Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Apple today squeezed in a last-minute surprise product announcement during its typical iPhone and Apple Watch-focused event: a new iPad. The device is a 10.2-inch variant of the company’s tablet, slotting in at the entry level as a replacement for the $329 9.7-inch iPad, as was previously rumored over the last few months.
We knew that there could be quite a few new iPad models coming this year, thanks to regulatory filings, analyst notes and news reports, and leaks dating back to as early as March of this year. But it was largely believed the tablet announcements would occur in the usual October time frame for Apple’s annual iPad event, as the company usually sticks to phones and smartwatches, as well as those devices’ software updates…