iPad Crazy to buy 10th gen ipad over the air 5?

[jm31828]

I picked up a Black Friday IPad Air 5 this weekend for $499. I love that it has the M1 chip and 8 gb ram, really future proofing it.

However, I won’t be a power user- I’d be using it for web browsing, social media, and photo editing using pixelmator.

I have somewhat sensitive eyes, and I like that both have no pwm flicker according to notebookcheck- and the 19th gen iPad is also stated to have no temporal dithering according to that same review, which makes it easier in sensitive eyes.

My question is- for the price of $399, would I be crazy to buy the 10th gen iPad and return the Air? Would the A14 chip and 4gb ram really be noticeably slower for my use case, and would I especially notice slow-downs or even miss out in features down the road if I went with this vs the air?

The $100 savings is great for what will be light usage, but I’m more than comfortable sticking with the more expensive air if that’s really the absolute best choice… I was only considering this due to the potential of being easier on my eyes.. but it’s possible the Air has no temporal dithering, either- it was just not called out in the review..

Thanks!!

 

[Shirasaki]

Why not enjoying a better iPad for years to come rather than artificially limiting your Future demand? Even if you maintain your light use scenario in the future, iOS demand and whatnot will make iPad 10 obsolete a bit faster than iPad Air 5, despite being one year newer.

I’d not bother about returning Air unless there’s something I absolutely think iPad 10 does better than iPad Air 5 For whatever reason, such as PWM issue.

 

[jm31828]

Thanks!
Yeah that has been my thought on this… I was only considering the display on the 10 may be more gentle on my eyes, but I would not want to make that purchase if it’s s mistake, if the 10 is so incredibly substandard compared to the Air.

 

[Shirasaki]

Thanks!
Yeah that has been my thought on this… I was only considering the display on the 10 may be more gentle on my eyes, but I would not want to make that purchase if it’s s mistake, if the 10 is so incredibly substandard compared to the Air.

I would not say iPad 10 is “incredibly” substandard compared to the Air, but here are a couple things iPad 10 is worse compared to Air:
1. Screen not laminated. There’s a clear gap between screen and plastic cover.
2. USB-C port only has USB 2 speed (absolute dealbreaker for me. Dunno about you)
3. Apple Pencil 1 (hilarious and impractical at the same time. I made the jump and bought iPad Pro 2018 specifically because how stupid Apple Pencil 1 is)
4. 4GB of RAM. You never know when Apple will throw away iPad 10 due to having only 4GB of RAM. iPad 10 already doesn’t support stage manager (at least fully) despite being a new product. So that’s not good.
5. Touch ID. This one is pretty debatable and Face ID isn’t 100% superior over Touch ID either (cough, mask cough).

What’s good about iPad 10:
1. Centered landscape front facing camera. It‘s kind of a chicken and egg guess on which reason comes first: centered camera first or Apple Pencil 1 support first. Regardless, that’s something not available on even the most expensive M2 iPad Pro ($3000 AUD!)
2. Disposable. Yes yes I know iPad is expensive electronics. But which loss hurts more? $2000 iPad Pro down the drain or a $400 one? So yeah, iPad 10 is somewhat disposable.
3. Good chip performance. Apple silicon has come to a period where “bad” “low end” stuff can still do good things, usually. The only thing that I think needing absolute best performance all of the time is gaming. Not even video editing can be that demanding given how utterly incompetent iPadOS is at utilising performance from single application. Don’t get me wrong. iPad 10 chip cant compete with M2, but it doesn’t have to be.

Well, above are just stuff coming off of my head. Highly subjective. Take it with an ocean of salt.

 

[Basic75]

Check your RAM usage while photo editing in Pixelmator. Depending on how many layers etc. you use 4GB might or might not be enough.

 

[YanniDepp]

Unless $100 is really important to you and is the difference between going bankrupt or not, stick with the Air 5.

