Apple’s iPads are some of the best tablets ever made. Once a novelty, they are practically great content consumption devices, productivity machines and a dream come true for designers and more. The iterations iPads have seen over the years, make more and more like laptops. This year marks the 10th anniversary for iPads, and Apple has decided to celebrate it by announcing two new models.
The iPad 8th generation aims to be Apple’s newest affordable tablet. The design is like its predecessors; it comes in the same 10.2-inch screen size. Apple claims, they have upgraded the magnesium alloy casing, making the new iPad even stronger. The device has the same lightweight, portable design. It comes with Touch ID that can be used for unlocking the iPad, and for making payments and purchasing apps. The 8th generation iPad also supports Apple Pencil (1st generation). It also features magnetic connectors, that lets you connect Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio case. The new IPad is available in Space Grey, Silver and Rose Gold colours.
The new iPad Air is likely the one to grab everyone’s attention. It aims to be a mid-tier option between the low-cost 8th generation iPad and the more expensive iPad Pro models. It is designed to look like pricier Pro models, despite its mid-range price. It uses an aluminum chassis with flat, rounded edges that wrap around its 10.9-inch display. The newest feature on the iPad Air is its new touch ID sensor. The new sensor is now integrated within the power button to provide an edge-less screen design. Apple claims, the new touch sensor provides better security, performance and the same ease-of-use.
The new iPad Air features a USB Type-C port, that enables data transfer speeds up to 5Gbps. It also lets you connect cameras, hard drives and external 4K monitors. The new Air also supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation) along with support for Apple’s new Magic Keyboard. The keyboard magnetically attaches to the iPad Air, letting you set the perfect viewing angle for your iPad. Apple’s iPad Air is also the first iPad to offer unique colours options like the newer iPhones. The device is available in Silver, Space Grey, Rose Gold and a brand-new Green and Sky Blue colour.
Apple iPads are considered to be some of the best entertainment devices. Apple’s Retina Display technology renders natural-looking, which makes them great for streaming videos, playing games and reading e-books. The 8th generation iPad (2020) continues to offer a 10.2-inch display, with a screen resolution of 2160 x 1620. This model offers more viewing area than the 9.7-inch model which was sold till recently. The 8th generation iPad also features an oleophobic coating, to make the screen, fingerprint-resistant.
The new iPad Air features a slightly better Liquid Retina Display that runs a screen resolution of 2360 x 1640. It also supports Display P3, that represents a larger spectrum of colours than the current industry standard sRGB. This feature helps iPad Air’s display to be more colour-accurate, which means you can use it for professional photo and video editing. The iPad Air also features the True Tone display, which automatically adjusts the white balance depending on the surrounding lighting. The display is also fully laminated, which means the glass sits closer to the actual display. This helps the iPad’s display to mimic the feel of writing on a paper with a pen.
The 8th generation iPad features an updated A12 Bionic processor, an upgrade over the A10 Fusion that was used in the older model. Apple claims, this processor is 40 per cent faster and it also offers twice the GPU performance. This means the new iPad will handle most apps with ease, and it will also deliver smoother performance while playing high-end games such as Call of Duty: Mobile. The chip also includes a Neural Engine for improved machine learning and augmented reality capabilities. The entry-level models come with 32GB of storage, while the higher-end model comes with 128GB of storage.
The new iPad Air features an A14 Bionic processor, which is Apple’s newest A-series processor built on a 5nm process. Apple rarely introduces a new chip in an iPad before it comes to an iPhone, which makes the 2020 iPad Air an exception. Apple claims, the new iPad Air’s performance is very close to the Pro models. It is 40 per cent faster than the previous Air, and its 4-core GPU architecture provides 30 per cent faster graphic performance. This should make the new iPad Air a good choice for using media creation tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. The A14 Bionic also includes a new 16-core Neural Engine, that is twice as fast than the A12 Bionic’s Neural Engine. This makes the iPad Air better at handling motion tracking AR apps. The entry-level iPad Air comes with 64GB storage while the higher-end model has 256GB storage.
Both new iPads ship with Apple’s iPadOS 14 that is aimed at pushing the iPad experience closer to that of a laptop. The new OS is streamlined to take advantage of the iPad’s large screen and it now also comes with widgets support. Apple has also updated the sidebars and pull-down menus, that now let you access more app functions without switching views. The Files app on the new iPad OS uses a Mac-like interface, which makes arranging files and folders easier. Siri on iPad OS 14 is smarter than before, and it now answers a broader range of questions. Apple has made the new iPadOS 14 even more secure by ensuring apps require more permissions to collect your data.
Apple iPads are rarely used for photography, but Apple has ensured both new iPads houses good cameras. The 8th generation iPad comes with an 8MP camera, that should be enough for clicking casual photos and scanning documents. It also comes with 1.2MP FaceTime HD camera for video calls. The new iPad Air’s camera configuration is identical to last year’s iPad Pro. It comes with a 12MP wide-angle camera, with support for features such as Smart HDR. It records 4K videos up to 60 fps and it support slow-motion videos up to 240 fps.
Apple has also ensured the new iPads offer the best connectivity. The 8th generation iPad sports Wi-Fi 802.11ac while the iPad Air is a more future-ready option with its Wi-Fi 6. Both devices are available in LTE variants with support for eSIM. These devices also sport Bluetooth 5.0, for connecting peripherals. Apple has not revealed the battery capacity on both iPads, but they should offer up to 10 hours of battery life with a lot of activity. The new iPads complete the iPad line-up. These devices are expected to be available in India very soon, and you can find them at your nearest Reliance Digital store or at www.reliancedigital.in
