At $329, it would absolutely destroy sales of the Air. $270 for M1, laminated screen, and pencil 2? Good luck with that.
At $449, it's a ripoff, especially given how gimped it is. That is why I decided to get my sister a 2018 iPad Pro 11 that is in mint condition as it has the same performance as the iPad 10 and better GPU, has Stage Manager, full USB 3 speeds, quad speakers, Apple Pencil 2 support, and works with the Magic Keyboard, which isn't made for one specific model like the iPad 10. That is a big step up from the iPad 2 she has. While it's a bit older, I suspect Apple will support it for a while given that iPads in general can't take full advantage of the hardware. I got the whole kit for little as $637 (iPad Pro 2018 11" 256 GB, new Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard case), which for the iPad 10, will set you back $800. Sure you get more years of updates, but the features you are getting, it's a bad value
All the compromises Apple made with the iPad 10 makes it a very bad deal, especially when you compare to refurbished iPad Air 4, iPad Pro 11" 2018/2020. I think it would made more sense if Apple just took the iPad Air, remove P3 support but keep the laminated display and put an A14 in it like they do with the iPhone SE. Seeing them redesign the iPad Air 4 to gimp it and raise the price while having Apple Pencil 1 support with a dongle is just dumb, especially when they don't price it $349. At $449, you are already getting a bit closer to an iPad Air 5, especially when they go on sale, which is currently at $519, which ruins the value proposition of the iPad 10.
Nobody should be defending the iPad 10, the fact that it still uses the Apple Pencil 1 and has a keyboard case that does not work with the iPad Air 5 and Pro 11 if someone wants to upgrade later to a more powerful one like a new Air or Pro, which makes the accessories they have for the iPad 10 useless. Therefore, you have to buy a new keyboard case and a pencil.
Sure, people will laugh at this post since they don't agree, but I do not want people get ripped off in buying a product that is a bad value for the money. There are better options that you can get at the same price that is better than the iPad 10 such as a refurbished iPad Air 4/Pro 2018 or 2020 or a new Air 5 on sale. It's just like with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus. It's shameful that Apple released a new phone that is basically the same (besides the Plus) as last years model with a few features.