The only special things about the iPad 10 are the landscape front-facing camera, and the pretty colours it comes in. Apart from that, the M1 Air is a much better iPad in every way.

The laminated screen looks better, can display more colours and makes the Air slightly thinner and lighter.

The M1 chip in the Air has twice as many performance cores (4 vs 2), twice as many graphics cores (8 vs 4) and twice as much RAM built in (8GB vs 4GB). It's an incredibly impressive chip for a tablet, and Apple is already adding features to iPadOS that only work on M1 and M2, so you can guarantee there'll be more "M1 and M2 only" features in the future. The A14 in the iPad 10 isn't terrible by any means - it's perfectly competent. But it's an old iPhone chip from 2 years ago. You'll definitely get better performance and support for a few more years with an M1.

Unless the iPad Air is annoying your eyes, I'd stick with it. I'm the kind of person who can see low-quality flickering LED light bulbs that other people can't, and the Air 5 screen has never caused me any problems.

 

[Propine]

I would probably keep Air just for the sake of not going through exchange, unboxing and setting up a new device. If a hundred bucks is more important to you than going through this hassle - then go exchange it, 10th gen fits your usage pretty well, but if you have a better application for your time - then just keep and enjoy Air.

 

[Basic75]

The M1 chip in the Air has twice as many performance cores (4 vs 2), twice as many graphics cores (8 vs 4) and twice as much RAM built in (8GB vs 4GB).

Of which the RAM is possibly the most important upgrade as more RAM is always useful and RAM is the biggest limiting factor of a device's lifetime nowadays. The CPU cores in the M1 and A14 are identical, and I wonder how many iPad applications can put the higher core count of the M1 under a serious load.

 

[Digitalguy]

Yes, crazy honestly, I don't know how much the screen of the air "bothers" you, but if it's minimal, it's definitely not worth it at all to even consider the possibility. Just the screen reflections and lower constrast of the 10th gen would hurt my eyes more than anything. And RAM will impact browsing, it's not the CPU different that matters, it's the RAM difference that will make the experience better or worse (in terms of reloads and reliability)

 

[Digitalguy]

Of which the RAM is possibly the most important upgrade as more RAM is always useful and RAM is the biggest limiting factor of a device's lifetime nowadays. The CPU cores in the M1 and A14 are identical, and I wonder how many iPad applications can put the higher core count of the M1 under a serious load.

Probably not many, it's more multitasking with Stage Manager that will be impacted by the number of cores and that's probably one of the reasons A14 didn't get it.

 

[Basic75]

it's more multitasking with Stage Manager that will be impacted by the number of cores and that's probably one of the reasons A14 didn't get it

It's surely RAM that made the difference. Multitasking was never limited on a 2 core Intel MacBook! Most interactive applications don't use any CPU while sitting there waiting for user input. Unless of course it's a webpage with bloody auto-playing videos and stuff... Or something legitimate like a render.

 

[Digitalguy]

It's surely RAM that made the difference. Multitasking was never limited on a 2 core Intel MacBook! Most interactive applications don't use any CPU while sitting there waiting for user input. Unless of course it's a webpage with bloody auto-playing videos and stuff... Or something legitimate like a render.

There are multiple reasons, that's why I said one of the reasons. But yes, RAM is definitely the number one in general, however the fact that Apple gave half of the stage manager capability (tablet only) to older devices having more cores (but the same RAM), although less powerful ones, may point to the number of cores being a factor (although other "marketing" factors probably played a role too). There is also another big factor that nobody talks about and which is probably an important reasons why there is not a downsized version of Stage Manager with external monitor support and it's because only M-series chips support Apple own displays, and they did want that to be a possibility.
Anyway the point is that, as I said in the other comment, RAM is a much bigger differentiator between A and M series chips than CPU/GPU, but is often overlooked (also because Apple hardly advertises it), hence the comment "but if I only use it for non intensive tasks (no gaming, no video editing etc) M1/2 is overkill", which is far from true because RAM, and not CPU/GPU, is very important for any kind of multitasking (even just browsing with several tabs) and with memory swap the difference between M chips (except the entry leve air 5) and A chips becomes even bigger.
PS concerning old dual core Macs, sure, but I guess in the meantime Apple has raised the bar to what is acceptable performance (maybe even a bit too high in some respects)

 

[sunking101]

If you already have the Air 5 then can't you check to see if it bothers your eyesight? If not then keep the better device.

