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00:006 iPads, 6 keyboards, 2 pencils and a whole bunch of extras all add up to make buying
00:10an iPad actually really confusing and also potentially very expensive.
00:14So hopefully I can help and let me know in the comments if you have any questions, I'll
00:18leave links in the description below if you want to check these out and if you do enjoy
00:21the video, fingers crossed, then a cheeky like and subscribe would be lovely.
00:25Okay so right off the bat, before we dive into each one individually, there are 5 things
00:29that you need to know.
00:30Number 1, near enough every app that you can download from the App Store will run on any
00:35iPad.
00:36You can watch the same streaming apps, play the same games, use the same productivity
00:39tools and they all support the Apple Pencil whether it's the 1st or 2nd gen and they
00:43also all support centre stage with the front selfie camera.
00:46Now of course performance will vary, higher end iPads are faster and in a handful of cases
00:51like the upcoming release of DaVinci Resolve or if you want to use Apple's new Stage
00:55Manager feature, you'll need an iPad with an M1 or M2 chip to run it.
00:59But 99% of the time, any app will run on any iPad.
01:04Number 2, and this is the big question really, what are you going to be using it for?
01:08Keep that in mind as I walk you through the different models and we'll come back to
01:11this at the end.
01:12Number 3, and maybe the best iPad isn't actually one of these.
01:16It's definitely worth checking out older or refurbished models as well because specifically
01:20with the new iPad 10th gen, which I reviewed the other day and you can click at the top
01:24right if you want to watch that and I'll leave a link at the end, I still maintain
01:27that the older 4th gen iPad Air is actually a better bet than this and in some cases cheaper.
01:34However the flip side of that argument is that these iPads will last you a good 5 years,
01:37they last a long time so it's worth buying the best one you can now so you can wait a
01:41little bit longer to upgrade in the future.
01:43Number 4, the extras.
01:45This can jack up the price of any iPad but it can also turn them into almost laptop replacements.
01:52Number 5, and if we're being honest, no one really needs an iPad.
01:56You need your phone, you need your laptop, but iPads are nice in betweeners.
02:00And for my money they are the best tablets you can buy, although there are other options.
02:04You've got the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus if you want a premium Android tablet.
02:08At the other end of the spectrum, a really cheap and cheerful Amazon Fire tablet is great
02:12for kids or just basic tablet-y tasks.
02:15Or if you want to run proper desktop programs and want the more hybrid laptop slash tablet
02:19experience, definitely have a look at the new Microsoft Surface Pro 9, which is actually
02:23considerably cheaper than the new iPad Pro 12.9, especially when you're out on the keyboard.
02:28And if you don't already have a laptop and you're kind of weighing up should I get an
02:30iPad or a laptop, honestly my money would be on the laptop.
02:34I would get either an M1 or M2 Air.
02:36Having said all that, the iPad does offer a unique combination of a big touchscreen,
02:40long battery life, great apps and cameras, a great range of accessories, and of course
02:45the incredibly slick iPadOS 16 software, all in a beautifully crafted thin and light
02:50form factor.
02:52Do I need one?
02:53No.
02:54But do I love using it?
02:55Absolutely.
02:56And obviously, while this can be a little confusing, the benefit of having six different
03:00new iPads to choose from is hopefully there is something to meet your needs and your budget.
03:04So what are the differences between them and which should you go for?
03:07Well if you go onto Apple's website, there's a really handy table showing the different
03:10features and specs and there's also a comparison tool and this is a really simple way to see
03:14what you get with each iPad.
03:16But you've not come here for me to tell you to go to a website and do your own research,
03:19you want to hear what I think, I hope.
03:20So let's start with this guy, the cheapest one, the iPad 9th generation.
03:25Pros and cons.
03:26Well pro, it's by far the cheapest iPad and as I say, it still runs all the same apps
03:29despite the slightly slower A13 processor.
03:32Lots of people also prefer having a physical home button that they can press.
03:35It's also the only iPad with a headphone jack which could be a big deal.
03:39The 64GB of storage is fine and it's also the same as you get on the Air which actually
03:43costs twice as much.
03:45It also supports the first gen Apple Pencil and I think for kids, for schools, even for
03:49the elderly, this is still a perfectly good iPad.
03:52Downsides.
03:53Well, it does look a bit like a dinosaur compared to the other ones.
03:56It's the only one with this older, somewhat dated design with these chunky bezels and
04:01this physical home touch ID button.
04:03By the way, you don't actually have to use that, this does still support all the gestures
04:06that you get on the other iPads but it gives you another option.
04:09This is also the only iPad without stereo speakers so the sound is very one-sided.
04:14Also the screen isn't laminated so there's a very slight gap between the glass and the
04:18screen itself which I don't think by itself is a real deal breaker.
04:21The cameras, particularly the one on the back, aren't very good and also the A13 chip inside
04:25here is the oldest of the bunch although it's still pretty capable.
04:28And finally, while the first gen Apple Pencil is fine and functionally the same as the gen
04:322 in terms of latency and responsiveness, there's no convenient wireless charging or magnetic
04:37attachment.
04:38But I'll tell you what, I do have a bit of a soft spot for this.
04:40It's by far the cheapest and the best value for money if you just want a cheap and cheerful
04:43iPad.
04:44My little 5-year-old nephew loves to draw on this and play educational games.
04:49It's good to have a headphone jack and if you add on a pencil and a smart keyboard,
04:52all in, it's about ÂŁ600 which as you'll come to see in a minute, is actually quite
04:56good value.
