Apple recently announced the new-base model iPad 10th generation, marketing it with the “new” revolutionary design, and while the base iPad is always a useful addition to the not-very-short iPad lineup. Apple made very drastic changes this year, and not all of those are good.
In this article, we will go through where Apple screwed us with the new iPad.
The new design or the lack of it
No home button, all-screen design, touch-ID on the side, and much more. This all may sound strangely similar to another device to you and you are not wrong either. That device is the iPad Air, specifically the iPad Air 4th Generation.
Apple updated the iPad Air 4th Generation in 2020 with this all-screen design similar to iPad Pros and iPhones but kept the touch ID. The new iPad 10th generation is an exact copy of that design while giving up on features like M-series SOC from the Mac lineup and Apple Pencil 2nd generation support.
Apple Pencil Shenanigans
The new iPad 10th Generation, despite having iPad Air’s design, does not support the latest Apple Pencil 2nd generation, so you got to do with the 1st gen Apple pencil. The problem is that the 1st generation Apple Pencil gets charged through the lightning connector of the old iPad design, which the new iPad has replaced with a USB-C connector.
The solution from Apple: USB-C to Apple Pencil dongle
Apple has somehow made the very awaited and requested switch to USB-C worse.
Now you need to shell out 10 dollars for the adapter if you already have the Apple Pencil 1st gen. If you buy the first-gen Apple Pencil new from the Apple store, it will now come with this adapter in the box.
Price to the Moon
The base-model iPad is known for one thing: getting shit done.
Most people out there, don’t need laptop-grade SOCs or want to paint the next Mona Lisa on their tablets. They want to do what people regularly do on tablets which are media consumption, video calling, and occasional work-related stuff like docs and emails. The base model iPad is known for years to do this all in an excellent way while being affordable. The last iPad 9th Gen started at 329 USD.
With the new iPad 10th Generation, Apple has hiked its price to 449 USD. Apple knows that this price hike would make entry to the iPad and, as result, to their ecosystem difficult.
So, what did the geniuses at Apple churn out of their brilliant minds? Keep selling the old iPad 9th generation for the same 329 USD price.
This move has made, what was a very well-priced line-up of iPad way more confusing. Now, the iPad Air and base-model iPad looks the same but has a difference of 150 USD. A difference which is not a small one but suggests that you are not going to get a lot better features with the expensive one (iPad Air). And the iPad Mini while having a unique selling point of compact screen size is now only 50 dollars more than the iPad 10th generation but it has support for Apple Pencil 2nd Gen and better A15 SoC.
The decision which was primarily based on your budget and the core need for a tablet has now gone to multiple dimensions. Casual users are going to need a 30-minute presentation to understand which tablet they need to purchase to binge-watch the 12 seasons of their favorite TV show in one day.
Why tho?
While many Apple enthusiasts are still scratching their heads at why Apple took such decisions. Some believe that Apple knows their iPad this year isn’t the best they could have offered.
On a thread from Apple Veteran’s Reddit titled “Why Did Apple Release its iPads Silently Today?”, many people pointed out how underwhelming the new releases are, pointed out the reason why Apple did not make the effort to have the full-blown, movie-style event.
Are you also underwhelmed by the new iPads or do you think people are just making a fuss over nothing?
Let me know in the comments.