I have the Mini 6 and its 4GB of RAM is an issue already let alone a few years down the line.

 

[jm31828]

Yes, crazy honestly, I don't know how much the screen of the air "bothers" you, but if it's minimal, it's definitely not worth it at all to even consider the possibility. Just the screen reflections and lower constrast of the 10th gen would hurt my eyes more than anything. And RAM will impact browsing, it's not the CPU different that matters, it's the RAM difference that will make the experience better or worse (in terms of reloads and reliability)

Thanks! Yeah, to be honest I don't know how much (if at all) the Air display would bother- I was just being overly-cautious and was liking the fact that the 10th gen was tested for not just PWM but the other item that can bother eyes- the temporal dithering. However,

Unless $100 is really important to you and is the difference between going bankrupt or not, stick with the Air 5.

The only special things about the iPad 10 are the landscape front-facing camera, and the pretty colours it comes in. Apart from that, the M1 Air is a much better iPad in every way.

The laminated screen looks better, can display more colours and makes the Air slightly thinner and lighter.

The M1 chip in the Air has twice as many performance cores (4 vs 2), twice as many graphics cores (8 vs 4) and twice as much RAM built in (8GB vs 4GB). It's an incredibly impressive chip for a tablet, and Apple is already adding features to iPadOS that only work on M1 and M2, so you can guarantee there'll be more "M1 and M2 only" features in the future. The A14 in the iPad 10 isn't terrible by any means - it's perfectly competent. But it's an old iPhone chip from 2 years ago. You'll definitely get better performance and support for a few more years with an M1.

Unless the iPad Air is annoying your eyes, I'd stick with it. I'm the kind of person who can see low-quality flickering LED light bulbs that other people can't, and the Air 5 screen has never caused me any problems.

Thanks! Yeah, to be honest I don't know if the Air will bother my eyes, I was just being overly-cautious and was liking the fact that the 10th gen was tested for not only PWM, but the one other item that can be bothersome- temporal dithering- and was proven not to have either.

But as you said, it's only a $100 difference (actually just a bit less), so it is sort of making sense to hang onto the Air- I was just a bit concerned and wanting to see if the safe choice might make sense at all, given that I cannot return the Air if there are any problems since I bought it from Amazon, not directly from Apple.

 

[jm31828]

If you already have the Air 5 then can't you check to see if it bothers your eyesight? If not then keep the better device.

I have the Mini 6 and its 4GB of RAM is an issue already let alone a few years down the line.

I do have the Air, but I bought it from Amazon, not directly from Apple- and their return policy does not really allow for returning it once the box is opened.
I suspect it'll be fine, I was just being extremely cautious and was curious if the 10th gen may be "good enough" for many years to come, just due to the fact that it's been tested and proven to be lacking the things that can bother the eyes for some who are sensitive- but it's very possible the Air doesn't have temporal dithering, either, given that another M1 device with an LCD display was also tested and proven not to have it- the M1 MacBook air.

Thanks for the response!

 

[Technerd108]

The 10th gen iPad is a head scratcher. You paid $100 more for an air. To me that is a very good deal.

The air has the m1 and 8gb ram over a14 and 4gb ram. Big difference. Might not be too noticeable now but in a couple years it will be. The air has a laminated display. This means when you touch the glass it won’t feel hollow. The display has an anti reflective coating while the 10th gen doesn’t plus the air gap. The air has p3 wide color gamut. The air has Apple Pencil 2 support which again may not be a big deal now but in the future you might want to use a pencil.

