9th-Generation iPad Reviews: An Even Better Value With More Storage and a Better Front Camera

[nathan_reilly]

Nah, he is actually a very nice and generous friend. He just likes what he likes and to him the iPad mini size is perfect. It’s not about how powerful the device or the cost, it is how some people like their morning coffee a certain way or prefer a certain type and brand of shoe.

insanity....

 

[nathan_reilly]

You do realise that I was the one saying that an electronic device as the iPad shouldn’t be enough to cause trouble in a healthy relationship??? - it was not your argument, but mine!!!

I honestly can’t follow your reasoning at all. Now with the cheaper but larger TVs and having to justify paying for a monitor ??? I’m begining to think that you and I live in very different worlds where words and such doesn’t hold the same meaning. So really not much point continuing this conversation.

Apparently in your univers giving a $329 gift is a very rude thing - when there was a $499 option he wanted and he already has a very large DSLR collection (and maybe a monitor or a small TV). That is just a way of life there 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I'm so glad you kept pushing back, this is a super enjoyable thread. Some absolute silliness out there.

 

[Datalinks]

They have to give the option of compressing the grid so that you can keep some widgets plus a decent number of apps on your Home Screen. This looked much better on iOS 14. Six widgets leaving room only for twelve apps is silly and looks outdated.

 

[code-m]

insanity....

Nah people by nature prefer something familiar and routine, minor change is explored or accepted insofar it does not detract from some core need.

 

[nilk]

why not keep the 9th gen for yourself and give him the 6th gen

Thought about this and normally I hand stuff down to him like that, but he uses iPad way more than I do and will get more out of it; I easily go a week without using my iPad. I use my iPhone 12 Pro Max and 16" MacBook Pro much more day-to-day for things iPad could be used for.

If there were an OLED iPad this refresh, I'd likely be getting it and he would be getting the 6th gen

 

[Howard2k]

Nah, he is actually a very nice and generous friend. He just likes what he likes and to him the iPad mini size is perfect. It’s not about how powerful the device or the cost, it is how some people like their morning coffee a certain way or prefer a certain type and brand of shoe.

All good. I don’t mean to be judgy calling him a douche based on a comment on a forum.

 

[joeblow7777]

And the same chonky chassis and at this point laughably thick non-laminated screen. When is Apple going to just upgrade this thing to the Air 2's design? Did they really sell so few Gen 1 Air's that they have that much a of a backlog on spare parts or what?

These things sell like crazy, especially in the education sector. Most people don't care, and those who do, buy an Air or a Pro.

 

[Christopher Layton]

These things sell like crazy, especially in the education sector. Most people don't care, and those who do, buy an Air or a Pro.

Exactly, While lots of people buy these because they are the cheapest iPad, I think the real target audience for this is the education Market. That's why it's advertised as $329 and $299 for education - Apple doesn't do that for any other product. And Apple sells these by the thousands to schools. For schools, changing the form factor isn't the positive that it is for consumers: having standardized case options that can be ordered year over year is a good thing.

 

[catracho504]

And….It comes with a charger?

 

[Wanted797]

One of my friends who uses and likes the mini was gifted a 10.2” iPad, to him he said he didn’t like it as it was too big but to the person who gifted it to him their said it was affordable.

Sounds like your friend should just be grateful for the gift.

 

[Internaut]

I think it represents pretty remarkable value for money. Alternatives to Center Stage alone are going to cost quite a bit more than one of these. Speaking of Center Stage… This 2020 Pro owner is pretty envious.

 

[kiranmk2]

The simple addition of Center Stage to the front camera means that I will probably buy this for my Mum who can have trouble keeping herself in frame on Facetime call instead of buying her a second hand iPad Pro 2018. Very clever, Apple.

I did wonder when Apple would drop the Air/Pro design down to the entry level iPad but now I see that this isn't going to happen anytime soon. It means that Apple gets to sell an iPad into Education and keeps the low end market away from Android. Then for people who don't like the old design Apple extracts another few hundred dollars out of them for the Air / Mini. Even if Apple could drop the Air design down to the entry level model, why would they?

 

[Apple$]

This might be the iPad that pushes my mom to upgrade from her 7 year old iPad Air 2 16 GB. 64 Gb should be plenty of storage for her.

 

[tomacwhite]

I’ve got a 3rd gen iPad, the first ‘Retina’ model. This will be a nice upgrade from that. That thing was slow from day one 🤣

I thought about the new Mini, but for my use case (light browsing/socials, YouTube and Twitch viewing) it should be perfect. For £299, it’s a steal for what I need a tablet for.

