The 10th generation iPad is both exciting and familiar at the same time. For one thing, it’s a huge leap forward from the ninth-generation model, offering a completely revamped design (yes, colors!) alongside modern details like USB-C, 5G support and a larger, more immersive screen. On the other hand, it’s now eerily similar to the latest iPad Air and iPad Mini models, both of which are arguably better value when you stack them end-to-end.
There’s no denying that the new iPad is a great tablet, with fast performance, a vivid display and all the software magic that makes any Apple tablet a joy to use. But is the iPad right for you? This is what I think after many long days of playing, chatting with friends and writing this review.
A great iPad, but you could do better
The 10th generation iPad is a great tablet for first-time iPad buyers or those who haven’t upgraded in years. However, most people are better off saving money on the ninth-gen model or spending a bit more for the faster, more advanced iPad Air.
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The base iPad’s dull gray exterior and thick bezels are officially a thing of the past. The 10th generation iPad finally brings Apple’s flagship tablet into the modern era, adopting the same sleeker bezels and slimmer display bezels as the latest iPad Mini, Air and Pro models while introducing a variety of ‘fun color options.
The blue review unit I’ve been testing is stunning and a refreshing change from the usual gray and silver options found on older iPad models. You can also pick up the board in red, yellow or silver. Fortunately, Apple’s latest tablet feels as great as it looks, with a 1-pound aerial design that was comfortable to hold during long couch gaming sessions and web browsing. The Touch ID button is now at the top of the screen instead of the front to allow for those slimmer screen bezels, and it was reliable as ever for unlocking the iPad with a quick fingerprint scan.
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Perhaps even more significant than the new iPad’s revised design and bright color options is the long-awaited switch from Lightning to USB-C for charging. This gives the iPad the same charging port as almost every modern tech gadget (including Apple’s MacBooks and high-end iPads) and allows it to be instantly compatible with the plethora of USB-C cables and accessories that you already have around the House.
As someone with a litany of these cables in every room of my apartment, I loved being able to charge my iPad with whatever I had on hand instead of digging through my sparsest collection of lighting cables. The transition from Lightning to USB-C may introduce some compatibility headaches for those upgrading from an older iPad (more on that later), but ultimately it’s great to see that the most popular iPad from ‘Apple finally adopts the industry standard.
Great performance and the power of iPadOS
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The iPad has long offered the best tablet performance you can get for the money, and that’s still the case with the 10th generation model. Apple’s latest tablet completed every task I threw at it: swiping through the home screen and switching between apps felt smooth and instant, and console-quality games like NBA 2K23 ran without a hitch.
The new iPad’s speedy performance can be credited to its A14 Bionic chip, the same processor that powers the 2020 iPhone 12 range and offers a small but noticeable bump over the previous iPad’s A13 Bionic. In Geekbench 5 (a general processing benchmark), the newest iPad delivered multi-core scores that were more than double the ninth-generation model, about on par with the latest iPad Mini, and notably higher than the much more expensive Galaxy Tab S8. Ultra. The new iPads’ scores weren’t quite as astronomical as the more expensive new iPad Pro models (powered by Apple’s M2 chips for laptops), but they’re the best we’ve seen in a tablet at this price point. .
You probably won’t notice a big difference between the 10th and 9th generation iPads in day-to-day use, but the added muscle makes the newer model more future-proof, and a much better value than the competition in pure speed terms. In fact, with an attached Magic Keyboard Folio, the new iPad was able to replace my laptop for everyday tasks.
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Thanks to that A14 chip and the powers of iPadOS 16, I was able to multitask seamlessly between apps like Slack and Outlook in split-screen mode without any hint of slowdown. I found the iPad to be a better laptop replacement than the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, mostly because iPadOS apps seem better optimized for a keyboard and trackpad than their Android counterparts. I still ran into some hiccups (the Google Docs app was particularly clunky, mind you), and many of iPadOS 16’s key productivity features, like Stage Manager multitasking and screen support external, are limited to iPads with Apple Silicon, such as the latest iPad Air and Pro. That said, I was still impressed with what I was able to do with a $449 tablet.
The new iPad’s battery life is also reliable, getting me through most of a heavy eight-hour workday, as well as a full lazy Sunday that involved lots of graphic games and hours of live football ( luckily the Jets won). Video playback was definitely the biggest drain—the tablet gave out after just over five hours in our continuous 4K video test—but for everyday on-and-off use, it’s likely that you won’t have to charge your iPad more than once a day.
A large, vibrant screen and improved cameras
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The thinner bezels on the new iPad don’t just look nicer; they also allow for a bump in overall screen space: 10.9 inches over 10.2 inches, to be exact. It’s not huge, but it allows for even more real estate on what has long been a vibrant canvas. Everything from the colorful cars of Horizon Chase 2 to the nostalgic pixelated graphics of Shovel Knight Dig popped off the screen beautifully, and when I fired up the trailer for Ant-Man: Quantumania, the sci-fi realms of ‘another world of the film were full of intricate details. .
That said, the iPad’s base screen is starting to show its age, especially if you’re used to the smoother, richer screens of the iPad Pro series. Some details (like text under app icons) look a bit pixelated, and after getting used to the smooth 120Hz ProMotion display on my iPhone 14 Pro, the iPad’s standard 60Hz display it feels a little slow when scrolling through apps and web pages.
Mike Andronico/CNN
The 10th generation iPad offers some slight improvements on the camera front, starting with a 12-megapixel TrueDepth front-facing camera that’s now optimized for landscape orientation, which helped me stay perfectly focused during FaceTime calls with friends and family. And every time I moved, Apple’s Center Stage technology (which follows your face to keep you in focus) was there to bring me back into the frame. Center Stage isn’t new (you’ll find it on the previous generation iPad, too), but it’s still a joy to watch in action, and it worked reliably through FaceTime and Webex calls.
If you’re one of those people who feel comfortable taking photos and videos with a tablet in public, you’ll be happy to know that the rear camera has been upgraded to 12 megapixels (up from 8) and can now record 4K. video The shots I captured of my dog and various household objects on this camera were good enough, but not as detailed as the ones I got from my iPhone 14 Pro. It will work well in a pinch; just don’t expect this iPad to replace your phone’s camera anytime soon.
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I’ve been using the iPad alongside Apple’s new $249 Magic Keyboard Folio, which might be the company’s best keyboard cover yet. Its satisfying bouncy keys feel almost as good as those on my MacBook, and its trackpad gives me plenty of room to navigate apps and browser tabs. And unlike Apple’s other iPad keyboards, including the $299 Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro, it has a full row of physical function keys for doing things like adjusting brightness, volume, or playback audio with a quick tap. It provides the most satisfying laptop experience of any iPad, at least when it comes to using a keyboard.
The back cover of the Magic Keyboard Folio is just as reliable, with an adjustable kickstand that easily supports the iPad at various viewing angles. The whole setup provides a solid layer of rubber protection when folded, and I especially love the two-tone look the white Folio makes with my blue iPad. I just wish this handy accessory didn’t cost a whopping $249, especially considering the Smart Keyboard won’t transfer over from older iPad models due to incompatible sizes. It’s also frustrating that the Magic Keyboard Folio is currently exclusive to the 10th generation iPad, meaning owners of all other models are locked out of what we consider the best keyboard option.
That being said, you…