The entry-level iPad has been long overdue for a design overhaul. In 2022, Apple is finally making that possible with the 10th-generation iPad. The design is reminiscent of the latest iPad Air, with an all-metal enclosure, flat sides, and symmetrical bezels on all sides.
The best part? The color options have been jazzed up, too You get to choose from the conventional blue and silver. But the real star of the show is the peppy new pink color, which is a first for any Apple product so far. Then there’s a yellow color, which brings back memories of the pale yellow trim we saw on the iPhone XR. It is also not hard to see the iPhone 5c vibes here.
With the bezels and the round Touch ID button gone, Apple has shifted the fingerprint sensor to the top, embedding it inside the power button. Another notable upgrade is the switch away from the Lightning port to the USB-C standard. This isn’t a Thunderbolt 4-type port that you get on the new iPad Pro with the M2 chip, but we’re glad that the USB-C port has finally made its way to the cheapest iPad.
The connectivity department also gets the crucial 5G upgrade, promising downlink speeds of up to 3.5Gbps over the mmWave 5G. Another major change is the arrival of Wi-Fi (802.11ac) support, delivering up to a 30% bump in raw network throughput.
iPad 10th Gen specs
The 10th-generation iPad offers a 10.9-inch screen that offers a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels. Apple says the brightness levels can all go all the way up to 500 nits, while the proprietary TrueTone tech ensures high color accuracy.
Under the hood is Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, an upgrade from the A13 Bionic inside its predecessor. This is not the latest mobile chip in Apple’s stable, as the company has graduated to the A16 Bionic level on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. But hey, it looks like Apple had to cut corners somewhere to make other upgrades possible without ballooning up the asking price.
The company claims a 20% processing performance jump courtesy of the A14 Bionic, the GPU is said to be 10% faster, while the 16-core Neural Engine offers a massive 80% jump in the speed of AI and ML-based tasks.
Aside from the customary chip upgrade and a fresh look, another major change is that the front camera has changed its position from portrait to landscape orientation. Plus, the upgraded 12-megapixel ultrawide camera can now cover a 122-degree field of view for capturing more area in the frame.
Plus, it supports the Center Stage feature for auto-framing during video calls. The 12-megapixel rear camera has also received some upgrades, adding the ability to record 4K videos at up to 120 fps. iOS 16 handles things on the software side, bringing features like Live Text and iCloud Shared Photo Library to the table.
Price and availability
The 10th Gen iPad starts at $449 for the Wi-Fi-only version with the base 64GB storage capacity. If you’re after the cellular variant, Apple will charge you a minimum of $599 for it — which is a tad too much considering the iPad’s affordable tablet legacy.
The new Magic Keyboard that Apple has designed for this tablet will be up for grabs at $249, while the Smart Folio case will be sold for $79 a pop. Preorders for the tablet are now live , and it will start shipping on October 26 in the U.S.