 

[Howard2k]

I’ve got a 3rd gen iPad, the first ‘Retina’ model. This will be a nice upgrade from that. That thing was slow from day one 🤣

I thought about the new Mini, but for my use case (light browsing/socials, YouTube and Twitch viewing) it should be perfect. For £299, it’s a steal for what I need a tablet for.

was that the one marketed initially as the “new iPad”? If so, I had that one too. It felt absurdly slow a long time ago but I did get many years from it. Nowhere near you of course - wow.

 

[dugbee]

I’ve got a 3rd gen iPad, the first ‘Retina’ model. This will be a nice upgrade from that. That thing was slow from day one 🤣

I thought about the new Mini, but for my use case (light browsing/socials, YouTube and Twitch viewing) it should be perfect. For £299, it’s a steal for what I need a tablet for.

I still have my iPad 3, just collecting dust. It's also holding some old iMessages, since the iOS at the time did not support Messages in iCloud.

I do miss the experience though. Even though I have News+ I rarely use it, because (for me) magazine style reading is not enjoyable on either my iPhone or MBP.

This is cheap enough and would entirely fit my purposes, especially for some late-evening reading.

 

[Tech198]

..and here i am stuck with an iPad Air 2 still.. You can even use a ruler to measure the scale.

 

[dave070]

What do people think about this as a replacement for a 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" with the A10X Fusion chip? I don't play games or edit video. It's really only for when I don't want to take a laptop on a trip.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Great bang for the buck, and an outstanding device for its price and class.

Starter devices are rarely this good, or this capable.

Remember, this thing runs the same iPadOS as all the other iPads.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

What do people think about this as a replacement for a 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" with the A10X Fusion chip? I don't play games or edit video. It's really only for when I don't want to take a laptop on a trip.

You WILL miss that ProMotion display and the added RAM on the 10.5. The iPad Pro 10.5 is the better device I think, unless you really want that new front camera feature.

Apple's chips are so good that the A10X is still very capable. My daughter is a graphic artist and has refused my offers to upgrade her (thank God ) because she still loves her 10.5 Pro and finds the upgrade unnecessary.

YMMV though.

 

[Neepman]

People say “lightning connector” like it’s a bad thing. Apple’s most popular device, iPhone, will be in a lightning connector it appears until 2023/2024. Sharing the same connector with an iPhone is a benefit.

No worries. As soon as the internal "tongue" breaks on the USB-C connector on their device they will realize how poor a connector it is for a mobile device.

 

[MhaelK]

No worries. As soon as the internal "tongue" breaks on the USB-C connector on their device they will realize how poor a connector it is for a mobile device.

No saying it can’t happen, but i have never had the internal “tongue” break on any of my usb-c devices, mobile or other. I personally have found the usb-c to be a solid connector for phone, laptop, headphones, external-ssd).

However, I‘ve had or seen issues (charging, connecting, only work one side up etc) with basically every Lightning port I have ever had on my or my families Apple devices - some soon after purchase and some only years later. Besides a single case of a broken iPad screen, it has been the cause of every non-voluntary upgrade of an Apple device here.

@macsound1 @Iconoclysm (sorry, I couldn’t quote your responses, so just tagging you)

Furthermore, I find the usb 2.0 transfer speed and non-compatibility with lots of external devices (SSD, hubs and even a monitor) a huge negative in 2021 with 4K recording and powerful CPU/GPUs which is good enough for editing the content, but the screen too small. While most of the stuff that previously demanded the use of an lightning connector is now working great wireless, and even Apple fast charging bricks is usb-c like almost everything else. Hence, likely an easier transition than last time. The lightning connector is part of Apple walled garden approach, selling iCloud as nobody wants to do a back-up or transfer hundred of GB over usb 2.0.

 

[MhaelK]

What do people think about this as a replacement for a 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" with the A10X Fusion chip? I don't play games or edit video. It's really only for when I don't want to take a laptop on a trip.

Do you really need to replace it? The A10X should still be plenty fast, so doubt you will see much difference in day-to-day basic use. Downsides will be smaller screen and display technology.

 

[Hicksmat1976]

I have an Air2, I only use it for reading websites, the twitter app, reading comics/books, and occasionally streaming video. aside from not having a great battery the air2 still works really well and it has a nice screen. is it worth me looking at the new iPad?

 

[Acronyc]

I think this is a great upgrade. Sure, it's an old design, but I don't think the target audience really cares about that. I have a base cellular 5th get iPad that is used in the family for basic tasks (internet, email, looking at photos, reading, etc.) and during trips. The 9th gen should be a really nice replacement for that.