminate distracting background sounds, The revamped Messages app adds a new “shared with you” feature that makes it easier to track photos, music and news articles that are shared in chats with a dedicated section for shared content.

Apple is also changing up its notifications, with new tools to control how and when you receive push alerts. New “Focus” modes, allow you to tune out all alerts except for apps and people you specifically want to hear from, and you can set specific profiles for working, sleeping and other activities. These profiles can also change the arrangement of apps on your home screen based on the apps you’re most likely to use throughout the day.

One of the more intriguing features of iOS 15 is Live Text, which uses the camera to scan your surroundings and surface relevant information. If you point it at a whiteboard, for example, it could pull out the written text for you to share. It could also identify art, landmarks, plants and pets.

Notably, the initial release won’t include Apple’s new SharePlay features, which is expected in a later update. The company also recently confirmed it would delay iOS 15’s most controversial features: the planned child safety update that will allow the company to detect illegal child abuse imagery on users’ devices. Apple said earlier this month it was delaying the changes in order to “make improvements” to the widely-criticized system.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

The iPhone 13 could make your mobile footage look a lot more like Hollywood films. Apple's new phones feature cinematic mode, which can mimic the focus capabilities from professional cameras. It can automatically focus your video scenes on specific subjects — for example, making someone in the foreground look completely clear, while everyone in the background is blurred out. Even better, cinematic mode is smart enough to push focus to someone in the background if a foreground character looks at them. And, of course, you'll also be able to manually choose focus points if you want.

Apple

Apple says cinematic mode is possible thanks to the iPhone 13's A15 Bionic processor. As usual, the company claims it's far faster than competing mobile chips (50-percent better, in this case), which opens the door for entirely new software features. The iPhone 13's camera also has optical image stabilization tech from last year's 12 Pro Max, along with far better sensors, all of which help make cinematic mode possible. 

It's unclear just how advanced cinematic mode is at this point. But if it works as advertised, it could be a major upgrade for home videos and pros looking to shoot with iPhones. Professionals can also take their footage to another level with the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, both of which support ProRes video. 

At this point, it looks like cinematic mode could go the way of portrait capabilities, a feature that every smartphone maker will race to replicate. (And yes, we know that first arrived on Android phones.)

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

As we expected, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 13 series at its "California Streaming" event today, and they include a pair of more-premium Pro flagships. Tim Cook called the series the "most Pro iPhone ever," and the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have larger, faster screens, smaller notches and new designs.

Most significantly, Apple is bringing a new Super Retina XDR display with 1,000 nits of brightness for better outdoor reading. The company said this is the brightest screen on iPhone ever, and it's 25 percent higher than before. It's also the first time the company's ProMotion is available on iPhone, bringing adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz to the Pro series. Most phones in the market with similar refresh rates also use adopt adaptive displays to increase speeds for smoother scrolling when you're doing things that benefit from it more, like scrolling or playing games. When you're just looking at static images, the refresh rates drop to as low as 10Hz.

Like the regular and mini iPhone 13s, the Pro series also use the company's new A15 Bionic chipset that brings improved graphics and neural processing, as well as new video encoder and decoders. With the updated CPU, Apple also added camera features like a Cinematic Mode for video capture, which is powered by machine learning for intelligent focusing on the fly.

Apple

The company also upgraded the Pro's camera system, bringing better hardware like a new 77mm telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, as well as a new ultrawide setup with autofocus and a larger f/1.8 aperture. This will yield a 92-percent improvement in low light, Apple said. As for the primary "wide" camera, it now features a f/1.5 aperture and 1.9-micron pixels, for what the company said is its largest sensor yet. 

Combined with improved image signal processing through the A15 Bionic chipset, the iPhone 13 Pro cameras can shoot at up to 6x optical zoom with macro photography support as well. For the first time, too, Apple's ProRes for full-resolution editing will be supported on the iPhone on this year's Pro models.

The iPhone 13 Pro series also features "the most pro design," according to the company, and comes in four colors, including a new Sierra Blue hue. Its front has a 20 percent smaller camera system, and stainless steel trim that surrounds the sapphire crystal lenses on the rear triple sensors. It's also rated IP68 for water resistant, while the internals have been redesigned, like the regular iPhones.

The A15 Bionic chip is also supposed to bring better battery performance, and the company promised the iPhone 13 Pro Max will last 2.5 hours more than last year's model, making it the longest-lasting iPhone ever. The iPhone 13 Pro is supposed to see a 1.5 hour boost compared to the iPhone 12 Pro. As for the specifics: the iPhone 13 Pro has a 6.1-inch screen while the Pro Max sports a 6.7-inch display, and they start at $999. The new phones will be available on September 24th, with pre-orders starting Friday the 17th.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

The iPhone mini is staying in Apple's lineup for at least another year. At its California Streaming event, the company announced its base model iPhone will once again come in two sizes. And like its bigger sibling, the iPhone 13 mini features the company's latest system-on-a-chip, the A15 Bionic. According to Apple, the 5nm chip includes nearly 15 billion transistors. 

Critically, Apple claims battery life is noticeably improved on its latest iPhones, particularly on the new mini model. Compared to its predecessor, the company says most users should get an hour and a half of additional battery from the iPhone 13 mini. That increase in uptime comes courtesy of the phone's A15 Bionic chip, more efficient internal components and software optimizations the company has made under the hood.    

