The 10th-gen baseline iPad has some of the biggest changes we have seen in years. Be it display or charging port, the updates are substantial.

Big updates on the screen

Users get a 10.9-inch screen, which is up 0.7 inches on the previous 10.2-inch model, which was the size users got on iPads 7th-gen through 9th-gen, yet there is no increase on the chassis size because the Home button has been replaced by Touch ID in the power button. The iPad is slightly wider than its predecessor (179.5mm, up from 174.1mm) but also ever so slightly shorter and thinner and weighs either 10g or 17g less, depending on whether you go for the cellular model.

Update has also come in the display type as the iPad features the Liquid Retina rather than plain Retina branding but this is not a fully laminated design, so the glass isn’t as thin or close to the screen. The webcam too has a new location — on the longer side of the display, making the iPad more friendly during video calls (the front camera has 122-degree field of view and supports Apple’s Center Stage feature).

Miscellaneous changes

There has been a lot of talk around USB-C versus Lightning port. The new iPad finally uses USB-C. Moving from Lighting to USB-C has created a slight hiccup because the device still uses the first-generation Apple Pencil, so you’ll need a USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter for charging. But the same is being provided in the box.

There are more changes — the 3.5mm headphone jack has been killed, which we want to see how it plays out with students. The device comes with support for Wi-Fi 6, and the cellular version now supports 5G.

Unlike on the new iPad Pro models, there is no M2 chip but what we get is A14 Bionic, which is the same chip used in the iPhone 12 and it’s an upgrade from the A13 Bionic that came with the ninth-generation iPad released last year. It’s a very powerful chipset considering the target audience for the device. Apple says the new iPad performs three times better than the seventh-generation iPad released in 2019 and has “all-day battery life”.

There’s also a new Magic Keyboard Folio with a full-sized keyboard and built-in trackpad but that needs to be bought separately.

Pricing and availability

The 10th-gen iPad can be ordered now and will be available starting October 28 from Rs 44,900. The four colours are Blue, Pink, Silver and Yellow.