iPad Air, iPad Pro Or iPad 9th Gen? This iPad Buying Guide Will Help You Choose
Purchasing an iPad is not an easy task, thanks to the variety in terms of screen sizes, resolutions, processors, Apple Pencil version support, cameras & much more. This guide should help.
By Akriti Rana and Nimish Dubey
Tablets have had quite a roller-coaster journey in the tech world. There was a time when everyone thought that they were going to be the next big thing and some even felt that they were going to be the magical product which would eliminate the need to carry smartphones and notebooks. But as smartphones grew bigger and notebooks got more powerful, tablets kind of disappeared from the radar. They have made a comeback of sorts recently, thanks to the pandemic, when people needed additional displays as work from home became the rule.
One tablet that has strongly stood the test of time is Apple’s iPad — the tablet that can claim to have started the original tablet revolution way back in 2010. It has not only stayed relevant when all other tablets were getting obsolete but has continued to remain an extremely popular choice. Purchasing an iPad, however, is no longer an easy task. The days when there was just one iPad and all you had to decide was storage capacity and the kind of connectivity you wanted on it, are history.
Walk into a retail outlet or log in to an online store and you will be surprised at just the variety of avatars that Apple's best selling tablet has. You will find yourself confronted by a variety of iPads, differing in terms of screen sizes, resolutions, processors, Apple Pencil version support, cameras, login options and much more. Yes, they all run on the same iPad OS and will receive updates for years to come (just like iPhones), but with that software unity lies much tech and design diversity.
So how do you work out which iPad out there is the tab for you? We have attempted to make the task easier for you through this guide:
iPad (9th Generation): The perfect budget warrior
If you wish to board the iPad bandwagon without burning too deep a hole in your savings, then the base iPad (which Apple calls just "iPad" with no suffixes) is the perfect option for you. It comes with a 10.2 inch Retina display which is bigger than what you would get from a smartphone and smaller than what you would get on some of the notebooks, making it the ideal tablet size. It measures 250.6 x 174.1 x 7.55 mm and weighs about 500 grams.The design is a little dated with thick bezels and a home button under the display, but the tablet's performance remains as impressive as ever.
It is powered by A13 Bionic chip which may be a couple of generations behind the snazzy A15 Bionic or M1 that run the other new iPads, but it is actually quite powerful. It will not only get you through everyday chores but can also see you through relatively power-hungry tasks such as video editing. Just do not expect the sort of turn of speed you get on the other iPads. It does have the amazing battery life of the other iPads, though, going to ten hours and beyond on a single charge. It is the only current iPad with a lighting port (the others have moved to USB Type C), but then it is also the only one with a 3.5 mm audio jack for wired headphones!
The iPad is equipped with a 12 megapixel ultra wide camera on the front which is very good for FaceTime and occasional selfies. There is an 8 megapixel sensor on the back, which is best used to scan documents and record something informative, but will not really blow your mind, especially if you have used a smartphone camera. That display is paired with stereo speakers, giving the iPad a solid multimedia punch. The iPad does not come with support for the latest Apple Pencil but can pair with first gen Apple Pencil, which is still around and is more affordable. Overall, if the budget is slim or if you simply wish to buy a tablet that can fit in your daily chores and content-viewing life then the iPad is the perfect option for you.
Price: Rs 30,900 onwards
iPad mini (6th generation): Petite, portable and powerful
Looking for a tablet that is bigger than your smartphone and is yet extremely portable? Well, if you wish to get an iPad that is the most comfortable to carry around then the iPad mini will be the ideal choice for you. Measuring 195.4 x 134.8 x 6.3 mm and weighing about 300 grams, the iPad mini is actually just a little larger than some of the really big smartphones that we see in the market these days. And that is its biggest USP. To tell you that it is so compact that you will be able to use it with a single hand would be a lie but the iPad mini is small enough to fit into an overcoat’s pocket or can be even carried in one's hand without feeling like too much of a burden.
Even though it comes in a remarkably small body, Apple has not compromised much on the size of its display. It sports a 8.3 inch Liquid Retina display, which is not too far from the 10.2 inch display of the basic iPad. Design-wise, the iPad mini is more modern looking as compared to the basic iPad. It comes with the latest thin-bezel design and a flat back with flat sides. There is a physical fingerprint scanner neatly combined with the power button on the top and a USB Type C port on the base. It also comes with support for the second generation Apple Pencil and has a magnetic connector and charging point on the side.
It may be mini in size but Apple has loaded the iPad mini with pretty big specs and numbers, making it a petite yet powerful tablet to have. It is powered by the latest A15 Bionic chipset (similar to the ones the iPhone 13 series) which can easily take any task you throw at it from high end gaming to multimedia editing. It brings a very good 12 megapixel camera on the back and is perhaps the only iPad that can actually be used a bit as a camera. A 12 megapixel ultrawide on the front makes video calls and selfies a snap. Round that off with very good stereo speakers and that ten hour battery life, and the iPad mini emerges as an absolute powerhouse of a device, making it portable and powerful.
Price: Rs 46,900 onwards
iPad Air: Perhaps the best value for money iPad
Looking for an iPad that can deliver power and performance max without having to spend max? The new iPad Air is basically the best value for money iPad in this list. This is because it is powered by the powerful Apple M1 Chip that was previously seen only on the iPad Pro range, and comes with a price tag which is not as high as its Pro siblings. It sports a 10.9 inch Liquid Retina display and the M1 chip means that it can easily take on any task you may throw its way. It follows contemporary iPad design language with slimmer bezels on the front, flat back and flat sides. It also comes with a power lock button which doubles up as a fingerprint scanner placed on the top.
