Well, I think you should wait until we learn how much RAM is in the 7th gen iPad. If it has 3GB, getting the 128GB version would seem nice enough. At this point in time RAM is the most important as iPadOS has many multitasking features. And personally I want to use those features. If it doesn't have 3GB, I would get a refurbished 10.5" pro or an Air 3. Yes they are more expensive, but just think about how next year iPadOS will run on a 2GB iPad. I myself bought a 6th gen 128GB iPad in 2018 for below 400 Euro and I am happy with it, but now in 2019 the choice would be more difficult. The iPad Air seems great, but it is only 64GB for about 550 EUR. If you can live with 64GB, then great (and honestly I have more than 90GB free at the moment).
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iPad New 10.2" iPad: Touch ID, Smart Connector, A10, 2160x1620 - $329 - ** 3 GB RAM CONFIRMED **
- Thread starter EugW
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This is an entry level iPad folks. If it had a faster CPU it’d start encroaching on the mid-level iPad Air.
Seriously, the entry level laptops Best Buy sells are not getting dinged for not having a state of the art CPU!
In any case all of these devices are SO fast for how the vast majority of people use their iPads that it doesn’t matter to the target market AT ALL.
Seriously, the entry level laptops Best Buy sells are not getting dinged for not having a state of the art CPU!
In any case all of these devices are SO fast for how the vast majority of people use their iPads that it doesn’t matter to the target market AT ALL.
How so? Battery life is up to 10 hours, mostly depended on screen brightness setting. Charging time is normal on 6th gen iPad. Now the 4th gen iPad, those took forever to charge.
If you have faulty battery, please contact Apple. I'm sure they will replace your battery.
Entry level or not, it should have a decent 2019 grade CPU. This iPad will not have good long term OS support, and since Apple's longer term security support for devices is hopeless, it is a bad move.
The value of the entry level iPad has continued to drop. The 5th gen had 1 year old tech, the 6th gen also had 1 year old tech, now we're getting 2.5 year old tech.
Apple should be capable of selling decent specs at this price level.
They will likely stay on sale through third party channels for another year though, replacing the 6s. If the 8 is replaced with a new cheaper A12/A13 model early next year the A10 will handily outlive the A11, interestingly. So far it has seemed 3GB is the new minimum for iOS devices, so maybe this is the difference for the 10.2"?
GSM Arena is reporting 2 GB RAM for the 10.2” model in their database. If that is true, that would be pretty sad. We’ve had 2 GB iPads for 5 years now.
I wonder why Apple never reveals memory size of their IOS devices. Are they hiding this for some purpose? Or think it's not important for customers to know? They sure aren't shy about promoting memory sizes of their iMacs and Mac Minis.
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Forgot about the 10.2 iPad... i am keeping my 9.7 iPad Pro and 6th Generation iPad as long as possible. Office 365 is free for devices with 10.1 inch screen or smaller. I want enjoy free Office as long as possible!
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It should have a A11 processor at least. This is not even an update to me, only thing changed was the smart connector. This is like iPad mini 3 all over again, if you remember that far.
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It should have a A11 processor at least. This is not even an update to me, only thing changed was the smart connector. This is like iPad mini 3 all over again, if you remember that far.
Agreed. Should have been A11 at the very least.
Oh yes. The Mini 3 was one of the worst iPad updates ever! just the Mini 2 with Touch ID.
If it has only 2GB and with the A10, it does seem outdated at this point, especially because of iPadOS. Remember how Apple sold the iPad 2 for far too long? Also to schools? That thing could barely do stuff with the new OS updates. It slowed to a crawl. I know, I had one. Now the comparison isn't totally valid as the A10 has given me a far better experience. Still, that RAM should be 3GB, as the OS does reload Safari tabs and many apps far too many times already on the 6th gen iPad, and I guess iPadOS would make it even worse.
Would a new version come out in March 2020 with A11 and 3GB RAM? That would be great for all those who got an iPad for Christmas. So I guess it will be September 2020. I'm fine with my 6th gen for a while, maybe three more years.
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Would a new version come out in March 2020 with A11 and 3GB RAM? That would be great for all those who got an iPad for Christmas. So I guess it will be September 2020. I'm fine with my 6th gen for a while, maybe three more years.
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Uh, remember the iPad 3? That was an iPad 2 with retina display. It was tremendously underpowered. Sure it had 1GB RAM instead of the paltry 512MB of the iPad 2, but it could barely handle the retina display. And yeah, the mini 3 was bad too. Does the 7th gen iPad fall in the same category? Perhaps. At least the prices are lower. Entry level used to start at $499.
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What I always find funny is that many people describe Apple users as cultist who worship everything Apple brings to market, but I find the opposite to be true. I'm a huge Apple fan since the 1990s, but also very critical, like many more Apple fans. We want Apple to do better, because we want Apple to give people the best experience possible, especially concerning the entry level stuff. The greater the experience you give at the bottom, the more likely people are going to buy the more expensive stuff.
As I sit here playing with my iPhone 7 Plus with A10, I am reminded that A10 performance is actually OK for mainstream users. Furthermore, what I've always said before is that SoC/CPU performance is usually not the main determinant of device usability and longevity. So, in retrospect I can understand Apple's choice to go with an A10.
However, for Apple hardware, the main determinant of usability and longevity is usually RAM. An A10 paired with 3 GB RAM would be reasonable. An A10 paired with 2 GB RAM in 2019 would be too stingy, but unfortunately, Apple has a habit of being overly stingy with RAM.