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Apple isn't worried about 13 being an unlucky number. The company just unveiled its latest generation of smartphones, the iPhone 13, and is giving us the rundown on all the changes to this year's models right now. Unsurprisingly, it looks nearly identical to last year's iPhone 12, but our first glimpse of it showed a 20 percent smaller notch on the front for Face ID as well as a redesigned back camera module — but by and large, it's visually nearly identical to the iPhone 12.

More crucially, the iPhone 13 also has a bigger battery, something that should be welcome for both phones, particularly the iPhone 13 mini. Yep, Apple is keeping the smaller phone around this year. Both phones also have brighter displays this year, but Apple says most iPhone 13 mini users will get an extra 1.5 hours of usage, while the standard iPhone 13 will last 2.5 hours longer than the iPhone 12. Given that battery life was probably one of the biggest downsides of last year's iPhones, this should give users a little relief.

As usual, the new iPhone features Apple's latest A-series chip, and this year it's the A15 Bionic processor. It's a 5nm chip with nearly 15 billion transistors that Apple says is 50 percent faster than its competition.

As for the cameras, Apple has a new wide camera sensor and lens; Apple says its the largest camera sensor it has ever put into a dual-camera system on its phones, and it has bigger pixels than the prior phone. The iPhone 13 is also getting the sensor-shift optical image stabilization system that first came to the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year — having this system available on a much more inexpensive phone will be a nice boost. There's also a new ultra-wide camera sensor, as well.

Apple has made a video a big focus in recent years, and that's the case with the iPhone 13 as well. The company is showing off a new mode called "cinematic mode," but they haven't said exactly what that's all about yet. We did get to see it in action in a clip they showed, and it seems that it lets the camera move focus seamlessly between the foreground and background. As Apple says, focus transitions will move focus automatically and follow character's attention so that it knows where to direct your attention. Naturally, you can still tap to change focus at any time.

5G support for the iPhone 13 has been expanded, as well — the antenna system works on more carriers than ever. By the end of the year, Apple says 5G will work on 200 carriers in 60 countries.

As for pricing, Apple kept things the same this year: the iPhone 13 mini starts at $699, while the iPhone 13 starts at $799. Both phones come with 128GB of storage (doubled from a year ago), which is another major upgrade over last year's model. Somewhat surprisingly, Apple didn't say when the iPhone 13 would arrive — but maybe we'll hear about that after the iPhone 13 Pro update.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

After two and a half years without a refresh, Apple is at long last revamping the iPad mini. The 8.3-inch all-screen device has slimmer bezels and rounded corners, and it leaves no space for a physical Home button. As with last year's iPad Air, you'll now find the Touch ID sensor in the power button. The Lightning port is gone too, with a USB-C port taking its place.

The screen is a liquid retina display with 500 nits of brightness, a P3 wide color gamut, anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone, and full lamination. The iPad Mini now has stereo speakers, so watching video on it could be much better this time around.

Apple has moved the volume buttons to the top of the device, and there's an intriguing reason for that. The latest tablet can accommodate a second-gen Apple Pencil.

Apple

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Apple introduced a brand new iPad today, and one of its biggest features is that it ships with an A13 Bionic chip. Apple promises that it has a 20 percent faster performance than the previous iPad, from the CPU, GPU and the Neural Engine. The company also claims that the new iPad is three times faster than the top-selling Chromebook and six times faster than the top-selling Android tablet. 

The new iPad also features a new front-facing 12-megapixel Ultra Wide camera that is especially useful for video calls. It has a 122-degree field-of-view and comes with Center Stage, a tech that we've already seen in Apple's iPad Pro. Similar to the tech on Facebook's Portal devices, Center Stage automatically detects people and dynamically adjusts the frame as you move around, or as more people join the call. The tech works in both portrait and landscape mode. 

This Center Stage feature works not just on Facetime but in other video apps too, like Zoom, Bluejeans and WebEx. Plus, the tech isn't just for video calls. Users can also utilize the tech to record, stream and publish videos to apps like DoubleTake, Explain Everything and TikTok. 

It will have a 10.2-inch Retina display with True Tone, which adjusts the screen content to the color temperature of your surroundings. 

The iPad will support existing accessories like Apple's Smart Keyboard and the first-generation Apple Pencil. 

Developing...

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.

Apple's iPhone 13 event is finally here, and you'll have multiple ways to watch — including after the big show. You can watch the company's "California Streaming" presentation at 1PM Eastern either below or on the company's YouTube channel. It's also available through the Apple website or the Apple TV app on supporting devices. And don't forget to check Engadget's YouTube channel after the event. We'll have a live recap of the announcements as well as a dose of witty commentary.

The iPhone 13 family will likely be the highlight, with rumors hinting at a 120Hz, always-on display (at least for Pro models) with a smaller notch. You could also see camera upgrades, the usual speed improvements, a 1TB storage option and even emergency satellite calls. Not that the iPhone will necessarily be the only star. Many also expect an Apple Watch Series 7 with a brand new case design, and you might see third-generation AirPods as well as new iPads. It's safe to say you'll want to tune in if you're interested in upgrading your Apple gear this fall.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s iPhone event right here.