The smaller bezels mean that in spite of sporting a bigger display, it is actually smaller than the base iPad, with dimensions that are 247.6 mm x 178.5 x 6.1 mm. It not only brings more display real estate in a slightly smaller form factor, but lives up to its name by being lighter at around 460 grams. Just like the iPad mini, it also brings a 12 megapixel sensor on the back and another 12 megapixel sensor on the front. There are stereo speakers on board, support for the latest Apple Pencil (with a magnetic charging point on the side) and USB Type C for charging purposes. Battery life stays at the standard 10 hours or more. It might not have the display specs of the Pro series, but has its heart (the processor). That makes it the iPad for those who want a power packed iPad experience without spending an absolute bomb.
Rs 54,900 onwards
iPad Pro 11 inch (3rd generation) : A powerful notebook replacement
Need an iPad which can replace a powerful enough notebook but comes with top notch hardware and features too? Well, if budget is not an issue then the iPad Pro is the iPad you want in your life. The tablet is loaded with specs and features, and as its name indicates, has been designed for professional use. It comes with a 11 inch Liquid Retina Display. As this is a Pro, the display comes with ProMotion technology which supports up to 120 Hz refresh rates, enabling smoother scrolling and a better viewing experience. It is an adaptive refresh rate, so it changes based on the content being seen, ensuring that battery life is not compromised. Battery life, which incidentally, remains at that legendary 10 hour or more mark, in spite of that bigger, brighter display. There is also LiDAR technology for those who want more immersive AR experiences, and also better low-light photography.
It is powered by Apple’s top of the line M1 chipset which can easily handle all of the heavy-duty work load that you put on it. Unlike other iPads, the iPad Pro brings a dual camera unit on the back. It consists of a 12 megapixel wide and a 10 megapixel ultrawide sensor, both of which are capable of shooting very good videos and images . On the front there is another 12 megapixel snapper. It also comes with four speaker audio, making it a boss for content consumption. It comes with thin bezels, a flat back and flat sides (one of which can be used to charge the new Apple Pencil), and is actually about the same size as the iPad Air in spite of having a slightly larger display. It is 247. 6 mm long, 178.5 wide, and is one of the slimmest devices around at a mere 5.9 mm. It also weighs only fractionally more than the iPad Air at 468 grams.
There is more Pro stuff here. While the iPad Pro 11 has a USB Type C port for charging, it is actually a Thunderbolt port, which allows you to transfer data at twice the speeds of conventional USB Type C ports. You can even connect a display to this iPad Pro. Round that off with Apple's ultra secure and speedy Face ID, and you have one of the most powerful tablets around. While it does come with a slightly hefty price tag, it actually would be ideal for any professional who wants some freedom from their hefty notebooks and likes to have the option to customise their tablet to suit their needs. You can pair it with a keyboard, use it with the second generation Apple Pencil to sketch art, connect it to an external display…the iPad Pro will match your pro steps with ease.
Price: Rs 71,900 onwards
iPad Pro 12.9 inch (5th generation): The Big Boss
This is basically the iPad Pro 11 inch, but with a bigger display. And what a display it is too. It is almost as big as that on a 13-inch MacBook, and has a much higher resolution - the MacBook Pro 13 inch has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, the iPad Pro (12.9 inch) has a staggering 2732 x 2048 resolution. This is the highest resolution you will find on any iPad. It is a very different display from its 11 inch Pro sibling in terms of technology as well. Apple calls it a Liquid Retina XDR display. It comes with mini LEDs, which Apple claims produces colours and details like no other, and also has a maximum brightness of a staggering 1000 nits (the iPad Pro 11 inch is 600 nits, just for comparison). This is quite simply one of the most brilliant displays you will ever be able to carry in your hand. What is remarkable is that even with this bump up in size and brightness (and it also has a 120 Hz refresh rate with Pro Motion technology), the battery life of this iPad remains the same as its brothers - you can easily get past ten hours on a single charge.
The bigger display also means the iPad Pro 12.9 inch is bigger in size and heavier. It measures 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4 mm and weighs 684 grams, making this the biggest and heaviest iPad in the list. This takes away its portability points, but given its hardware (the M1 chip, the cameras, quad speakers, Face ID, Thunderbolt port, et al) the iPad Pro 12.9 inch is ideal for those who need a big, bright touch screen display to work with and can use as canvas. Artists, designers and editors will appreciate its colour handling, and can use it as just a big screen to view content, pair it with a pencil and put it on a table to make it a canvas for creativity. If you are the type that is up to typing, attach a keyboard and make even MacBook users go green with envy. This is the Big Boss of iPads, and comes with a price tag to match.
Price: Rs 99,900
What about the older generation iPads that are still being sold?
The iPads mentioned above are the only ones that are officially available from Apple. The brand does not sell older models. However, many retailers (online as well as offline) still offer older generation iPads, iPad minis, iPad Airs, and iPad Pros, and often at very affordable prices. Should you consider purchasing them? Well, the longevity of iPads is legendary and just like iPhones, they keep getting software updates for five years and sometimes even longer.
So if you are getting a great deal and are not obsessed with the latest and/or greatest, then definitely go for them. Our only advice would be to ensure that you stay within a generation of the new versions. Any older and you might find yourself losing out on software updates in the longer term and you might also find it difficult to get accessories (like keyboard case and covers) for them. Just to be on the safe side, check the packaging and the warranty.
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