Apple ditches iPad 2 and releases 8GB iPhone 5c

Apple has dropped the ageing iPad 2 and bought back the iPad with Retina display as part of a tablet and phone reshuffle.

The fourth-gen iPad is now Apple’s entry level tablet. It has a 9.7in Retina display, 16GB of storage and is powered by Apple’s A6X chip. The Wi-Fi only version costs £329 and the Wi-Fi and cellular version comes in at £429.

While the iPad 2 was released over three years ago it was kept on as the company’s budget tablet when the iPad Air was released in November 2013. But the ageing hardware struggled with the recent update to iOS 7, with many users complaining that the iPad 2 was almost unusable on Apple’s latest operating system.

The iPad with Retina display, also known as the fourth generation iPad, has far superior specs. As well as a better screen and faster processor it also has a 5-megapixel iSight camera, FaceTime HD camera for video calls and around 10 hours of battery life.

At £329 the new entry-level iPad with Retina display is only £10 more expensive than the latest iPad mini at £319.

A new version of the iPhone 5c has also been announced. The 8GB iPhone 5c costs £429, only £40 less than the 16GB model. In January Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the iPhone 5c hadn’t performed well and the company will be hoping this slightly cheaper model will attract punters.

But the paltry 8GB of storage space might see the new iPhone 5C struggle, with little room to store games and apps. Despite ditching the ageing iPad 2 Apple is still selling the 8GB iPhone 4S, which dates from October 2011.