The biggest change? Well, that would be the new location of the front-facing camera.
Alongside a new Apple TV 4K and upgrades to the iPad Pro, Apple (AAPL) – Get Apple Inc. Report introduced the 10th Generation iPad. It starts at $449, but for that price it’s got a fresh look, a bigger screen, and a newer processor inside.
Interestingly enough, the 9th Gen iPad is staying in the line and that model is currently our top pick for an iPad, and is an unbeatable value — especially when it’s discounted to $269.
But for $120 more, the 10th Gen iPad will likely speed up the performance thanks to the A14 Bionic chip inside. It also makes the switch to a USB-C port and swaps the location of the front-facing camera. Let’s unpack it all.
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10th Gen iPad: What You Need to Know
Apple’s 10th Gen iPad adopts a look similar to that of the iPad Air, iPad Mini, and even the iPad Pros. It ditches the home button for slimmer bezels around and opts for a modern, boxier flat rectangle look. It’s also the first more-affordable iPad to come in colors: blue, pink, and yellow join silver. All of this comes together for the biggest redesign for the base iPad in several years.
The start of the front is a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display, which offers a bit more screen real estate over the 10.2-inch 9th Gen. Apple notes that while it’s larger, the overall dimensions here are nearly identical to the 9th gen. This new display boasts a resolution of 2360 X 1640, up to 500-nits of brightness, and TrueTone which will adjust the color temperature to wherever you’re using the iPad.
And with no Home button, the Touch ID sensor moves to the power button — just like how it is on the iPad Mini and iPad Air. You’ll use this to unlock the iPad as well as authenticate purchases.
The 10th Gen iPad will be running iPadOS and is powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. The A13 in the 9th Gen was no slouch, but Apple promises this will deliver a 20% boost with the CPU and a 10% boost with graphics. Those coming from older iPads or even Android tablets will see larger performance jumps. And for tasks that use ML or AI, the addition of the 16-core neural engine within the A14 Bionic will speed those tasks up. Apple says that this upgrade iPad will provide all-day battery life as well.
Alongside the upgrade processor, the 10th Gen iPad ditches the Lightning port for a USB-C one. It’s a nice change, but it also needs to be noted that this iPad only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil. Meaning that to charge it with the iPad, you need to get a USB-C to Lightning dongle. The 10th Gen iPad also supports Wi-Fi 6 and select 5G networks.
The biggest change here is the new location of the front facing camera. The 12-megapixel ultra wide lens is now in the best position for using the iPad in landscape. Apple describes it as living “along the landscape edge” and it’s similar to the cameras location on an Amazon Fire tablet. It still supports Center Stage which will automatically keep you in frame. We’re eager to try this out and see how this performs.
Additionally, the 10th Gen iPad features a 12-megapixel rear lens that supports up to 4K video recording. It also boast dual microphones for clear voice pickup and landscape stereo speakers for playback.
Taking advantage of the new front-facing camera’s location, and making this more functional as a laptop replacement, is a new accessory. The $249 Magic Keyboard Folio lets you prop the 10th Gen iPad up with an adjustable kickstand, but also provides a keyboard with a function row and a trackpad. This is the first time Apple has offered a trackpad asides from the Magic Keyboard which only works with iPad Air and iPad Pro.
Let’s Recap the 10th Gen iPad
And that about sums up the new 10th Gen iPad, which ultimately is a more affordable option for the masses. It opts for a modern design that fits in with iPad Mini and iPad Air, but also mixes things up with a landscape oriented front camera, fresh colors, and a different processor inside.
We’re especially eager to go hands-on and see how this compares to the 9th Gen iPad, which remains in the lineup at $329 starting. We’ll also be putting the two head-to-head as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, Apple has opened orders for the 10th Gen iPad and it will begin arriving to customers on Oct. 26. If you’re after cellular connectivity, that variant of the 10th Gen iPad starts at $599. Regardless of Wi-Fi or Cellular, it starts with 64GB of storage as well.
We’ll also call out that the 9th Gen iPad is still an excellent option and currently discounted to just $279 for 64GB of storage and it runs iPadOS very well with the A13 Bionic.
10th Gen iPad (Starting at $449)9th Gen iPad (Starting at $279, originally $329)
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.