The 10th gen iPad has nice colors and cost a little less but the huge difference in performance and screen would be enough for me to get the air. If you ever want to sell your air you will get more of your money back as you bought it new at a significant discount.

Honestly if you don’t care about any of the advantages of the air then the 9th gen iPad is $279 from several retailers and at least it still has a headphone jack. This is why I think the 20th gen iPad is just a head scratcher. It doesn’t offer any real beneficial features over the 9th gen. Yet it costs significantly more. The air is just a little more expensive and has everything most users would want and should perform well for years to come with the M1 and 8gb ram.

In other words if I were you I would keep the air.

 

[jm31828]

The 10th gen iPad is a head scratcher. You paid $100 more for an air. To me that is a very good deal.

The air has the m1 and 8gb ram over a14 and 4gb ram. Big difference. Might not be too noticeable now but in a couple years it will be. The air has a laminated display. This means when you touch the glass it won’t feel hollow. The display has an anti reflective coating while the 10th gen doesn’t plus the air gap. The air has p3 wide color gamut. The air has Apple Pencil 2 support which again may not be a big deal now but in the future you might want to use a pencil.

The 10th gen iPad has nice colors and cost a little less but the huge difference in performance and screen would be enough for me to get the air. If you ever want to sell your air you will get more of your money back as you bought it new at a significant discount.

Honestly if you don’t care about any of the advantages of the air then the 9th gen iPad is $279 from several retailers and at least it still has a headphone jack. This is why I think the 20th gen iPad is just a head scratcher. It doesn’t offer any real beneficial features over the 9th gen. Yet it costs significantly more. The air is just a little more expensive and has everything most users would want and should perform well for years to come with the M1 and 8gb ram.

In other words if I were you I would keep the air.

Thanks! Yeah, actually it's less than $100 more for the air that I ordered on Saturday vs. what I could spend today for the 10th gen.... and the difference in specs (the M1 and the 8GB RAM alone) really make it worth that additional money.

Thanks for the response!

 

[darngooddesign]

IMO the Air is better than the 10 for the following reasons.

Better screen for drawing and art
More convenient Pencil 2
M1 chip with double the RAM
Stage Manager support
multitasking if you got there 256GB version
Not thunderbolt but still faster USB-C.
Different keyboard designs

 

[Mainsail]

There are a lot of negative reviews about the iPad 10, but I thought this one was pretty balanced. You have to get to the end of the video, but the upshot is that it is a great iPad if you plan to use it purely as a tablet without expensive Apple accessories. This is my case. I have a new MBA, so I don’t have a reason to try to convert my iPad into a laptop. Also, my tablet needs are pretty simple: reading (books/pdfs), streaming TV/Video, browsing web/mail, and occasionally using it as a mobile secondary screen (side car/universal control). So, I got my iPad 10 on sale for $419, which seemed like a fair deal. I’ll use it for 4 years, and that will be fine.

 

[klasma]

The only real benefit of the 10th gen is the landscape front camera. Unless that’s really important to you, either the 9th gen or the Air are a better deal and a more consistent package.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Thanks! Yeah, to be honest I don't know how much (if at all) the Air display would bother- I was just being overly-cautious and was liking the fact that the 10th gen was tested for not just PWM but the other item that can bother eyes- the temporal dithering. However,

Thanks! Yeah, to be honest I don't know if the Air will bother my eyes, I was just being overly-cautious and was liking the fact that the 10th gen was tested for not only PWM, but the one other item that can be bothersome- temporal dithering- and was proven not to have either.

But as you said, it's only a $100 difference (actually just a bit less), so it is sort of making sense to hang onto the Air- I was just a bit concerned and wanting to see if the safe choice might make sense at all, given that I cannot return the Air if there are any problems since I bought it from Amazon, not directly from Apple.

