iFixit has posted its teardown of the new 9.7” iPad released this week. Dubbing it the “iPad 5” for clarity’s sake, the teardown reveals that the latest iPad model is basically a merging of the original 2013 iPad Air design with upgraded specs such as a 64-bit A9 CPU and improved cameras. Comparing the new model with the original iPad Air, iFixit notes that the new model does omit the lock switch (which first disappeared on the iPad Air 2), uses smaller microphone holes, and a single row of speaker holes, and also of course adds Touch ID. The teardown report also suggests that the screen used in the new iPad appears to be very similar to that found in the original iPad Air, including an unfused digitizer and LCD and connections compatible with the original iPad Air. iFixit also took comparison photos of the internals of the new iPad and the original iPad Air, revealing that both models look remarkably similar, also sporting the same capacity 32.9 Wh batteries and having similar dimensions.
