10th Gen iPad reviews offer first hands-on look at new colors and a complete redesign

The completely redesigned 10th generation iPad will begin arriving at customers and going on sale on Wednesday, October 26th. The first reviews of the new iPad have already been shared in advance by selected media publications and YouTube channels.

Key new features for the 10th-gen iPad include a larger 10.9-inch display with narrower bezels, flat edges, the A14 Bionic chip, a USB-C port, a Touch ID power button, a landscape-positioned FaceTime camera and 5G support Cellular models, Wi-Fi 6 and a new two-piece Magic Keyboard Folio accessory with a row of function keys. Prices start at $449, with the ninth-generation iPad available for $329.

Available in blue, pink, silver and yellow finishes, the new iPad brings some vibrant new colors to the more affordable iPad range. iJustine shared an unboxing video of all the new colors and offered a first hands-on look at the real-world options.

Here’s a look at all the new color options side-by-side:

We’ve rounded up written and video reviews of the new iPad below.

Written reviews

The edgeDan Seifert of said that the 10th gen iPad sits in an awkward position between the iPad Air and the 9th gen iPad:

In a vacuum, there’s very little to complain about with the 10th-gen iPad. It’s an excellent tablet that does all the things you want in a tablet very well. Even if its screen isn’t as good as other iPads, it’s still good enough and its performance is unassailable. If this was the only iPad sold by Apple, many people would buy it and be perfectly happy with it.

But in the context of the many other iPads Apple sells, I’m not sure why you would choose this one. If cost is an issue, you’re buying an iPad for a child, or you need a headphone jack, the still-available and much cheaper ninth-gen model ticks the box. For many people, the ninth-generation model is the better iPad for their needs. If you want the bigger screen and a more modern design, the iPad Air ticks all the right boxes with its better display, an even faster processor, and a better landscape of accessories, and you can often get it for less than $100 more than the new iPad .

WIRED‘s Brenda Stolyar also felt that the new iPad sits in an odd spot in the lineup:

When you sum up the numbers, reality sets in. Affordable and versatile, the iPad that used to start at $329 has now been raised to $449. That’s without the added cost of accessories (Apple charges $249 for the Keyboard Folio). It’s difficult to justify a $120 price increase over its predecessor – especially when one of the “upgrades” is the removal of the headphone jack. It doesn’t help that Apple continues to sell the ninth-generation iPad for $329, and you can usually find the iPad Air for around $519 at retailers like Amazon. The 10th generation tablet sits in an odd place.

CNET‘s Scott Stein praised the new FaceTime landscape camera:

The one big thing I wanted from iPad came like a magical wish granted: iPad’s oddly placed front camera is now at the edge of the landscape. That’s great. why is this great Because I work on iPads in landscape mode, in cases and stands and keyboard docks. When I zoom or use FaceTime on other iPads, my face looks oddly crooked and my eyes look elsewhere. That’s fixed now. Combined with Center Stage technology with automatic zoom, this iPad’s video chat camera is absolutely perfect.

Tom’s guide‘s Mark Spoonauer shared benchmark results showing that the A14 Bionic chip in the new iPad is up to 30% faster than the A13 chip in the previous model:

On Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the iPad 2022 scored 1,580 on single-core and 4,400 on multi-core, a significant improvement over the 9th-gen iPad’s 1,384 and 3,387. However, the iPad Air with its M1 chip got a much higher score of 1,707/7,151.

The street‘s Jake Krol pointed out that beyond the 10th-gen iPad, which requires an adapter to charge and pair the first-gen Apple Pencil, the device is a good buy, but he still recommends the ninth-gen iPad to consider for its value:

The oddities come with the first generation Apple Pencil support. I’m in favor of the switch to USB-C, but it’s not the most Apple-like charging experience. On top of that, the adapter is pretty hard to come by at the moment.

But if you can see past that, it’s an excellent iPad, and if you’re someone who likes to switch between iPad tasks and more advanced tasks, this is an excellent choice. The $449 price also includes 64GB of storage, which is clutch. It can also be paired with the $249 Magic Keyboard Folio for a laptop-like experience that you can really get to work with here. And when it’s time to play, simply detach the keyboard.

Of course, though, you have to consider the 9th generation iPad, which still offers excellent performance and often falls below the $329 price point. If you’re not looking for the modern 10th gen build or the new folio covers, this might be the best option for you.