Without an event, Apple has released a brand new iPad, an upgraded iPad Pro, and an upgraded Apple TV. The new iPad takes design cues from the iPad Pro and iPad Air, the new Apple TV has a new processor and tweaked remote, and the iPad Pro has an M2 chip. But Apple sneaked a few surprises in here. The iPad has USB-C now, as does the Apple TV Siri remote, furthering Apple’s move away from Lightning, even on accessories and “consumer” tech. However, they’re still trying to sell new iPad owners on the first generation Apple Pencil, which has a Lightning connector. How do you charge it? Well, did you guess a new dongle? Because, it’s a new dongle. That’s not even the worst part about the new iPad.
So let’s take a closer look at Apple’s new products.
The New iPad
The new iPad has a squared-off design, Apple Pencil support, and a Smart Connector for the keyboard. If you’re thinking that sounds a lot like an iPad Air, you’re right! That’s because it basically is an iPad Air at first glance. Look a little longer, however, and you realize it’s a far worse tablet, with worse accessories, for only $150 in savings.
What was Apple thinking? They tried to make a new product that steps on the toes of another, but fails to match it, and now costs more than the device it’s replacing.
Compared to the iPad Air, the iPad:
- Does not have a laminated display
- Does not have an antireflective coating
- Has only sRGB color (vs the iPad Air’s more expansive P3 color gamut)
- Has an old A14 chip vs the M1 in the iPad Air
- Only works with the old Apple Pencil… with a dongle
- Can’t charge the Apple Pencil without a separate USB adapter and cable
- Has a new location for the Smart Connector, requiring a two-piece folio case instead of the superior Magic Keyboard for the iPad and iPad Pro
The new iPad is an improvement over the one it replaces. The bezels are much smaller and Apple removed the Home Button, moving Touch ID to the lock button, as it is on the iPad Air. They also moved the FaceTime camera to the side, for use in landscape mode, which makes it work better for calls. They haven’t even fixed this on the iPad Pro yet! Finally, Apple released some new colors. Those are neat.
As for accessories, Apple moved the Smart Connector to the bottom, like the old iPad Pro and older iPad. However, it still requires all-new accessories. One is a folio keyboard like the one on the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but in two parts. Why didn’t they just re-use the highly-praised one from the iPad Air or iPad Pro? Maybe even Tim Cook has forgotten about all of the devices Apple makes.
Overpriced & Outdated
It’s basically an iPad Air that’s worse in every way, from the screen, to the performance, to the accessories. However, it still costs $449, just $150 less than the iPad Air. That $15 is certainly worth the improvements.
Why, Apple? They went through the trouble of releasing a new dongle and a new keyboard for this thing, and you’d have to pretend the iPad Air doesn’t exist to rationalize buying it. This thing is utterly ridiculous.
Buying advice? Either get an iPad Air or, if you really don’t mind using old hardware, the iPad 9th generation is $329. It’s still a good tablet, and, at $329, $270 less than the iPad Air, it’s not a terrible deal. Apple’s latest iPad wouldn’t have been a terrible decision if it had been a lower price. But at $449, it would be silly not to get the iPad Air instead. In fact, get the old iPad Air, if you can. The fourth generation iPad Air is basically a better version of this “new” iPad, with a better keyboard, the good Apple Pencil, and a better screen. Apple will even sell you a refurbished 4th generation iPad Air, right now, for $469. It’s a great tablet. I have one on my desk right now and use it every day. It’s actually worth the price. The wannabe “Air” iPad Apple just released? Don’t bother.
It’s a common theme in Apple’s lineup. Apple needs to simplify their devices. Sell an iPad Pro and an iPad in the place of the iPad Air. Replace this new iPad with an “iPad SE” and charge no more than $399 for it. It’s ridiculous that Apple would introduce a new product that’s obsolete on day one but costs more than the model it replaced.
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro received Apple’s new M2 processor, making it “up to 15%” faster than the M1 iPad Pro. Battery life remains the same between the old model and the new one, so if you’ve already got an M1 iPad Pro, you may want to hold off. That is, I guess, unless you’re one of those rare people Apple uses to promote iPad Pro tablets, who does all of their video shooting and editing on the iPad. Although I just assumed those people were imagined by Apple to excuse continuing to sell performance upgrades on a device that already has excellent performance. The new iPad also includes WiFi 6E, so if you have a brand new wireless router, you can take full advantage of its speed. That’ll be useful whether you edit feature-length films from your iPad or not.
The really neat feature is the new “Hover Experience.” Using the same second generation Apple Pencil that works on the iPad Air and older iPad Pro models, the screen can now detect where the pencil is before it touches the screen. This allows artists to preview tool size before drawing. I’ve wanted this a few times when just making a rough estimation of the size of the tool before using it. The new “Hover Experience” works up to 12mm away from the display, about half an inch. 12mm is a short distance, but should be enough to contribute positively to the creative process. It’s definitely a neat feature that users will enjoy taking advantage of.
The new iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 11-inch model, and $1,099 for the 12.9-inch model.
Apple TV 4K
The new Apple TV uses the A15 Bionic chip, the same chip that was first revealed with the iPhone 13 series. Along with the processor upgrade, there’s now HDR10+ support. Along with 4K, it can offer high resolution watching with bright colors and high contrast, with the right TV, of course.
There’s also a new WiFi-only version with 64GB of storage. For most people, this is more than enough to download a few games, episodes of TV shows, and movies. However, Apple also offers a 128GB version that also includes gigabit Ethernet and Thread mesh networking, for connecting to HomeKit and Matter-enabled Thread-based accessories. Both models are—surprisingly—reasonably priced. Apple knocked the price down on the 4K Apple TV, making it a great buy. The 64GB model, best for most consumers, is just $129, and the Ethernet model is $149.
The new Apple TV also comes with the Siri Remote. While the update didn’t add Find My tracking, it did swap out the Lightning port for a USB-C port, so you won’t need so many cables around your house.
Apple’s new iPad, iPad Pro, and Apple TV are available for order now on Apple’s website. The iPads will start shipping on October 26th, while the updated Apple TV will start shipping November 4th.