New iPad with optional Pencil: Everything Apple just announced

It has a 9.7-inch display and comes with 32GB of storage.

Apple's "field trip" event at a Chicago's Lane Tech High School just wrapped up, and we've all learned an important lesson: the new iPad costs the same as the old one.

The company's least expensive tablet is now official, and the price is still $329 (£319 in the UK). 

But it's now compatible with the Pencil -- Apple's stylus device that was formerly reserved for the iPad Pro. Apple touts the $99 (£89) Pencil as a boon to educators and students alike, and crucially it's something that cheaper Chromebooks, which are more popular in schools than iPads, don't have.

9.7 inch iPad: The new iPad offers some significant spec upgrades compared to the 2017 base model, moving it closer to the more expensive iPad Pro. It uses Apple's faster A10 Fusion chip, making it more powerful than most laptops including Chromebook. It also has an 8-megapixel camera and is said to be optimized for augmented reality (AR). Apple claims a 10-hour battery life and faster (300 Mbps) LTE. Similar to the original version, it has a 9.7 inch Retina display and starts at 32GB.

Price (32GB):$329 for consumers, $299 for schools

Apple's new iPad 9.7 vs. the old iPad 9.7: Full specs comparison

Logitech Crayon: Apple opened up the Pencil to third-party alternatives, and a half-price ($49) "crayon" by accessories maker Logitech is first on deck. 

Apple also highlighted a bunch of software additions and enhancements aimed at education:

• 200GB iCloud option for schools
• Froggipedia, an AR app that lets you dissect frogs using the Pencil
• Swift Playgrounds programming app gets support for AR
• More classroom tools, including Apple School Manager, Classroom app, Schoolwork app and Apple Teacher
• The Schoolwork app is also focused on protecting students' privacy.
• Apple says there are nearly 200,000 apps made for education