Apple brings back iPad Air, revamps iPad Mini for first time since 2015

Apple Inc. debuted a new mid-tier iPad with a larger screen and introduced the first iPad mini update since 2015. The announcements Monday come a week before the company rolls out a media and entertainment bundle designed to compete with Netflix Inc.

The company debuted a new iPad Air with a 10.5-inch screen, bringing back a model that was phased out when Apple launched the iPad Pro a few years ago. That screen size is larger than the 9.7-inch, $329 model designed for education that Apple launched last year. The iPad mini, a device that some consumers have been seeking an upgrade for, continues to use a 7.9-inch screen. The larger iPad introduced today supports the company’s Smart Keyboard, while both new devices work with the Apple Pencil stylus and include a faster A12 processor, a step up from the A10 chip used in last year’s education model.