All iPads iPad 2019

[rc1988]

Sorry if this has been covered. I am just looking for everyone’s opinion. In the market for an iPad, not looking to do anything special. I am planning on using it for just basic web browsing and streaming video. I plan on purchasing the 128 GB version.

My question to you guys, Is this version very dated? I just can’t justify spending an extra $200 on an iPad Air. Will this last me a couple of years? Or am I buying something very super dated? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Richard8655]

For your usage and needs, the 2019 iPad (7th generation) is perfect and more than adequate. The processor is plenty powerful and will run smoothly over the next many releases of IOS. I also agree, the additional $200 for an Air would not yield much unless the advantages of a laminated display is important.

 

[CE3]

The chip isn't the newest, but performance and the overall experience on iPadOS is great. My last three iPads were "Pros", and I'm very happy with this new model. If you're considering the 128GB model that's currently on sale it's an excellent deal.

 

[rui no onna]

The iPad 2019 should meet your needs just fine.

That said, if you think you'll be okay with 64GB, do consider the iPad Air 3 64GB Wi-Fi which is currently on sale at Best Buy for $399. For an extra $80, it's a pretty nice features and performance upgrade.

 

[brucemr]

I’ve got 7th gen. 2019 ipad 32 GB. Fantastic for same use as you. Had 2017 5th gen, ok, except for continuours web page refreshes (2-3 per minute). 2019 7th gen...no page refreshes. 3GB vs. 2GB RAM is the reason.

 

[AutomaticApple]

Sorry if this has been covered. I am just looking for everyone’s opinion. In the market for an iPad, not looking to do anything special. I am planning on using it for just basic web browsing and streaming video. I plan on purchasing the 128 GB version.

My question to you guys, Is this version very dated? I just can’t justify spending an extra $200 on an iPad Air. Will this last me a couple of years? Or am I buying something very super dated? Thanks for all your help!

It'll be perfect for your needs!

 

[FlyingDutch]

Sorry if this has been covered. I am just looking for everyone’s opinion. In the market for an iPad, not looking to do anything special. I am planning on using it for just basic web browsing and streaming video. I plan on purchasing the 128 GB version.

My question to you guys, Is this version very dated? I just can’t justify spending an extra $200 on an iPad Air. Will this last me a couple of years? Or am I buying something very super dated? Thanks for all your help!

For a couple of years definitely yes.
three years ? Not sure about A10 support in the long term, since it is an already 3 years old SoC.
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The iPad 2019 should meet your needs just fine.

That said, if you think you'll be okay with 64GB, do consider the iPad Air 3 64GB Wi-Fi which is currently on sale at Best Buy for $399. For an extra $80, it's a pretty nice features and performance upgrade.

This is the best advice.
ipad air is by far a better product

 

[Richard8655]

For a couple of years definitely yes.
three years ? Not sure about A10 support in the long term, since it is an already 3 years old SoC.
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This is the best advice.
ipad air is by far a better product

A better product, but not for everyone and not necessarily the best choice based on usage, needs, and budget. The 2019 regular iPad 7 should be a great choice if the extra features aren't needed. The processor and 3gb RAM should be fine for many upcoming IOS releases. But really up to the user if the extra cost is worth it.

 

[FlyingDutch]

A better product, but not for everyone and not necessarily the best choice based on usage, needs, and budget. The 2019 regular iPad 7 should be a great choice if the extra features aren't needed. The processor and 3gb RAM should be fine for many upcoming IOS releases. It's always tempting to nudge people up to more expensive models, but that's the nature of an iPad fan forum.

Nope.
As much as I love Apple (being defined as a fanboy in several places), they made a mistake using A10 in a 2019 device.
It is powerful enough today, and surely 3 Gb of RAM are an improvement, but it still is a SoC from 2016. In 2020 Apple will probably stop supporting A9 for the latest iOS. A9 is just one year older than A10.
I’m sorry but Apple should have used A11 on ipad 2019, at least.
I already saw this error in the past with ipad Mini 3, for instance.

I would consider an ipad 2019 just for a very basic use (like my little son’s iPad) and with a good discount on the official price.

 

[Richard8655]

Nope.
As much as I love Apple (being defined as a fanboy in several places), they made a mistake using A10 in a 2019 device.
It is powerful enough today, and surely 3 Gb of RAM are an improvement, but it still is a SoC from 2016. In 2020 Apple will probably stop supporting A9 for the latest iOS. A9 is just one year older than A10.
I’m sorry but Apple should have used A11 on ipad 2019, at least.
I already saw this error in the past with ipad Mini 3, for instance.

I would consider an ipad 2019 just for a very basic use (like my little son’s iPad) and with a good discount on the official price.

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Overblown and exaggerated reaction. The A10 chip will be quite good for many upcoming IOS releases. And wrong to say the 7th generation should only be used for basic needs. It's a sophisticated tablet that can do everything the Air 3 can in normal functionality. To push people to more expensive models and misrepresent the already great functionality of the regular version is poor advice.

 

[rui no onna]

For a couple of years definitely yes.
three years ? Not sure about A10 support in the long term, since it is an already 3 years old SoC.

Depending on OP's performance expectations, it's probably still fine. I believe A10 is still better compared to chipsets found on current mid-range Android.

https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/786481?baseline=789086

Mobile technology isn't moving as fast as it used to. Performance more than doubled from iPad 3 (A5X) to iPad 4 (A6X). Meanwhile, it took iPad 5 (A9) to iPad Air 3 (A12) to get a similar leap. Besides, the 10.2 has 3GB RAM same as Air 3.

Based on Geekbench 4 scores. This is just CPU. I believe improvements in GPU are even more exponential.

Performance as a multiple of iPad 3rd gen and iPad Air 2:

	Single Thread vs iPad 3rd gen​	Multi-Thread vs iPad 3rd gen​	Single Thread vs iPad Air 2​	Multi-Thread vs iPad Air 2​
iPad Pro 11, A12X	16.7	32.5	2.8	4.3
iPad Air 3, A12	16.0	20.5	2.7	2.7
iPad Pro 10.5, A10X	13.0	16.9	2.2	2.2
iPad 6th gen, A10	11.3	10.7	1.9	1.4
iPad Pro 9.7, A9X	10.0	9.1	1.7	1.2
iPad 5th gen, A9	8.3	8.0	1.4	1.0
iPad Air 2, A8X	6.0	7.6	1.0	1.0
iPad Air, A7	4.3	4.2	0.7	0.5
iPad 4th gen, A6X	2.7	2.4	0.4	0.3
iPad 3rd gen, A5X	1.0	1.0	0.2	0.1

 

[Jack Neill]

Sorry if this has been covered. I am just looking for everyone’s opinion. In the market for an iPad, not looking to do anything special. I am planning on using it for just basic web browsing and streaming video. I plan on purchasing the 128 GB version.

My question to you guys, Is this version very dated? I just can’t justify spending an extra $200 on an iPad Air. Will this last me a couple of years? Or am I buying something very super dated? Thanks for all your help!

I have a 6th Gen iPad and a iPad Air 3. 128 and 256. Both are excellent devices.

 

[CE3]

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Overblown and exaggerated reaction. The A10 chip will be quite good for many upcoming IOS releases. And wrong to say the 7th generation should only be used for basic needs. It's a sophisticated tablet that can do everything the Air 3 can in normal functionality.

Agreed. I’m using it for more than just basic tasks and my last two iPad Pros are what I have to compare the experience to, and it’s performing great. In fact, both my 10.5 & 12.9 were replaced under AppleCare for widely reported hardware issues (a bright spot on the 10.5 and an occasionally unresponsive screen on the 12.9) *shrugs*.

If the Air 3 had quad speakers I would maybe suggest the OP consider the upgrade, but it doesn’t, and for the OP’s needs and the $329 sale price the 128gb model is currently going for, I don’t think the Air 3 is worth the extra cash. This generation will be fine for web browsing and video streaming for a long time.

 

[FlyingDutch]

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Overblown and exaggerated reaction. The A10 chip will be quite good for many upcoming IOS releases. And wrong to say the 7th generation should only be used for basic needs. It's a sophisticated tablet that can do everything the Air 3 can in normal functionality. To push people to more expensive models and misrepresent the already great functionality of the regular version is poor advice.

No. It is IT knowledge.
A10 is good today. Most probably will still be good next year, and I would bet on 2021 too. By then, it will be a 5 years old SoC.
The ipad is something people tends to keep for many years.
The price difference from the Air is not so much.
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Depending on OP's performance expectations, it's probably still fine. I believe A10 is still better compared to chipsets found on current mid-range Android.

https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/786481?baseline=789086

Mobile technology isn't moving as fast as it used to. Performance more than doubled from iPad 3 (A5X) to iPad 4 (A6X). Meanwhile, it took iPad 5 (A9) to iPad Air 3 (A12) to get a similar leap. Besides, the 10.2 has 3GB RAM same as Air 3.

Today it definitely is more than adeguate.
But iPadOS is becoming more and more complex year after year (now is a different operative system from the iOS), so we don’t know how it will be with iPadOS 14 and 15.
A10 isn’t last year technology.
A10 already is THREE YEARS OLD technology, so in a couple of years it will be a very outdated SoC.
Even if mobile technology is slowing down, 5 years are a lot, performance wise.

ipad Air isn’t so much expensive.

 

[rui no onna]

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Today it definitely is more than adeguate.
But iPadOS is becoming more and more complex year after year (now is a different operative system from the iOS), so we don’t know how it will be with iPadOS 14 and 15.
A10 isn’t last year technology.
A10 already is THREE YEARS OLD technology, so in a couple of years it will be a very outdated SoC.
Even if mobile technology is slowing down, 5 years are a lot, performance wise.

ipad Air isn’t so much expensive.

Consider from A5X to A8X, we saw 6x single-core and 7.6x multi-core. Meanwhile A10 to A13 is 1.7x single-core and 2.4x multi-core, and A10 to A12 is 1.4x single-core and 1.9x multi-core. We're just not seeing the huge generational improvements we've seen in the past.

Mind, A10 to A11 is 1.2x single-core and 1.7x multi-core so I honestly don't think it would have brought the huge performance improvement you were expecting.

Besides, there's no guarantee that CPU will be the problem and not RAM. If RAM's the issue, then they're in the same boat as both only have 3GB.

At $329 for 128GB iPad 10.2 and $399 for 64GB iPad Air 3, both are very good options. OP just needs to decide whether to go for extra storage or for features/performance.

 

[Falhófnir]

Consider from A5X to A8X, we saw 6x single-core and 7.6x multi-core. Meanwhile A10 to A13 is 1.7x single-core and 2.4x multi-core, and A10 to A12 is 1.4x single-core and 1.9x multi-core. We're just not seeing the huge generational improvements we've seen in the past.

Mind, A10 to A11 is 1.2x single-core and 1.7x multi-core so I honestly don't think it would have brought the huge performance improvement you were expecting.

Besides, there's no guarantee that CPU will be the problem and not RAM. If RAM's the issue, then they're in the same boat as both only have 3GB.

At $329 for 128GB iPad 10.2 and $399 for 64GB iPad Air 3, both are very good options. OP just needs to decide whether to go for extra storage or for features/performance.

While the %age increases are going down, I think that's more a reflection of the fact it's starting from a higher base each time - as a though experiment, using Apple's claimed performance increases if we assign the A7 an arbitrary 100 units of performance, the A8 has 125 (a jump of 25 units) the A9 212 (+87) the A10 297 (+85) the A11 371 (+74) the A12 427 (+56) and the A13 513 (+86). From this it seems the amount of performance added each generation in absolute terms is relatively stable, just becoming smaller as a percentage each time.

 

[FlyingDutch]

Consider from A5X to A8X, we saw 6x single-core and 7.6x multi-core. Meanwhile A10 to A13 is 1.7x single-core and 2.4x multi-core, and A10 to A12 is 1.4x single-core and 1.9x multi-core. We're just not seeing the huge generational improvements we've seen in the past.

Mind, A10 to A11 is 1.2x single-core and 1.7x multi-core so I honestly don't think it would have brought the huge performance improvement you were expecting.

Besides, there's no guarantee that CPU will be the problem and not RAM. If RAM's the issue, then they're in the same boat as both only have 3GB.

At $329 for 128GB iPad 10.2 and $399 for 64GB iPad Air 3, both are very good options. OP just needs to decide whether to go for extra storage or for features/performance.

you keep speaking about performance today and very little meaningful percentages ignoring what I’m saying about being future proof. I know that A10 is good today.
when Apple stop supporting a device , so far, they are doing that based on SoC class, with iPadOS being the first time they differentiated between iPhone and iPad (A8 iPhone not supported by iOS 13 while A8 iPad are supported by iPadOS 13). This year they stopped supporting A7 devices. Most probably next year A8 devices won’t be supported anymore. How many years of iPadOS support will have an A10 device ?
we both don’t really know the answer, but why taking the risk when you have a very little more expensive option available ?
That’s my point.

