Great news for those who wanted a new Apple tablet for Christmas. htxt.africa has learned from a source close to Apple that the new iPads – the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display – will go on sale near the end of next week.

Pricing is unconfirmed, but given the current local prices and US pricing, and the local rand/dollar exchange rate for Apple goods, prices for the incoming iPad Air should be similar to that for the outgoing 4th generation iPad with Retina display. Currently an iPad costs R5 499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model, or R6 999 for a 16GB cellular model, and we suspect pricing will remain roughly the same for these models.

The iPad mini with Retina Display is a new model, and even in the US it cost more than the existing iPad mini, which currently retails for R3 599 locally. US pricing for the iPad mini with Retina Display is $399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi model and $529 for a 16GB cellular model. Using some fuzzy maths and exchange rates, we peg those at R4 399 and R5 799. Of course, the 32GB and 64GB models will cost more.

Apple announced the two tablets at its most recent press event, on the 22nd of October. The iPad Air went on sale in the US market on the 1st of November, while the iPad mini went on sale nearly two weeks later on the 12th of November. All in all, the fact that they’ll be here just over a month after international release is great news, and also just in time for the silly shopping season.

The iPad Air retains its 9.7-inch Retina display, but gains a far slimmer body and 64-bit A7 processor, with twice the graphics and processing power. It still retains its 10-hour battery life, which should please many who’ve become accustomed to the iPad’s stamina. Apple’s given its big iPad a new lease on life, cutting away most of the bezels and giving it an appearance that more closely resembles the iPad mini.

After much nagging from users, Apple added a Retina Display to the iPad mini. The new model is almost identical in looks to the first-generation iPad mini, and almost identical in technical specifications to the bigger iPad. It too has the A7 processor, and the Retina Display in the mini is exactly the same resolution as the iPad Air – 2048 x 1536.