There’s a new iPad in the house! Earlier this year Apple updatedthe iPad lineupwith a newiPad minialongside a new 10.5-inch iPad Air that sits just belowthe iPad Pro family.
But Apple hasn’t stopped there, replacing thethe iPad 9.7launched only 18 months ago. Thenew base-level iPadhas some differences with the outgoing model though and it’s those we’re looking at here.
So without further ado, let’s look at this year’s model versus last year’s - as you’ll see this could be iPad (2019) vs iPad (2018) or iPad 10.2 vs iPad 9.7.
The iPad 9.7 has now been discontinued, but we’re sure you’ll be able to buy it from numerous retailers for some time yet.
Last year’s iPad 9.7 started at $329 or £319 in the UK for the 32GB model and $429 or £409 for the 128GB model.
Despite the increase in screen size, this year’s doesn’t go up in price at all - at least not in the US where it costs $329 for 32GB and $429 for 128GB. However, in the UK it does cost more - £349 and £449 for the two storage sizes.
And there’s a cellular version of thenew iPad, too, costing $459/£479 for 32GBor $559/£579 for 128GB.
The new iPad 10.2 (2019) and the iPad 9.7 (2018) are both aluminium and are both available in Silver, Space Grey and Gold. For the first time, Apple says the new iPad 10.2 is made of 100 percent recycled aluminium.
Both iPads have the trademark large bezels around the displays and have a home button which enables you to use Touch ID to unlock the device.
The iPad 10.2 is 10mm larger than the iPad 9.7 and 5mm wider. It is the same thickness (both are thicker than the iPad Air) and the new model is heavier as you’d expect.
Apple iPad (2018)
The 2018 iPad added support for the Apple Pencil, but had the same design as its 2017 predecessor and continued to miss off features like True Tone.
As you’ll realise, the iPad 9.7 has a 9.7-inch retina display and this year’s new model has a 10.2-inch screen. Both have a pixel density of 264ppi; the iPad 9.7 boasts a 2.048 x 1.536 resolution while the iPad 10.2 slightly ups the ante with 2,160 x 1,620. Both have support for the first generation ofApple Pencil.
Coincidentally, the slightly larger iPad Air offers a 2,224 x 1,668 resolution across its larger still 10.5-inch display.
Hardware and software
As you can see from the specs above, both of these tablets are very similar internally. Bith have the A10 Fusion processor with embedded M10 coprocessor. The cited battery life is the same as well as Lightning charging. Audio comes from stereo speakers.
One difference is that the new iPad 10.2 is compatible with theApple Smart Keyboard, much like the iPad Pro lineup and the larger iPad Air.
Like every modern iPad, both of these iPad models can run the new version ofiPadOS- Apple has now split the iPad software apart from the iPhone’s iOS. It’s so new iPad features - largely for multitasking and laptop-like functions - can be added to the iPad software over time without having to bloat the iPhone software.
Both tablets come with an 8-megapixel rear camera offering an aperture of f/2.4 with autofocus, HDR for photos, Live Photos, Burst Mode and tap to focus. But the front-facing FaceTime HD camera isn’t that great at a mere 1.2 megapixels. Both cameras have a flash.
Both offer 1080p 30fps video recording on the rear cameras, while the front cameras can record 720p, again at 30fps.
Conclusion
The iPad 10.2 offers almost the same package as the iPad 9.7 but ups the screen size noticeably. It is more expensive in the UK (same in the US), but only by £30 for the basic model. The differences are few, but mainly it’s that the iPad 10.2 offers Smart Keyboard support. With Apple clearly keen on making the iPad more of a laptop replacement withiPadOS, it’s no wonder - and that direction is probably part of the reason the smaller iPad is now a bigger iPad. It’s still a great-value device - one of the best on the market.
And when you look atwhich iPad you should buy, it makes it harder to recommend the iPad Air and even the iPad Pro for some users when there’s so much capability within the iPad 10.2.
