iPad The entry level iPad doesn't get enough credit.

[Crow_Servo]

The basic iPad lacks the wow-factor of the other iPads, so that's why you won't see thread after thread gushing over it, but many here and many real world folks appreciate the value of the entry-level iPad.

If it's value you want, it's the best value in the lineup, but let's not kid ourselves and organize a Victoria Secret photo shoot for it. It gets the job done with all its hand-me-down features.

 

[Isengardtom]

The value is incredible, especially now with the 64 GB storage. It’s got a chip in it that‘s probably nearly as fast as the best android tablets if not faster. Before, the 32 GB would be too limited for me as I use an iPad as my main computer at home and sidekick to my work laptop. But since it’s my main computer, I wanted the bigger 12.9 screen with the more modern design, Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard.

For most people it’s the best value iPad though. My parents have a 5 and a 6 and which are quite old already but for them it’s perfect. They only use it to browse and watch the news when having lunch and things like that.

the combination of price, long term support and chip make it one of apple’s best products really

 

[1BadManVan]

I just commented about this recently, as far as really giving a lot of bang for the buck. I have grandkids using the 6th gen, one using 8th gen, and just picked up a 9th gen. I also have a couple using Air 3s (hand me downs), and 1 mini 5, and I'll never bother buying anything other than base for them again. With the new 64 gb storage, it's a great pad for the money!

That 64gb storage was a big win for the entry level model. The 32gb was one of the reasons I bumped my kids up to the Air 3 instead. I gotta say I’ve definitely gotten my moneys worth out these iPads. They use them everyday, they don’t even bother with a tv or any other gaming consoles for the most part.

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

The entry-level iPad is a great bit of market positioning for Apple. It's effectively taken the place of the iPod as many people's introduction to the Apple ecosystem – an affordable, high-quality, durable standalone device that fills a lot of people's needs by itself (my parents haven't owned a traditional computer for years because they can do everything they need on an iPad), but which also gets people used to using iOS and Apple products generally.

 

[iPadified]

I just want to say that year after year I feel like the entry level iPad doesn't get the credit it deserves as we're all fixated on the latest Pro, Air, or Mini models, with their better specs and more "modern" designs. But meanwhile, the entry iPad is hundreds of dollars cheaper and has practically the same functionality of any other iPad.

So it's got bezels... who cares? A home bottom... I actually miss that on the newer devices sometimes. CPU is a couple of generations behind... still overkill for most tablet tasks. Non-laminated display... I really don't think it's as big a deal as people make it out to be.

Honestly, dollar for dollar, the entry level iPad is probably the best tablet on the market, and can meet the needs of most consumers.

I say this as the owner of an iPad Air 4 as my main personal tablet, but an iPad 9 (recently upgraded from an iPad 8) as my work issued tablet.

MR is for nerds that tend to gravitate to the higher end models. The iPad is a great product for that price point.

 

[sracer]

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 last December as it was having a promotion, but I somehow always go back to my iPad 6th generation. The Tab S7 is a good device, but I think as far as tablets go, Apple still makes them better.

I have a Tab S6 and iPad Mini 5 (had a 6th gen iPad), and the S6 is my go-to tablet with the Mini 5 serving as a dedicated ereader and digital notetaker.

.. just goes to show that these really are personal devices and how they appeal to people will vary greatly.

 

[Populus]

Anwering to the OPs thread title, yeah, I think the base iPad may be overlooked, and it’s the device that holds the best value, by far.

Ok, until now, an iPad with an A9 or A10 might be a bit meh regarding powerhouse. But as soon as Apple started to use the A12 it had more than enough power to do almost everything a regular user might need. And the A13 is even more powerful.

Look, I am an 11” iPad Pro user, and back in 2019 the new iPad Pro had a pretty big wow factor. And that -and pro-motion- was the reason I bought it. Also the powerful A12X. But if I had to buy my personal iPad now in 2021, I would seriously consider the 9th gen iPad. Because it is a terrific device and with the use of face masks, it is difficult to unlock my iPad on public places where I use it.

The iPad Air is a good device as well, but it is a bit expensive to be honest, and if I’m gonna spend 650€ on an Air, I’d rather spend 150€ more towards an iPad Pro. But the 9th gen iPad? It’s a great deal!

 

[itsOver9000]

I took delivery of an Air yesterday. Kinda wishing I had stuck with my original plan of getting a 9th gen. Alas I talked myself into getting the Air. It’s awesome, of course. Just kinda of feels dainty and fragile to hold. The classic iPad design feels like it can take a beating and not faze it. Call me weird but I do miss the home button. first time using the all screen design.

