APPLE iPAD
A bigger 10.2-inch screen makes the cheapest iPad a really versatile tablet for not much cash
Apple’s new cheapest iPad has a bigger screen, but should you spend more for the even better models?
The most important thing about Apple’s new cheap iPad is that it doesn’t feel cheap in any way. Not only is it nearly physically identical to the more expensive iPad Air, it’s also an extremely slick and fast tablet. For a lot of stuff, it has everything you need – a sharp 10.2-inch screen, a speedy Apple A10 processor and tons of apps. But the iPad Air still offers an upgrade in almost every area, for £130 more, so the question is whether this really is enough for you, or whether you’d be better off with its big brother, or the iPad mini.
Let’s start with the most important part of a tablet: the screen. The 10.2-inch display here has a notable amount of extra volume compared to the 9.7-inch display of the previous low-cost iPad model (though they’re the same otherwise, really, so it’s not worth upgrading from last year’s). Obviously, it’s nice to have a bigger screen for games or movies and stuff, but that’s just gravy really. The truly
handy part about the bigger screen is that it’s better for having multiple apps side by side – the screen is practically the same size as the iPad Air, and just as sharp. With the slick Apple processor, plus the option of connecting a keyboard cover (Apple’s is hideously expensive at £159, but very good), this is a pretty capable computer, actually.
However, while the display here is perfectly nice – it’s clear, and the natural colours are appealing – the iPad Air’s screen is even better: it appears brighter and more vibrant thanks to its wide colour support, it’s laminated (so the pixels are closer to the surface), and it has True Tone, which means it shifts its hue to be more comfortable to read in natural light, which makes a big difference. The iPad mini’s screen also has all these advantages, though it’s only 7.9 inches, so isn’t good for side-byside apps.
There’s support for Apple Pencil, and it works just as well as on other models. It supports the original Apple Pencil v1, which has wired charging, unlike the more useful v2 unit, but the drawing function is just as good.
The speakers are loud and really clear – great for videos.
The Apple A10 chip powering everything here is a couple of years behind the A12 you’ll find in more expensive iPad models, but it’s no slouch at all. For opening apps and flitting around iOS, everything is very slick and fast. Some intensive apps, and especially games, will open a bit faster on more powerful devices, but the difference is less than you’d think. Our only concern is that Apple might stop supporting it with updates sooner than the A12 – that’s years away in any case, but the A12 is more future-proofed overall. Along those lines, the A12 also includes extra camera processing tech for better shots – the camera here is rudimentary.
How to choose
The basic new iPad comes with 32GB of storage, but you can up that to 128GB, which costs £449 total. Here’s where the decisions really get sticky.
The iPad mini comes with 64GB of storage as standard, has the nicer screen tech and faster processor, and costs £399 – just £50 more than the base iPad, and less than the 128GB version. 64GB is plenty of storage. The iPad mini is a really capable games, movies and creative apps machine – provided you’re happy doing one thing at a time. If the smaller screen isn’t a problem, it’s a smart choice.
The iPad Air costs £479, which is £30 more than the 128GB version of this iPad. That has all the advantages of the iPad mini, plus a 10.5-inch screen that’s ideal for multitasking. The 64GB that the base iPad Air comes with will be enough for the vast majority of people, too.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t get this – far from it. It’s easily the best tablet in this price range, and is a fab little computer for the price. But it’s worth looking at the upgrades.