iPad The Base iPad may finally be at a sweet spot

[James3000]

We got the base model for our 1 year old. We use it to distract him when we’re out and about or going on a car drive.

I’ve picked it up a few times when I’m on the couch and can’t be bothered using my phone or going to get the MacBook. It’s a pleasure to use.

It’s always ready to go, always seems to have battery. Screen looks great and engages the kid even when he needs to watch at awkward angles.

For the price it really is terrific.

 

[The Game 161]

curious what baby monitor you use?

well it's more of a camera that we found on Amazon for £20 with night vision. so plan to use that with the app and leave the iPad on through the night.

 

[MikeDr206]

I bought my three nephews iPads for games and such. It’s a great device, at a great price.

 

[RadioHedgeFund]

base iPad is awesome value, especially with the storage bump which was the only downside of the older versions for most people

For most people it's the only home computer they'll ever need.

What this guy said. The base iPad is quite brilliant for 90% of the things you need a computer for.

 

[slimeynick]

Good to hear this positive feedback about the base iPad.

I've been iPad-less for three years (having had the original Mini and then the original Air) and looking at getting back into the iPad game. I'm a teacher and have a Windows laptop for work, an M1 Macbook Air for doing any typing and heavy lifting at home, and looking to get an iPad primarily for streaming videos while cooking - I'd rather not risk my Macbook getting wet in the kitchen! - or reading in bed.

The Air 4 and 5 look amazing but having read this thread and watched a few comparison videos, it seems all I need is the base iPad for a substantial saving versus the Airs.

It's just a shame that it looks dated as to me; it looks identical to the Air that served me well from 2013 to 2019. I'd like a flashier looking device, but it's not worth an extra £200+ to me. I'm off to Bangkok soon and see that the base iPad is £50 cheaper there, so I'll be picking one up for £270 and getting a nice case to go with it. Might even buy a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for the option of doing a bit of long typing while away from home.

 

[darngooddesign]

It struggles a little with Tom's Hardware but that site loads all kinds of ads and videos at once...

Your iPad is faster than my 9.7" iPP. With the Wipr ad blocker mine loads Tomshardware quick enough; no ads or autoplay videos and it feels similar to browsing MR.

 

[Warped9]

It's just a shame that it looks dated as to me…

It’s a design that works for the vast majority of the customer base. It certainly makes the upgrading transition easier for many people with limited knowledge who use them as their primary or only computer. And a lot of people like that home button.

That said I wouldn’t be surprised to see the base iPad adopt the Air/Pro route with flat edged bezels and losing tge home button in the not distant future.

 

[Dealmans]

Home button = yuk

 

[Zazoh]

wouldn't say 64gb represents the sweet spot nowadays

Meh. Gen 9 is my personal computer. All my data lives on iCloud or Google Drive.

Even my work computer has only 256. Local storage is too big a risk for most companies, as it should be For consumers.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Home button = yuk

It's not that bad unless you are referring to aesthetics. I use gestures to get to the home screen and close unwanted apps. So the home screen rarely if ever gets used.

 

[i4k20c]

View attachment 1985315

Meh. Gen 9 is my personal computer. All my data lives on iCloud or Google Drive.

Even my work computer has only 256. Local storage is too big a risk for most companies, as it should be For consumers.

do you put your financial forms on the cloud too? for instance for our tax forms, i put them in a pw protected disk image locally, and backed up with time machine. i assumed that having it be on the cloud is more dangerous for it to get stolen or hacked. curios if i am wrong to think that?

 

[Zazoh]

do you put your financial forms on the cloud too? for instance for our tax forms, i put them in a pw protected disk image locally, and backed up with time machine. i assumed that having it be on the cloud is more dangerous for it to get stolen or hacked. curios if i am wrong to think that?

All online. So do you. Banking, Medical, Taxes. Every single payment method and store that doesn’t deal exclusively in cash, is online. They too are constantly warding off attackers, for the most part successfully.

it is still safer than storing at home susceptible to fire, water damage, demagnetization or theft.

any entity where you’ve submitted personal information or payment information to is storing that online. If I go to a pharmacy in Texas and am traveling to Florida they immediately look me up. All online.

 

[Warped9]

All online. So do you. Banking, Medical, Taxes. Every single payment method and store that doesn’t deal exclusively in cash, is online. They too are constantly warding off attackers, for the most part successfully.

it is still safer than storing at home susceptible to fire, water damage, demagnetization or theft.

any entity where you’ve submitted personal information or payment information to is storing that online. If I go to a pharmacy in Texas and am traveling to Florida they immediately look me up. All online.

This touches on the very real phobia many have about online shopping. They like to proudly proclaim, in full ignorance, about how they never do online purchases because they worry about security. And yet they are using their credit card on pos keypads in store after store after store near and far from home.