 

[rui no onna]

I took delivery of an Air yesterday. Kinda wishing I had stuck with my original plan of getting a 9th gen. Alas I talked myself into getting the Air. It’s awesome, of course. Just kinda of feels dainty and fragile to hold. The classic iPad design feels like it can take a beating and not faze it. Call me weird but I do miss the home button. first time using the all screen design.

Honestly, feel the same way about the Air 2-3, Pro 9.7 & 10.5 (more dainty/fragile). We have a bent Air 2 (no idea how that happened). Meanwhile, the basic iPads feel like they could withstand more abuse.

 

[turbineseaplane]

My main wish for the entry level iPad is that they'd put more/better speakers in it.

That's a thing that really would benefit the target market for it, immensely.

No need for full blown, four speakers, ala the Pro's -- but just one on each side when in Landscape (like the new Mini 6) would be very very welcome.

 

[Devyn89]

I absolutely agree. Honestly for my needs the basic iPad is more than good enough. I’m just into having a big iPad to use as a computer. I just bought a 12.9”. I spent a lot of money. Don’t get me wrong it’s amazing and watching content is jaw dropping, I just don’t know if I can justify spending $1500 because I got a keyboard too… we’ll see.

I agree though, the iPad is exceptional for the price. Especially this year with double the storage and centre stage. The updates were small but very strategic.

 

[doolar]

My son’s 8th gen is the hardest working iPad in our family, and it does a great job! I love the entry level iPad, it’s a really great product for a good price. They last for years.

It was nice to give my son a new iPad this time instead of a hand me down. Watching a 7 year old rip the plastic off and getting that new tech feeling was nice!

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

While I agree with most sentiments here, I will also point out that I skipped the 8th and got an Air 4 instead, simply because the 8th is so flimsily and bulky built, that it felt like a chinese knock off product. Is the 9th better in that aspect?

 

[SirAnthonyHopkins]

While I agree with most sentiments here, I will also point out that I skipped the 8th and got an Air 4 instead, simply because the 8th is so flimsily and bulky built, that it felt like a chinese knock off product. Is the 9th better in that aspect?

Flimsy *and* bulky?

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Flimsy *and* bulky?

Yes, it is thick and wide, yet you can flex it so that it doesn't feel like quality.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It’s great value for the price. In terms or power I could easily do everything I currently do on my iPad Pro or mini. The only reason I chose the pro over it are for the quad speakers, larger display, Touch ID and modern design. However power wise it would be plenty fast for me.

 

[Populus]

It’s great value for the price. In terms or power I could easily do everything I currently do on my iPad Pro or mini. The only reason I chose the pro over it are for the quad speakers, larger display, Touch ID and modern design. However power wise it would be plenty fast for me.

Sadly, the Pro doesn’t have Touch ID.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Sadly, the Pro doesn’t have Touch ID.

I meant Face ID. Typo lol

 

[BigDO]

A non laminated, non anti-reflective display is a deal breaker.

 

[wasabah]

Honestly, if this one would have stereo speakers I would have gotten it instead of the iPad Mini.

 

[Populus]

A non laminated, non anti-reflective display is a deal breaker.

This is the biggest deal breaker in my opinion, yes. Specially that air gap between the screen and the glass.

 

[Digitalguy]

the iPad 9 offers great value, but the issue with value is that it depends on priorities so it's kind of subjective.
For instance for me the most important things in an iPad are: speakers, RAM, size and keyboard support. And to a lesser extent USB C and pencil 2 support.
Instead I don't care about screen quality (modern iPads are all good enough for me, including the entry level, I barely care about promotion and don't care at all about mini-led) and CPU speed (anything above A12 is plenty fast).
Size is easy for me, I want them all (mini, mid, large)
Speakers means that, other than the mini, I don't get anything that does not have quad speakers.
Having said that in my opinion:
- the 9th gen iPad has great value for money (if I could only afford that, I'll still be happy provided I have airpods to replace speakers)
- the air 4 has the worst value of all (only 1GB more RAM make little difference, same storage, speed doesn't matter, and it costs double the price)
- mini 6 has meh value (same storage, same RAM as the air, no keyboard support, at $100 less than the air and $200 more than the iPad 9). Personally for me not worth the upgrade from a mini 5 (but if I had no mini 5 I would still consider it)
- the 11 pro has very good value, even at its price (double the RAM, the storage, the speakers of the air, smaller bezels, magic keyboard support, plus a few more bonuses)
- the 12.9 is not a great value IMO since I don't care about mini-led (I'd go with a refurbished older model, and that's what I did)
I know that for some people the display (laminated, promotion, mini-led) is the most important thing, some don't care about speakers or RAM, because they don't use the iPad for the same things, so they'll have totally different priorities and different view of value....

