-October 24, 2021 at 11:19 a.m. Pacific Time

Since the first iPad was launched, I have been using Apple's "Pro" iPad. For someone like me who uses the iPad in a professional environment, this is an obvious game, and it's cool to do so. In the past six years, Apple has also specifically provided cool new features for the iPad Pro, leaving ordinary iPads on deaf ears. But recently, Apple has begun to show a willingness to share its best new features with iPad, iPad Air and iPad mini. In the past few days, I have been shaking Apple's new 9th generation iPad, and I was surprised to say that it is great, it is the first iPad that has everything I need.

I will refer to it as the new iPad in the rest of this article. It is superficial, just another spec bulge of the aging iPad home button design. But it is much more than that, and has so many comprehensive improvements that it is the only iPad I recommend to anyone right now.

I like the iPad Pro, it has a gorgeous ProMotion borderless display and M1 chip. But I quickly learned that these things are not even necessary for a great iPad experience. The iPad Air has similar performance to the new iPad, but uses a borderless Liquid Retina display. It is also compatible with Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard, but these are just "good choices". The new iPad mini is not a product I recommend to people who are definitely looking for an iPad, especially if the goal is to get the job done. It is suitable for very niche audiences who want a microcomputer that fits in a jacket pocket and feels like a 21st century moleskin magazine.

So, other than that, why do I like the new iPad? Let's start with the design. Since the launch of the iPad Air 2 in 2014, it looks almost the same as all other iPads. But if you choose the silver model, you will get a new two-tone appearance that Apple has never provided since the fourth-generation iPad. It has a black front bezel and a silver rear chassis. It looks very beautiful, and frankly, it looks better than any previous iPad with a home button. The Space Gray model looks exactly like any other Space Gray iPad, so if you care about the feel of the device and it looks "new", I suggest you stay away from it.

The new iPad has a very fast chip. In fact, it is the first and only iPad equipped with an A13 bionic processor. Apple only used A13 in iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone SE, but chose to provide A12Z processor for iPad Pro. I immediately noticed that the A13 makes the new iPad feel as fast as the iPad Air or even the iPad mini. I know there are many nuances to consider, but in daily standard use, I don't feel any difference.

I don't play a lot of intense games on the iPad, but stick to simple games. I like puzzles and simulators, and the performance of these two categories here is no different from the performance on the more expensive iPad. I have been playing a lot of Townscaper on my iPad and it works very well. The neural engine in the A13 makes the new iPad scream, which is the best part of this particular chip upgrade. It is extremely fast and makes multitasking feel as smooth as on the iPad Air. This is a great experience, and anyone, even the most avid iPad user, will be satisfied with it. I spent some time on the 7th generation iPad before, and I always find it drops frames and slows down where other iPads don’t. For the $329 iPad, this is no longer a problem.

If you have an 8th generation iPad equipped with an A12 chip last year, you are still in good shape. But the evolution from A12 to A13 is huge, and you can feel the overall performance improvement. This was especially true when Apple introduced the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

If you want an iPad to make video calls, please don't buy an iPad Air. Buy a new iPad. It has one of Apple's best new features: Center Stage. The center stage uses a new wide-angle front camera and adjusts the field of view to correctly show you and anyone else at the end of the call. The camera is also significantly better, now it is a 12-megapixel camera instead of 1.2-megapixel. It is one of the best front cameras that Apple ships in products.

The diagonal of the display on the new iPad is still 10.2 inches. Its size is huge, and the screen is just good enough to do the job efficiently without feeling cramped. It is not much smaller than the 10.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro. Apple did not change the display resolution at all, but introduced one of its best display features: True Tone.

With True Tone on the new iPad, the display can adjust its color temperature according to ambient light. When you are in a warmer space, the display becomes more yellow. When you are in a bright white space, the display becomes bluer. Apple's technology here is very magical, anyone who has used True Tone knows that once they have used it, they cannot do without it.

Apple has also added sRGB colors to the new iPad to improve color reproduction. But this is not the big improvement you will notice year by year.

One of the best aspects of the new iPad is the storage configuration. Apple doubled the storage configuration of the new iPad, but the price point remains the same. The new iPad offers 64GB of storage space at the same price of $329. The basic model is great value for money, but the new 256GB option is great value for money. Apple previously only provided a maximum capacity of 128GB on the iPad, but 256GB is a good computer level.

For only $479, you can get a 256GB iPad with Wi-Fi. The iPad mini starts at $499 and comes with 64GB of storage, while the iPad Air starts at 64GB and costs $599. Therefore, you can get 256GB of storage space at a lower price than a basic iPad mini or iPad Air.

