New year, new iPad. Apple’s tablet has certainly been renewed on the inside, but it has done so especially on the outside, something that is the true revolution of a model that finally resolves one of the great complaints of its latest iterations. The changes, yes, are going to be very (but very) expensive.
nice changes inside. The new 10th generation iPad comes with the Apple A14 Bionic processor that debuted in the iPhone 12. This SoC improves efficiency and power, and will surely help increase the performance of the tablet. There is another significant change: the inclusion of a USB-C port, which means saying goodbye to the Lightning port on all iPads and which raises the arrival of iPhones with Lightning in 2023 to comply with European regulations in advance. Of course: we continue with a basic version with little storage: 64 GB are few in 2022.
But mostly outside. Where there are especially important changes is abroad. We have more screen than ever (10.9 vs. 10.2 inches) thanks to a reduction in bezels. The Touch ID button happens to be on the power button and the edges are flat and not rounded. Despite having more screen, the iPad (2022) measures and weighs almost the same as its predecessor.
The webcam, where it should be. For years users have complained about the position of the front webcam, which was always in the center of one of the two short sides of the tablet. In the iPad 2022 it finally happens to be on one of the long sides, which clearly favors using it for videoconferences in a more natural way.
Same sensor, same “Centered Framing”. What does not change is the sensor, which is 12 Mpixels and f/2.4 aperture. It already complied in a remarkable way in the past, and it will be now when in addition the Centered Framing technology (Center Stage, debuted in the iPad Pro of 2021) makes more sense: the new position of the webcam means that there is much more space to “move” ” in the field of view captured by that webcam.
The iPad Air (and Pro) are dying of envy. This new basic iPad largely copies the design of the iPad Air (2022) that Apple presented in March: the Touch ID button, the USB-C port or the chassis are inherited from that one. The funny thing is that iPad Air kept the webcam on one of the short sides. Surprisingly, the new iPad Pro also maintains the webcam on the short side, something shocking considering that this is the model that is most oriented towards serving as an alternative to the laptop.
The other big difference is in the chip, of course: in that iPad Air we have the powerful Apple M1 (and in the iPad Pro (2022) with the M2), so if we need more power, perhaps that bet is more interesting.
outrageous prices. There are many improvements in this tablet, but they are very expensive: the basic version of the 9th generation iPad cost (attention, in the past) 379 euros. Now that basic version (which we insist, maintains the meager 64 GB of storage) costs 579 euros.
Inflation may not help, but the price increase is worrying for what has so far been Apple’s most affordable tablet. The company has not only made this model much more expensive: it has also increased the price of the previous one, which now costs 429 euros.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism