iPad 10 vs. iPad Air Buyer's Guide: Is the $250 Difference Worth It?

[UltimateSyn]

All the uproar is kind of funny to me.

On one hand, I really think this thing should have a laminated display at $449. On the other hand, everybody is so mad about the lineup when it's literally the same exact iPad lineup from a week ago, except now there's been an option added in between the $329 model and the $599 model. Makes sense because that was a fairly large gap. I'm glad they kept the 9th-gen iPad around at $329, and I'm interested to see what fills that $3XX price point going forward - will that be replaced by an 'iPad SE' next year?

Also, the presence of three mildly different variations of the 11" iPad, which people are criticizing a lot, is awfully reminiscent of the iPhone lineup. We all know that works really well for Apple. The iPhone 12/13/14 are all sold today and are incrementally improved versions of a similar product with incrementally increased price tags.

I love the two-piece design of the Magic Keyboard Folio, and how it includes a function row and larger trackpad. The tiny trackpad and lack of function row are huge gripes of mine with the Magic Keyboard. The two-piece design would be sweet on plane trays, too. Nice to be able to get the keyboard out of the way and just have the iPad propped up for content. Too bad it's the worst screen on any iPad or I might get one.

 

[JapanApple]

prices for others paying even more.

 

[JSRinUK]

For me it comes down to the price. I can’t afford £499 for an iPad. But, if I was affluent enough to spend £499 on an iPad, I would probably be affluent enough to spend £669 on an iPad Air. So it’d be the Air.

The previous £369 price is almost “impulse buy” and if the new version had maintained that price, it’d probably be on my Christmas list.

I don’t see any situation in which I’d go for the £499 iPad.

 

[woolypants]

Do the MacRumors writers read comments?

If so, when discussing RAM in a device, please please please always mention future proofing. The 8GB in the iPad Air is probably going to mean two years extra life beyond the existing model in terms of responsiveness of the user interface and app support.

 

[jouster]

Given the price difference between the 10th-Generation iPad (2022) and the 5th-Generation iPad Air (2022) I really wouldn't be shocked to see the Air sell more than the regular iPad. [snip].

Certainly, among people who post at MR. But the entry level price difference will be the clincher for less tech savvy purchasers. All they'll see is an iPad that looks almost identical for $150 less.

 

[nihil0]

I was hoping of maximum 10% price increase because the specs are , well, awful. It is only minor update from 9th gen iPad but stuck into iPad Air chassi. So you have a look of Air, with old gen specs and unrealistic price hike.

 

[frankinnoho]

Ok… Why?

 

[vespagirl]

The iPad has become a slippery slope with so many variations. I always considered the entry level iPad as the family/household tablet for those with little people wanting to use it. Slap a kid-friendly case on it, good to go. Now that the price point has jumped and it is so close to the Air under the hood, I feel like it excludes those looking for a fairly priced tablet.

 

[ghostwind]

I'm still trying to decide if the $150 difference between the 11" Pro is worth it over the Air. At 256GB, the Air is $750 and the new 11" Pro $900. The Pro has ProRes hardware support, ProMotion, M2, and Apple Pencil Hover. The only thing that jumps out is the ProMotion, but not sure how important that is.

 

[Vivian125]

If budget is tight iPad 10 is still better.. but keep in mind iPad 10 is even worse than iPad Air 4:
1. Non Laminated display
2. No P3 Wide Color
3. Still Gen 1 Pencil (annoying to charge)
4. Worse speakers
5. No Anti Reflective Coating
6. Limited support for new cases
7. No support for Magic Keyboard!
8. Thicker bezels and Heavier
9. iPad 10 More expensive than used iPad Air 4
10. Others said A14 on iPad 10 isn't as powerful than iPad Air 4, so overall performance is affected.

 

[rmcq]

If price was the keyconsideration just get the ninth gen iPad. Otherwise get the Air.
The 10th gen iPad with a price rise and needing a dongle for the pencil should not be on anyone’s shopping list.

Blame the EU for that.

 

[jm31828]

Not really a fair comparison, they should have compared the ipad 10 to the ipad air 4th gen.

Ipad 10 is a good device, just way overpriced. Should be max £399 in the UK.

I see that the 10th gen iPad is now on sale for $389 in the US at Costco.... at that price point, do things change where we would see it as a good buy? (of course the Air is on sale as well, for $499)

 

[jm31828]

The new one is going to look pretty good if Appe (or, more likely, Amazon/other retailers) can get it to $399.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am seeing the 10th gen iPad on sale now at Costco for $389. It's starting to look more attractive now, BUT- it is only $110 less than the Air 5, which is on sale at several outlets for $499.

 

[jm31828]

The most perplexing thing about the iPad, at this price point, is that Apple decided not to ship it with an A15, which really makes this iPad a tough buy at that price point along with the limited RAM and memory.

