This is the 9th generation iPad that is designed to give you exactly what you need and nothing
more, so that what you need doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. But does it succeed?
Welcome to My Tech Gear.
Let's find out!
So let's get the design of this out the way shall we? At the end of the day, let's face it, it looks
old! The iPad has been the same shape as this for roughly the last five years. Big forehead,
big chin, big bezels. It's just starting to show its age. It's just not very sexy. Especially
compared to some of the later, more expensive, iPad s like the ‘Air’ and the ‘Pro’ models.
Still, that is the price you pay for a more budget focused iPad.
Having said that, those bezels on either side does make it easier to hold in the horizontal
if you're trying to play games and things like that.
Personally I don't mind it. It's just starting to show its age.
So, spec wise we are looking at a 10.2 inch screen giving you a 2160 by 1620 resolution screen,
which is giving you a 264 pixels per inch screen. Now that is the same pixels per
inch as the more expensive iPad Air, albeit in a slightly smaller screen.
Screen brightness here, we are looking at a 500 nit panel. Now that doesn't
sound like much compared against the 1000 nit panel of the iPad Pro models,
but if you compare it against the Macbook Air, that only has a 400 nit panel.
In real terms it means you get a good picture that is clear and with vibrant colors.
There are some limitations to the screen though. The screen here isn't laminated.
So you will notice a slight gap between the screen and the glass on top of it. Unless
you're using this for Pro drawing and design you're not really going to notice that though.
There are some great features here though too. So the iPad has
Truetone technology. So that will adjust the color temperature of the screen depending on
the ambient light. That is something that you find on the more expensive iPad s as well.
It will also support the 1st generation Apple pencil. It won't support the 2nd generation one,
which is okay actually because the first generation version is cheaper. It's $99.
However, you can also use it with plenty of other third-party pencils
which are a lot cheaper, such as this one here that works fine with this Apple
iPad. This one costs about $20. So you don't have to buy Apple accessories all the time.
The cameras here are where we see some of the biggest changes compared to the previous
generations of the iPad. The 9th gen iPad now has a Facetime HD camera. Now this is the same camera
as you will see on the more expensive iPad Air’s or Pro’s. However it is missing a few of the bells
and whistles like depth sensing. Aside from that though you are getting a 12 megapixel front-facing
camera. It was only a 1.2 megapixel camera on previous generations. It also has a fantastic
wide field of view of 122 degrees. So if you're on skype calls or zoom calls with family or friends
it means you can pretty much fit everybody in. I have happily had this on a couch, or in front of
a couch, with a family of four and everybody fits in the picture. That front facing camera also has
‘Center Stage’. As you walk around the room, if you're on a skype call that camera is going to
follow you around the room. Which means you're never going to go out of shot on a zoom or skype
call pretty much ever again. Once you've used it you'll wonder how you ever did without it.
And the rear camera is a fairly standard 8 megapixel affair
with an f 2.4 aperture. To be honest though, with an iPad,
I think it's the front facing camera that you're going to be using a lot more.
Sound-wise, Apple says that the iPad has stereo speakers. Well, I guess it does have two speakers,
however they're on one side so it's not really stereo in my book. However, the iPad does have
a trick up its sleeve because it has a 3.5mm jack for your headphones. So if you want proper stereo,
plug in a pair of headphones. There are not many tablets, or even phones these days,
that are having this so it's a great feature to see, and great to see on a more budget device
as well. Which is good because the speakers really are a bit mediocre.
Battery life on this is really good as well. It has 10 hours of battery life on
a single charge. Now that is easily going to last you 10 hours. The battery life on this
seems to last forever. Far better than say android tablets that I've used in the past.
The iPad also supports 20 watt charging, and the charger is supplied in the box which is
a rarity these days. Charging though is via a lightning port at the bottom of the iPad
rather than a USB-C connection that you see on the more expensive Air and Pro models. So that is
a little disappointing, and it will charge the full in about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
There are more features on this as well. It doesn't have FaceId but it does have TouchId
via the bottom at the base of the screen which has been on iPad’s for a good number of years.
So some might find it a little disappointing not to have FaceId.
Again, I probably don't mind it because this is a budget device.
Powering the iPad is the A13 bionic chipset. That is the same chip that was in theiPhone 11
and 11 Pro, so you are getting a chipset that is a couple of years old. Having said that though,
games run smooth and fast. Play any modern games like Call of Duty Mobile and you will not notice
any lack of performance on this, and the screen is really bright and clear to play with as well.
Multitasking on this is fine but it's not great because it is only
a 10 inch screen. If you're doing simple multitasking though like writing emails,
taking notes, that kind of thing, then it's more than adequate. The fact that
you can even do this happily on a budget device is awesome.
Running on the iPad is iPadOS 15. This is the same operating system as you will find on the iPad Pro.
It's not all a bit of roses though.You can't do
multi-user accounts on an iPad. You just can't do it! On this iPad, or any iPad for that matter.
That's really annoying if you want to have multiple users on a family shared iPad.
It's even more frustrating because Apple do actually let you do it because you can have
multiple accounts on an iPad if you're a school through Apple's ‘Shared iPad
for Education’ program. That feature allows multiple students to share an iPad.However,
for commercial use, Apple just don't let you do it. You can have multiple accounts on an
Android tablet, on a PC. or even a Mac! So not having it on an iPad is really annoying.
I do hope that they change their mind and as the Mac and the iPad operating systems
get closer and closer it's something that we will see in hopefully the near future.
Price-wise we are looking at $329 USD for the 64GB model. Now that is twice the storage
of the previous generation iPad which only had 32GB. 64GB, I think, is the bare minimum.
I would have preferred 128GB. If you do want more storage then you do have to up the price.
There is a 256GB model, and that will set you back $479 USD. So you're paying an extra $150
for an extra 192GB of storage. Considering you can go and buy a 256GB microSD card off Amazon
for about $30, it is annoying that Apple don't allow expandable storage on this.
So if you are going to use the iPad for storing lots of videos and lots of games then I do suggest
the bigger model will be worth it. For most people though the 64GB model is going to be enough.
So how does this compare to the other iPad models? Well, the closest comparison would be the iPad
Air. The 64GB model of the iPad Air is $599 USD, and the 256GB model of the iPad Air is $749.
So the 64GB iPad Air is almost twice the price of the 64GB iPad 9th gen…and for what?
So you do get a nicer design. You get a better screen. You get USB-C.
You get a newer chipset. So if the value of all of that is worth upgrading
then get the iPad Air…but that is a big price difference!
So should you buy it? Well, iPad’s used to cost a fortune, and actually they still do,
but they don't have to. And this is proof of that!
Apple's latest 9th generation iPad represents amazing value for money as the entry level,
or the SE model, iPad. You do sacrifice some things though to keep to that lower price point.
The speakers aren't as great. You are still using that lightning port,
and it's not the most modern design.
But, the biggest wins for me is this. That front
facing 12 megapixel camera is awesome. It has fantastic battery life, and just getting
an iPad for such a low price. This isn't Apple's best-selling iPad for no reason.
Now I am not an Apple fanboy by any shape or form. I actually haven't owned an Apple product
before today! But, I have to say that the Apple ecosystem,
and the range of software available for it, makes it really hard to beat.
If you're after a tablet that's going to let you play games, surf the web, watch netflix,
and even do some light multitasking, then the iPad 9th gen is definitely for you. I will place
purchase links to it in the description down below so you can go check it out for yourself.
If however you would prefer a more full laptop experience, but at a cheap price,
then be sure to check out my video up here on some of the best chromebooks you can buy right now.
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