The new 2022 (10th-gen) iPad delivers just about everything you would want in a modern tablet, offering a larger display than the last years iPad, alongside a sleeker design, faster A14 Bionic chip, and USB-C charging. It features the same design as the iPad Pro line, along with a new model of iPhone 12, which brings back the flat-edge design that Apple first used on the iPhone 4. The Air comfortably falls in-between the base iPad and the iPad Pro, both in terms of performance and price, and features a 10.9-inch display, Touch ID sensor moved into the power button, and works with Apples Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil.
You get all of the same features you would find on the higher-end Pro and Air models, and, for the first time, the iPad comes with a larger 10.9-inch display. The entry-level iPad and the iPad Air share a very similar design, as well as a same-sized display, the same storage options, the same battery, and the same camera.
The larger-sized screen and many design features have trickled down from the higher-end iPad Air, but the new iPad 10th-generation has an older processor and makes a few other omissions in order to keep its price down. If you want a bigger screen and a more modern design, the more expensive iPad Air is right up there, with a better display, even faster processor, and better accessory landscape, and you can often pick one up for under $100 more than the new iPad.
The new iPad, a full re-design of last years model, borrows heavily from the iPad Air, while bringing in its own small number of tradeoffs in order to sell prospective customers to Apples pricier tablets. The new 10th-generation iPad gets a larger screen, faster processor, and better design compared to the 9th-generation model, which launched in 2021 and has been the entry-level iPad model in recent years. Apples new tablet updates an age-old design of the iPad, and it does not lose anything great about its predecessor, well, aside from one thing, but we will get to that. Apple’s new tablet brings some welcome changes to the aging iPads design, but does not exactly carve a stronger place for itself within a strong iPad line.
The major differences are that the Air has more computing power (M1 chip instead of the A14 Bionic in the iPad), a better display (it is completely laminated and has a non-reflective coating), and is compatible with Apples second-generation Pencil. The display is larger, but still is not fully laminated: There is a gash between the glass and screen, so using it with an Apple Pencil does not feel quite as accurate as it does on more expensive iPads.
The other design difference between the two models is that the front-facing FaceTime HD camera is located at the right edge on the entry-level iPad, making it more useful for video calls when held in landscape orientation. Apple has also made a welcome decision to move the front camera away from one of the shorter edges to the dead middle of the bezel on one of the longer sides. The Move does a better job at keeping you centered of the frame when moving side-to-side than the previous arrangement did.
A New Price
A new price that puts the iPad (2022) awkwardly squarely between two other iPads. Otherwise it is a great tablet, and shows off a few smaller, yet very compelling new features. The new iPads 10th-generation model brings Apples flatter, thinner-bezel, Home Button-less design introduced in the iPad Pro all the way back in 2018 down to a sub-$500 price. For only $50 more than the 10th-generation iPad, you can pick up the 6th-generation iPad Mini, which features a slightly faster A15 processor and a tighter, 8.3-inch design along with second-generation support for the Apple Pencil.
Overall, it is the biggest update to the regular iPad that we have seen yet, and makes this the best-value tablet Apple has made – or any brand for that matter – even at its new, higher launch price.