I am wondering if the 4GB RAM is the biggest downside- moreso than the CPU? Just curious, as I would worry about buying an iPad with 4GB RAM at this point- though all I really would do is single photo editing in Pixelmator or Affinity Photo, and social media and news/web browsing.

 

[DBBlanchette]

There sure have been a lot of articles having to explain things lately.

And that’s the thing here. Comparing these two shows how close these two iPads are when there should be no comparison. If the Air had 128GB of storage out of the gate, we wouldn’t be discussing this.

 

[Slo Pesci]

It's worth it for the laminated display alone imo.

Not hating. iPad 10 is a great tablet for the money. I just picked up a 9th Gen on sale at Walmart. Very snappy tablet.

 

[icanhazmac]

1.5 year old article bumped to the front page...

Are we experiencing some database corruption here too? Here come all of our "deleted" PRSI posts! 🤣

/s
/just kidding
/joke referencing recent deleted photos drama

Edit: Added /s so @PaperMag understands my post better. I thought the smily face would do it but

 

[incidentallycheckout]

If you don't already own an iPad, the new Air is the one to go for if you have the budget for it IMO.

 

[MacNstuff]

The iPad 9th gen, at $249 from many retailers (and as low as $212 open box at Amazon and Best Buy) is the real bargain device if you are sticking with Axx chips and use the iPad as an accessory device. Combine that with a $10 generic iPad pencil and you have a huge bargain. Kids use even the prior generation iPad for note taking and iMovie with no issues. Compare that with the Air 5 at $399 (at Walmart, sometimes Amazon), you have a tough choice. The only real issue is that the big discounts are just on the 64GB base models.

 

[mac4me]

Weird comments dates aside .. I had to stop reading the article after the second time I read "preference" used a verb. Sorry to be that guy, I would preference that I didn't care.

 

[bradman83]

While the A14 in the iPad 10 is no slouch for the tasks people would use a base iPad for, it's still a chip going on 4 years old and is constrained by its 4GB of RAM (compared to 8GB plus swap in the M1 and higher Pro and Air). That's going to become increasingly constrictive as RAM requirements increase.

Hopefully Apple updates the base model and the Mini to at least an A15/A16 with 6GB of RAM if not an A17 with 8GB. If Apple wants more complex pro-quality apps on the iPad (and subsequently the Vision Pro) then it needs to provide more RAM at the low end so developers can target every possible model.

 

[winxmac]

Checked the date, May 21 2024
Checked the comment date, Oct 20 2022

 

[PaperMag]

This breakdown serves as a clear way to see all the differences between the two devices.

iPad (10th Generation, 2022)	iPad Air (Sixth Generation, 2024)
10.9-inch display	11- or 13-inch display
sRGB color	P3 wide color
Fully laminated display
Anti-reflective coating
A14 Bionic chip	M2 chip
6-core CPU	8-core CPU
4-core GPU	10-core GPU
Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC Video decode engine Video encode engine
4GB memory	8GB memory
Smart HDR 3 for photos	Smart HDR 4 for photos
Wi‑Fi 6 connectivity	Wi‑Fi 6E connectivity
Apple Pencil hover
Supports Apple Pencil (USB‑C) and Apple Pencil (first generation)	Supports Apple Pencil (USB‑C) and Apple Pencil Pro
Supports Magic Keyboard Folio	Supports Magic Keyboard
7mm depth	6.1mm depth
Starts at $349	Starts at $599
477 gram weight	462 gram or 617 gram weight
Available in Silver, Pink, Blue, and Yellow	Available in Space Gray, Starlight, Blue, and Purple
Starts at $349	Starts at $599

Author,

Please consider adding storage as a criteria for comparison. iPad starts at 64 GB, iPad Air starts at 128 GB.

Apple knows many of us can't do 64 GB storage, and so the next tier costs $499 which is $100 from an iPad Air. That specific pricing tactic is also worth mentioning as a sidebar, since many of us will be encountering that "value ladder" trick, during the buying process.

Great article, none the less.

EDIT: Thankfully, they have now edited their post to include storage.

64GB or 256GB storage

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage

 

[radnaskela]

I made a big mistake when I bought my Air (3) in 2019. It has aged really poorly thanks to its 3 GBs of RAM. It hangs even when doing basic multitasking. My mum's 2017 12.9" Pro (with 4 GB RAM) on the other hand works way better. It is a bit slow, but it never hangs, despite being older.

Thankfully, the RAM on the newer models matches the Pros. So, personally, I really hate the 10th gen iPad. I would advise against buying it even on sale, because it's going to become a laggy mess in a couple of years.

 

[Slix]

I was also confused by so many posts referring to the iPad Air having an M1... Why not make a new post instead of using an old one, MacRumors?

That aside, having the storage in the chart would be helpful, as the iPad Air and iPad start at different storage amounts.