Apple updated its iPad lineup this week with new versions of the iPad Air and iPad Pro. They look like impressive tablets, but they are incredibly expensive, costing from £599 and £999 respectively. Luckily there’s good news if you want a new iPad but don’t want to spend the earth, as Apple has heavily – and permanently – discounted the regular iPad from £499 to a much more palatable £349.
That’s right, you can now buy the 10th-generation iPad for just £349 from Apple or John Lewis. This is the price the tablet should have been when it launched in 2022. It has virtually the same design as the pricier iPad Air, with rounded edges to its 10.9-inch screen, sleek metal back in several colours including pink and yellow, plus support for the Apple Pencil stylus for drawing and note taking, with the option to buy a keyboard and turn it into a laptop.
We think Apple has quite a confusing iPad range. It has the iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPro Pro. Confusingly, the mini costs more than the regular iPad. But the choice isn’t too difficult – if you want an iPad, you should probably just buy the £349 iPad. It has a great sized screen for watching Netflix, reading the news, checking and sending emails, and video calling family and friends.
If you want to type those emails or also use the iPad for work, you can buy the Magic Keyboard Folio. Though this is a lofty £249 (the tablet itself is only £349!), there are plenty of cheaper options from companies such as Logitech, plus you can just hook up any Bluetooth keyboard you might already own.
Even though Apple touts the performance of the M2 chip in the new iPad Air and the M4 of the iPad Pro, you’ll very much be just fine with the A14 that’s in the regular iPad. It’s a processor with enough oomph for anything you want to do, bar the video editing that the more expensive iPads are equipped for.
The 10th-gen iPad is compatible with the 1st-generation and USB-C Apple Pencil. Confusingly, Apple now sells four different Apple Pencil models, but at least the iPad works with two of them if you do want to indulge in some drawing or note taking. One downgrade the iPad has is its unlaminated screen – there’s a gap between your finger or the Pencil and what appears on the display. The iPad Air and iPad Pro feel as though you’re actually touching the icons as there’s no gap. It’s a minor nitpick though – we’ve happily drawn on this iPad with no issues.
If you want to really push an iPad for gaming, video editing and extreme multitasking then the newly announced iPad Air and iPad Pro could be for you. If you just want an iPad for iPad things, the permanently discounted iPad will be more than enough tablet for the job.