Apple reveals iPad Mini AND iPad 4

The iPad Mini. Well, that’s not a surprise, is it? But the new iPad 4? We admit – we had no idea that one was coming.

But first the new machine. The new mid-range device boasts a 7.9 inch screen (compared to the iPhone 5’s four inch screen and the iPad’s 9.7 inch display. Its resolution is 1,024×768 which, incidentally, is the same as the original iPad.

A 5MP camera is mounted on the back and a front-facing lens allows for Facetime. Inside is an Apple A5 chip as last seen in the iPhone 4. It also uses the new Lighting USB connector.

It will arrive in the UK on November 2nd with prices starting at 269 for the 16GB SKU.

The iPad 4, meanwhile, uses Apple’s brand new A6X chip that supposedly offers twice the performance of the previous model. Other than that the new tablet is more or less the same as its predecessor.

In fact, the biggest surprise is the announcement itself. Apple revealed as part of its presentation that iPad sales have hit an astounding 100m units less than three years after the tablet first debuted.

So why the company would decide to refresh its hardware just six months after launching the iPad 3 is a bit of a mystery and could well irritate consumers who for reasons unknown feel they must always own the latest version.

The iPad 4 will also land on November 2nd with prices starting at 399.