 

[CE3]

you keep speaking about performance today and very little meaningful percentages ignoring what I’m saying about being future proof. I know that A10 is good today.
when Apple stop supporting a device , so far, they are doing that based on SoC class, with iPadOS being the first time they differentiated between iPhone and iPad (A8 iPhone not supported by iOS 13 while A8 iPad are supported by iPadOS 13). This year they stopped supporting A7 devices. Most probably next year A8 devices won’t be supported anymore. How many years of iPadOS support will have an A10 device ?
we both don’t really know the answer, but why taking the risk when you have a very little more expensive option available ?
That’s my point.

If Apple expects to keep raking in big profits from schools that purchases iPads like this in large quantities, they'll be supporting the new 2019 model with software and security updates for 3-5 years.

 

[supergt]

I just got the 7th gen with 128 gb and more than satisfied. Performance is snappy and just fine for day to day use. I have no concerns stated above as Apple will support this tablet at least 4 or 5 years per common practice. The Air is no doubt great but as a value proposition, the 7th gen currently on sale is probably the best deal you can get on a current Apple product.

 

[rui no onna]

you keep speaking about performance today and very little meaningful percentages ignoring what I’m saying about being future proof. I know that A10 is good today.
when Apple stop supporting a device , so far, they are doing that based on SoC class, with iPadOS being the first time they differentiated between iPhone and iPad (A8 iPhone not supported by iOS 13 while A8 iPad are supported by iPadOS 13). This year they stopped supporting A7 devices. Most probably next year A8 devices won’t be supported anymore. How many years of iPadOS support will have an A10 device ?
we both don’t really know the answer, but why taking the risk when you have a very little more expensive option available ?
That’s my point.

I was pointing out relative performance between these models. 40% raw performance difference today is still going to be 40% raw performance difference in the future. The reason the iPad 3 lagged so badly behind the Air 2 is because the Air 2 is 500% faster in CPU and exponentially more in terms of GPU. The difference between A10 and A12 simply isn't as pronounced.

A7 iPhones and iPads have 1GB RAM.

A8 iPhones have 1GB RAM.

A8/A8X iPads have 2GB RAM.

In the case of iOS 13, that suggests Apple drew the line based on how much RAM the device has rather than based on its SoC. It's certainly not the first time Apple's done that (OG iPad, iPod touch 4th gen).

The Air 3 is better in terms of hardware, sure. Is it a better option for the OP? We don't know.

Maybe 128GB is the absolute minimum storage acceptable to him in which case, the next step up for Air 3 is 256GB. Even looking at sale pricing, that's $330 for 128GB iPad 10.2 vs $550 for 256GB iPad Air 3 so $220 (+tax) more or 66% more than the cost of the iPad 10.2. The basic iPad also goes on sale more frequently than the Air. At $330 for 10.2 and $650 for Air 3, well, he might be better off banking the savings to replace the iPad sooner.

I'm just providing options. Up to the OP to decide which one is better for his use.

 

[FlyingDutch]

If Apple expects to keep raking in big profits from schools that purchases iPads like this in large quantities, they'll be supporting the new 2019 model with software and security updates for 3-5 years.

There is a BIG difference between 3 and 5 years.
That’s exactly my point.
I can see A10 supported for 3 years at best, but not for 4 or 5.

 

[rui no onna]

There is a BIG difference between 3 and 5 years.
That’s exactly my point.
I can see A10 supported for 3 years at best, but not for 4 or 5.

Didn't the OP only mention a couple of years?

Besides, Apple *just* released the iPad 7th gen (A10/3GB). It'll likely continue receiving updates for 3 years *at least*. The iPad 6th gen (A10/2GB) may be dropped sooner, though. However, even then I expect the iPad 5th gen and 6th gen to continue being supported at least a year after mini 4 and Air 2.

The Air 3 with A12 is faster, sure. 3-5 years from now though, people might be complaining of frequent app and tab reloads anyway. The Air 3 will just be faster at reloading than the 10.2 with A10.

 

[scupking]

For reference the iPad 7 benchmarks the same as a 2015 13” i5 Mac book pro. It’s fast and I don’t think you would notice a day to day difference between the 7 and air 3.

 

[triangletechie]

The 10.2" iPad is a very fine machine. The 128 gb model is on sale for $329 at Best Buy which is a great deal. I think dark mode helps mask some of the lower display qualities compared to the higher end models.