There are cellular options available, but I stay away from those now. The cellular iPad only has LTE, while the iPad mini and iPad Pro both have 5G. If you have a mobile phone that supports LTE, just use the hotspot. If you have a mobile phone that supports 5G, you are in a better position. Apple will eventually bring 5G to the basic iPad. It is unclear whether this technology can afford next year's 10th generation iPad, but it will eventually appear. Apple put a lot of eggs in the 5G basket.

The feeling of using this new iPad is almost the same as using iPad Air or iPad Pro. It runs the same iPadOS 15 and has improved multitasking, quick notes and widgets on the home screen. With this new iPad, you can do almost anything you can do on the iPad Pro.

Multitasking on the new iPad feels great. Moving the application to split view is smooth. Glides quickly, and the app is very good at keeping me away from them. The application switcher is not surprising at all, I didn't notice any dropped frames. To make a long story short, the new iPad is great for multitasking.

Some other changes have been made to this new iPad. First, Apple actually deleted one thing: GSM and Edge. Cellular models will not be able to connect to networks that use these protocols. For most people, this is not a big deal because neither is really used anymore, but if you live in a country or region that does use them, it’s important to understand this.

Apple has added a new feature to the camera of the new iPad. In addition to 30fps, users can now shoot at 25fps.

The Wi-Fi model of the new iPad is actually slightly lighter than last year's 8th generation iPad. This is a very small difference, and you may not notice it. But it is a nice little part of the story of the new iPad. Ironically, the cellular model of the new iPad this year is heavier than last year.

Many things in the new iPad are still the same. The most obvious thing that remains the same is the Touch ID sensor built into the front home button. It is as fast and safe as ever, and I like it. Using the new iPad confirmed my suspicion that the Home button Touch ID sensor is more accurate and reliable than the side-mounted sensors on the iPad Air and iPad mini.

Apple has retained the lightning interface on the new iPad. They say this is to maintain compatibility with the existing iPad accessories used by the organization, but I think it's more than that. I noticed that taking a new iPad and iPhone with me and having a lightning charger is much better than having to carry a lightning charger and a USB-C charger wherever I go. Ordinary iPad users do not need USB-C, and they are likely to be happy to use the same charger as the iPhone. Lightning also means that you can still use the original Apple Pencil. Apple's second-generation pencil is better, but not so good that this is a miss. The only real benefit of the second-generation Apple Pencil is that it can be attached to the side.

The speakers on the new iPad are still stereo and installed at the bottom. These are the worst speakers you can get in an iPad right now, but they are still very good. They are not as loud or full as the iPad Air or iPad Pro, but you will be satisfied with them.

The rear camera is still 8 megapixels, which is quite mediocre. It's good to take a quick video or take a photo instantly, but you don't want to use it as your main camera. I don't know why anyone wants to use an iPad as their main camera, but if you plan to do so, please buy an iPad Pro.

The new iPad still uses the original smart connector design, which means you can still use the smart keyboard. It's still a floppy disk and stupid appearance when closed, but it's still an excellent mobile keyboard. I especially like to use it in coffee shops. Unlike the Smart Keyboard Cover and Magic Keyboard for iPad Air and iPad Pro, you can adjust the Smart Keyboard to a standard Smart Cover Stand to watch movies. You can tuck the keyboard well behind the iPad. I thought I would miss the trackpad on the Magic Keyboard, but I didn't. We have not had a trackpad on the iPad for ten years, but I can still use the trackpad without a trackpad comfortably.

Finally, yes, there is a headphone jack. I will never use it, but it is there, and people who want an iPad with a headphone jack can still buy it, which is good.

This is the iPad to get. Unless you absolutely want USB-C or use Apple's newer Apple Pencil and keyboard, there is no reason to spend a huge premium to upgrade to a higher-end iPad. Apple has turned the $329 iPad into a product for everyone. The changes they made this year are in all the right places. It is faster, more suitable for remote work, and has better entertainment display effects, but it is still as thin and light as ever. It is difficult to surpass Apple's value in this regard. For most people, it is the best tablet.

PS: If you are a student, you can get a new iPad for only $309; if you buy a new iPad in bulk for schools and universities, you can get it for only $299.

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Apple’s tablet made its debut in 2010. Since the original version, it has expanded to multiple screen sizes and Pro and non-Pro options.

All products reviewed by the 9to5Mac team.

Parker Ortolani is a marketing strategist and product designer based in New York. In addition to contributing to 9to5mac, he is also responsible for the product development and marketing of BuzzFeed. As a long-time reader, Parker is happy to share his product concepts and ideas with 9to5mac audiences.

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