I’d hang onto the Air, unless you really want that landscape front-facing camera (it’s a really desirable feature!), and are willing to make the trade-off with the older gen-1 Apple Pencil (2nd gen pencil is much nicer!).

All of the other differences that @Shirasaki pointed out are true, but probably won’t make as much of a difference in day-to-day use as the camera location and pencil support.

EDIT - forgot about Stage Manager. Some people can live without it, I kinda like it. Since that’s personal preference, I still think the two differences above are the real drivers. Every would really like both the landscape camera support + Apple Pencil gen 2, but it simply doesn’t exist at this time.

 

[rkuo]

I’d hang onto the Air, unless you really want that landscape front-facing camera (it’s a really desirable feature!), and are willing to make the trade-off with the older gen-1 Apple Pencil (2nd gen pencil is much nicer!).

All of the other differences that @Shirasaki pointed out are true, but probably won’t make as much of a difference in day-to-day use as the camera location and pencil support.

EDIT - forgot about Stage Manager. Some people can live without it, I kinda like it. Since that’s personal preference, I still think the two differences above are the real drivers. Every would really like both the landscape camera support + Apple Pencil gen 2, but it simply doesn’t exist at this time.

The landscape camera is good in some ways, but Center Stage still takes it to another level ... it's one of those features I didn't know I needed. I like that the camera finds my face instead of me having constantly reposition my face and or tablet angle. But the kicker is that my elderly mother has for a year never figured out how to get her entire face on the screen to talk to my toddler, and after getting her a new iPad, Center Stage completely solved this. Priceless!

 

[Mainsail]

The only real benefit of the 10th gen is the landscape front camera. Unless that’s really important to you, either the 9th gen or the Air are a better deal and a more consistent package.

Well, the iPad 10 does have a few advantages over the iPad 9:

USB-C vs Lightning connector
Landscape two speaker audio vs two speakers
10.9 inch vs 10.2 inch display
Landscape front facing camera
A14 vs A13 chip, 16-core vs 8-core neural engine
4GB vs 3GB RAM
12MP vs 8MP rear camera
4K video recording
Greater color selection and updated form factor

I am probably forgetting some things.

Anyway, the retail price difference is about $120. Only you can decide if these things are worth it for your particular needs. In my case, I got my iPad 10 on sale for $419 and plan to keep it for about 4 years. That seemed like a reasonable deal to me, but YMMV.

 

[klasma]

Well, the iPad 10 does have a few advantages over the iPad 9:

USB-C vs Lightning connector
Landscape two speaker audio vs two speakers
10.9 inch vs 10.2 inch display
Landscape front facing camera
A14 vs A13 chip, 16-core vs 8-core neural engine
4GB vs 3GB RAM
12MP vs 8MP rear camera
4K video recording
Greater color selection and updated form factor

I am probably forgetting some things.

Anyway, the retail price difference is about $120. Only you can decide if these things are worth it for your particular needs. In my case, I got my iPad 10 on sale for $419 and plan to keep it for about 4 years. That seemed like a reasonable deal to me, but YMMV.

Yeah, but you can also get those things with the Air, which was the point of comparison in the thread title. The one thing you is can’t is the landscape camera.

 

[Mainsail]

Yeah, but you can also get those things with the Air, which was the point of comparison in the thread title. The one thing you is can’t is the landscape camera.

I was just responding to your previous post that indicated the only real benefit of the iPad 10 over the 9 was the landscape camera, but you are correct that the thread is really about the 10 vs the Air.

In my case, I was really just looking for a base level iPad. With Apple retail pricing, the Air is $150 more than the 10. And, the extra features aren't really worth it for me, BUT, I use my iPad strictly as a tablet and not as a laptop replacement, since I own an M2 MBA. I have no use for the Apple Pencil and know this from owning one for a couple of years. BTW - I realize that others might find the pencil indispensable, including my son in grad school. Of course, the sales price changes the comparison somewhat. I got my 10 for $419 and the Op paid $499 for the Air, which closes the gap considerably.