However, for Apple hardware, the main determinant of usability and longevity is usually RAM. An A10 paired with 3 GB RAM would be reasonable. An A10 paired with 2 GB RAM in 2019 would be too stingy, but unfortunately, Apple has a habit of being overly stingy with RAM.
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While that's true of older generations, the A10 is surprisingly capable.
We have A8X, A9, A9X, A10, A10X and A12 hardware in the household and to be honest, unless you're doing heavy gaming or media creation/editing or something, the performance difference from A9 to A12 is barely noticeable. The A8X, there are more noticeable stutters and slowdowns but still way better than probably any netbook. Chances are it's the slow/low-powered cores on the newer chipsets that are in use most of the time.
At $329, this ain't bad. However, might be better off just getting the $249/32GB, $329/128GB 6th gen particularly if one doesn't care for the minor size increase and ASK support.
This makes so much more sense now that I know this. The air makes more sense in the lineup this way as it's literally a thinner more powerful version of this iPad. Interesting.
It's not a "cash grab"... and it isn't Apple's intention to market this to people who own the 2018 iPad. This notion that people upgrade their iPads on an annual basis is not what an overwhelming majority of people do.
As for longevity, Apple is in complete control as to the longevity of a particular processor... the fact that they are releasing a brand new device with the A10 at the end of 2019 is great news for everyone who owns an iPad with an A10. It means that the EOL for A10 devices has just been extended another year beyond what it was before. And if Apple produces a new iPad in 2020 with an A10, it means that the life of the processor extends yet another year.
This hyper-focusing on specs by Apple fans is highly un-Apple-like. Is "it just works" no longer a thing?
It sounds like you haven't used a comparably priced chromebook within the last 12 months. If you have, I'd be interested in hearing how chromebooks are "pure garbage".
We focus on specs because we don’t want to feel ripped off. The A10 is 3 years old now, cmon Apple. 3 years is a long time in tech.
What's your specific budget? Are you willing to buy used/refurbished or only new?
How do you know this? Apple is in complete control of how long this device is supported. I find a lot of fault with the current state of Apple, but longevity of support is the one thing that Apple still does far better than the competition.
Apple can in theory throw any iOS version, does not mean future iOS would run great on that particular hardware. I have my serious doubt on how well iOS 15 would run on A10 processor.
We all know that how iOS 9 pretty much ruin iPhone 4S and iOS 7 is struggle on iPhone 4. How iPad 3 was not aged well compare with iPad 4 which release half year later, we all know how iPad mini 3 was killed at same time with iPad mini 2.
It really doesn’t matter, A10 processor is 3 years old processor, it won’t last as long as you think.
I would say, Apple is doing planned obsolescence right now. Apple could end all A10 based devices, and forcing all A10 based devices users upgrade. And I seriously doubt this iPad will receive 3 iOS updates.
I was planning on upgrading my iPad Air (A7?) to this "new" 2019 iPad, but now I'm reconsidering after reading this thread. I had also considered deciding between the 10.5" Air and the 10.5" Pro. And now I see the 11" Pro is in the Apple refurbished site as well. I don't mind buying refurbished (from Apple) my current iPad Air was bought as a refurb and it's been great although it has been getting noticeably slower lately. @EugW do you feel like the 11" Pro is worth the price difference of the 10.5" Pro?
I'd only add to this discussion that starting with IOS 12, Apple had been aware of previous IOS performance issues with their older devices. Apple claims to have made changes in IOS 12 to help accommodate these issues, and I have no reason to doubt that. So I don't think longevity is as bad as it used to be with their latest processors and recent IOS versions.
But for sure the record pain with a bogged down, practically unusable iPad running the latest supported IOS at the time was the legendary iPad 3.
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I don't know what features and storage you need, but for example:
$469 - 64 GB 10.5" iPad Pro WiFi
$679 - 64 GB 11" iPad Pro WiFi
$599 - 256 GB 10.5" iPad Pro WiFi
$809 - 256 GB 11" iPad Pro WiFi
It seems the price difference is $210. Would I pay the difference?
Yes I probably would. I own the 10.5" iPad Pro, and it runs great, but there are some annoyances. For example, if you want to attach USB accessories to the 10.5" iPad Pro, you need a dongle, and often you also need external power. Just imaging how annoying it must be to have to attach a Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter + plug in iPad charger + plug in Lightning cable just to be able to download a file from a more power hungry USB flash drive. On the 11" iPad Pro, all you need is a USB to USB-C adapter ($3 on Amazon) and you're done. The other annoyance is Pencil 1. There is nowhere to put it with the 10.5", and it rolls off the table because it's round. It is also awkward to charge. For the 11", Pencil 2 attaches magnetically to the iPad Pro, and it charges wirelessly, although it's more expensive. Or you can get Logitech Crayon which is even cheaper than Pencil 1.
OTOH, if you don't need external storage or don't need Pencil, then that's not an issue. Furthermore, if you want Smart Keyboard, it's often cheaper for the 10.5" than it is for the 11". I highly recommend the Smart Keyboard.
However, since you already have an Air I might suggest hanging onto it a bit longer and hope they release an update to the 11" iPad Pro before you make a decision. Even if you don't get the 4th generation 11" iPad Pro, the 3rd generation will likely drop in price at that time. The risk though is having to wait a very long time.
How does the iPad 2 and iPad Air 2 fit into that equation? Or the Mini 4?
The Air 2 (with A8X) was released in 2014 and it is getting iPad OS 5 years later.
This 10.2 iPad is easily going to get 3 years of support... and probably closer to 5.
But I understand that there are people who will simply dislike this device regardless, and so it goes.