 

[Heat_Fan89]

My 9th gen is on the FedEx truck

the iPad 9 offers great value, but the issue with value is that it depends on priorities so it's kind of subjective.
For instance for me the most important things in an iPad are: speakers, RAM, size and keyboard support. And to a lesser extent USB C and pencil 2 support.
Instead I don't care about screen quality (modern iPads are all good enough for me, including the entry level, I barely care about promotion and don't care at all about mini-led) and CPU speed (anything above A12 is plenty fast).
Size is easy for me, I want them all (mini, mid, large)
Speakers means that, other than the mini, I don't get anything that does not have quad speakers.
Having said that in my opinion:
- the 9th gen iPad has great value for money (if I could only afford that, I'll still be happy provided I have airpods to replace speakers)
- the air 4 has the worst value of all (only 1GB more RAM make little difference, same storage, speed doesn't matter, and it costs double the price)
- mini 6 has meh value (same storage, same RAM as the air, no keyboard support, at $100 less than the air and $200 more than the iPad 9). Personally for me not worth the upgrade from a mini 5 (but if I had no mini 5 I would still consider it)
- the 11 pro has very good value, even at its price (double the RAM, the storage, the speakers of the air, smaller bezels, magic keyboard support, plus a few more bonuses)
- the 12.9 is not a great value IMO since I don't care about mini-led (I'd go with a refurbished older model, and that's what I did)
I know that for some people the display (laminated, promotion, mini-led) is the most important thing, some don't care about speakers or RAM, because they don't use the iPad for the same things, so they'll have totally different priorities and different view of value....

Heck, even an A10 is still plenty fast. I have a 6th Gen base model and it chews up CBSSports.com which is an Ad heavy site. It doesn't even faze it. My original iPad Air comes to a crawl on that site. So there's no question that the A12 is more than enough for today. As far as RAM goes, sure more RAM is always good but there is more than enough in the 9th Gen.

As I mentioned earlier, my 6th Gen has only 2GB of RAM and it doesn't even slow down with heavy Ad laden websites but then again I only keep 2-3 tabs open (max) in Safari. So the entry level iPad for me is the clear choice winner. And if you do decide to go with the entry level iPad, you might as well go with the base model because more storage usually doesn't offset the resale value in a couple of years if you plan on a trade in.

 

[Digitalguy]

My 9th gen is on the FedEx truck

Heck, even an A10 is still plenty fast. I have a 6th Gen base model and it chews up CBSSports.com which is an Ad heavy site. It doesn't even faze it. My original iPad Air comes to a crawl on that site. So there's no question that the A12 is more than enough for today. As far as RAM goes, sure more RAM is always good but there is more than enough in the 9th Gen. As I mentioned earlier, my 6th Gen has only 2GB of RAM and it doesn't even slow down with heavy Ad laden websites but then again I only keep 2-3 tabs open (max) in Safari. So the entry level iPad for me is the clear choice winner. And if you do decide to go with the entry level iPad, you might as well go with the base model because more storage usually doesn't offset the resale value in a couple of years if you plan on a trade in.

Concerning RAM, slowdown is not the problem, reloads are. The way I use my iPad, even 4GB RAM are not enough. I have 5-6 tabs open, I move to gmail, then to google calendar, then to onedrive, check something in google maps, then I open a file with Word and a presentation with powerpoint, then I use jump desktop to remote into my desktop and books to open a PDF... All this in less than 10 minutes. I go back to safari and most of my tabs have reloaded, including the message I had started to write. This on a 4GB device and to a lesser extent it happens also in my 6GB device.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Concerning RAM, slowdown is not the problem, reloads are. The way I use my iPad, even 4GB RAM are not enough. I have 5-6 tabs open, I move to gmail, then to google calendar, then to onedrive, check something in google maps, then I open a file with Word and a presentation with powerpoint, then I use jump desktop to remote into my desktop and books to open a PDF... All this in less than 10 minutes. I go back to safari and most of my tabs have reloaded, including the message I had started to write. This on a 4GB devices and to a lesser extent it happens also in my 6GB device.

Yeah in your use case RAM should be important, i.e. top priority. In my use case, it's a media device so 2GB of RAM is plenty for me and I typically keep one or two tabs open with no other Apps in the background other than Mail fetching my emails.