ICYMI, Apple did announce a refreshed iPad—but only in China
Earlier this month, Apple made the rounds online as it was rumored to launch a new iPad this week. While the new release turned out to be a cheaper Apple Pencil instead, the tech giant did announce a refreshed tablet on the sidelines—and only in China.
Apple's quiet reveal came at the bottom of its press release for its new Apple Pencil on Oct. 17 in mainland China. According to the announcement, which was first spotted by 9to5Mac, the refreshed 10th-generation iPad now comes with support for eSIM which is a first for the product in the country.
Previously, iPad and iPad users in China can only connect their devices to mobile networks with a nano-SIM card. While this is still an option for the new tablets, its users can now skip the physical card if that's what they prefer.
This feature is, however, available only to the 10th-generation iPad with model number A3162 which has support for both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Only China Unicorn subscribers can enjoy the feature as it is the nation's sole eSIM carrier.
Prior to the device's release in China, Apple had already begun selling iPad tablets with eSIM support in North America, Europe, India, and other markets in 2022. That is why the recent launch is only limited to China, with the tech giant not making any big announcement about it.
The refreshed 5G version of the 10th-generation iPad retails at CNY 4,800 (P37,000) for the 64GB model and CNY 6,000 (P46,600) for the 256GB version on apple.com.cn.