Apple iPad (2022) preview: A long-overdue design upgrade
iPad (2022) price
Unlike its predecessors, this new iPad starts at a higher price of $449 for the base 64GB Wi-Fi model. The 256GB Wi-Fi model is $599, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular goes up to $749.For comparison, the previous budget iPads started at just $329, so this is quite the price jump.
iPad (2022) release date
The 2022 iPad is available for pre-order right now, and will be released starting October 26th, 2022.
iPad (2022) design
The new iPad (2022) color options and optional keyboard accessory
This is the biggest area where the new 10.9-inch iPad has been changed. With this model, the tradition of Apple reusing a decade-old iPad design, with the curved edges and big top and bottom bezels, ends.
This new iPad is akin to the other modern ones, like the Pro and Air. In fact, it’s very much like the iPad Air visually, likely making the two indistinguishable for the average person.
We have the same flat-edge design, with symmetrical black borders around the display, and a single, slightly raised camera bump on the back.
Very premium and modern – glass on the front, recycled aluminum on the back, and a reasonable weight of 1.05 pounds (477 grams). Four beautiful colors, too. No gray or black, unfortunately, but the iPad does come in silver, pink, yellow or blue, which appear to be quite vibrant too, as opposed to muted.
And while we’re on the subject of the iPad’s design – finally, on the bottom we’ll find a USB Type-C port! No longer Lightning; about time.
For unlocking the device, it has a Touch ID fingerprint sensor embedded into its power key, which is on the top right side, just like it is on the iPad Air.
iPad (2022) screen
iPad (2022) screen specs, summarized:
- 500 nits brightness
- 10.9-inch (diagonal) LED backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
- 2360-by-1640-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Supports Apple Pencil (1st generation)
The new 10th generation iPad sports a 10.9-inch screen, meaning nearly 11 inches! It’s not XDR, it’s not ProMotion either (meaning it’s just at 60Hz refresh rate), but from experience – we know Apple’s LCD screens are good, and so will be this one.As we’ve come to expect, the display does have True Tone support, which, when enabled, aims to make the picture fit the color temperature of your surroundings, making things a bit easier on the eyes.
Unfortunately, not everything about the display was updated to fit with the times. Those who wish to use the Apple Pencil stylus will still have to go with the old first-gen one. The new Apple Pencil 2 remains unsupported on this base iPad. But hey, the important thing is – it does have Apple Pencil support!
A downside of the display might be the low peak brightness of 500 nits. We’re yet to test it, but it doesn’t sound like enough for comfortable outdoors use.
iPad (2022) hardware and performance
As we could’ve predicted, this new “budget” iPad doesn’t get the latest processor. It’s not the M2, not even the M1… In fact, not even the A15 Bionic. Instead, the 2022 iPad is powered by the A14 Bionic, which Apple first introduced in 2020 with the iPhone 13 and iPad Air (4th gen).
Still, the A14 Bionic remains a beast to this day, and will plow through all the school or work-related tasks you may need to accomplish on your new base-model iPad. Gamers needn’t worry – this iPad won’t be a slouch when it comes to intensive 3D mobile gaming either.
Stay tuned, we’ll run this puppy through our benchmarks once our full review comes out soon, right here. And, as always, we’ll compare its performance to the competition.
iPad (2022) speakers
Yet another huge upgrade over the previous budget iPads is here – actual dual stereo speakers. The old budget iPads did have dual “stereo” speakers too, but both were on the right side of the device, when gaming, or watching movies and videos in landscape orientation.Now that this iPad has gotten the iPad Air redesign, both speakers are finally on opposite sides, and thus can deliver a true stereo experience. And based on the iPad Air, or even the previous budget iPads, we can expect some of the best sound on any tablet on the market – loud, punchy, full, with even a good hint of bass. So for media consumption – this iPad will be hard to beat.
Now, the downside of this redesign is – there’s no longer a 3.5mm headphone jack, which was still around on the previous budget iPads. But, let’s be honest, most of you have likely moved on to wireless headphones a long time ago. It’s hard not to, seeing as how a lot of midrangers, and nearly all flagship phones no longer have plugs for wired ones.
iPad (2022) camera
On the back of this iPad we get a single 12MP wide camera with autofocus, Smart HDR 3, capable of recording videos at up to 4K, 60FPS, which is quite impressive for an affordable tablet.
Perhaps more notably, this iPad also gets a 12MP ultra wide landscape front camera, which is the perfect positioning for video calls. Previous budget iPads had it in the center of the right bezel (when the device was in landscape), which was quite less than ideal.
Center Stage is here too! Thanks to that front camera being ultra wide, this feature is feasible, and available. It basically makes the front camera auto zoom at your face and keep you in the center of the video call frame, even if you’re moving around. As if you have your own camera operator, which is pretty cool!
Stay tuned for our full review soon! In the meantime, let us know what you think about this new (arguably) “budget” iPad!