04:57Okay, let's move on to its younger brother, the brand new 10th generation iPad which we
05:02thought would replace this but instead Apple have just added a new tier of iPad.
05:06So what do you get for your $449 or ÂŁ499?
05:10Well first you'll have a pretty sharp intake of breath because that's a lot of money
05:13for the base iPad.
05:15But then we are getting the much more modern and refined design, touch IDs move to the
05:19power button and the thinner bezels mean they squeeze in a bigger 10.9 inch screen into
05:24a similar overall footprint as the 9th gen.
05:26And with the 4 very snazzy new colour options, this is a damn good looking tablet.
05:31Lightning is out, USB-C is in so charging and plugging in new accessories is easier.
05:35We also get stereo speakers, it's also the only iPad with this new landscape orientation
05:40for the selfie camera.
05:41Even the refresh pros don't have this and it makes so much more sense that now you're
05:45centred in the frame of your video calls.
05:48Lots of people asking why is this the only one to have that landscape orientation?
05:51Well I think the answer is it doesn't support the Apple Pencil 2 and on all the other ones,
05:55that's where the magnetic wireless charging strip is that you attach the pencil to.
05:58So because this is still gen 1 pencil, there's some room to spare for this camera.
06:03So hopefully that's something we see in the other iPads next year.
06:06We also get the more powerful A14 chip which did make a difference to more demanding games,
06:11even giving me more graphics options and it also adds faster WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and
06:16if you go for the mobile option, which I probably wouldn't really recommend on this iPad,
06:20you can now get 5G rather than 4G.
06:23Apple's also created a bespoke two-piece Magic Keyboard Folio case exclusively for
06:27the 10th gen iPad which makes it look and feel a lot like a Surface Pro.
06:31So yes, this is a relatively big upgrade over the 9th gen iPad but downsides?
06:36Well it's a good deal more expensive and functionally they basically do the same thing.
06:40Also like this cheaper model, the screen is still not laminated, we only get 1st gen Apple
06:44Pencil support and also the keyboard folio which is a very nifty design, don't get me
06:49wrong I do like it, but it's ÂŁ279.
06:54It's more than half the price of the bloody iPad itself which is frankly ridiculous.
07:01So without spoiling my conclusion too much, right now I think this is the joint hardest
07:06iPad to recommend.
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07:50Okay, moving up the price ladder, next up we have this little guy.
07:53The iPad Mini Gen 6.
07:55And I love this thing.
07:56Yes, you have the argument that why buy this if you already have a big iPhone like a Pro
08:00Max and that's fair but it's still a significantly bigger 8.3 inch screen and as well as being
08:05the lightest iPad, I think this is the perfect size for reading, gaming, carrying around
08:10all day and just being able to use one handed.
08:13And in many ways it is the little brother of the iPad Air, not quite the same specs
08:17but we do have a very similar screen that supports a wider P3 colour gamut, it's laminated
08:22and also has this anti-reflective coating which the 9th and 10th gen iPads miss out
08:26on.
08:27It's also the sharpest screen of any iPad at 326 pixels per inch up from the 264 average
08:33on the others, although it's a fairly minor point.
08:36We also get 2nd gen Apple Pencil support and also a slight bump in performance with the
08:40A15 chip.
08:41Downsides?
08:42Well, it is smaller so you're not going to get that big screen tablet iPad experience
08:46and if you are going to use this like a laptop replacement or you're going to do multitasking,
08:50it's a bit cramped on this and particularly also keyboards, Apple doesn't sell a bespoke
08:54magic keyboard for this because it's just too small, you can get separate Bluetooth
08:58keyboards and ideally you want to use a full size one because otherwise the keys can be
09:01quite cramped.
09:02I've also found the battery isn't quite as good as the other iPads, if 10 hours is
09:06broadly the average, I'd say I get closer to 9 with the mini.
09:10But put simply, if you want a small tablet, this is the one to get.
09:14Then we have the iPad Air and at ÂŁ669 it's ÂŁ100 more than the mini and also ÂŁ170 more
09:21than the 10th gen iPad.
09:22Now the Air is really interesting because when I made my last iPad buying guide about
09:26six months ago now, I kind of felt that this didn't really have a place but actually
09:31now with the refreshed Pro's and also the new 10th gen iPad, I think it's come into
09:35its own and actually I think now this is one of the best options.
09:40The biggest upgrade is the M1 chip and in benchmarks it's quite a significant step
09:44up.
09:45In fact, if we compare all six, of course the M2 in the Pro's is still faster, particularly
09:49in the graphics department, but the M1 represents the most significant upgrade.
09:53The M1 also comes with a media engine so it's much faster for video editing and which I
09:57presume is why only this and also the Pro's with the M2 will support the new DaVinci Resolve
10:02video editor that's coming soon.
10:04Similarly, Apple's new Stage Manager feature which adds a deeper level of multitasking
10:08and gives you a slightly more desktop feel to moving and resizing apps is again only
10:12on the M1 and M2.
10:17Pair that with a fantastic, albeit very expensive, Magic Keyboard, you've got the USB 3.1 port
10:22plus we have Apple Pencil 2, all together the Air becomes a pretty capable productivity
10:27hub and almost, almost a laptop replacement.
10:31Now to be honest with you, in regular day to day use you probably wouldn't notice
10:34that much difference in speed between the cheapest 9th gen iPad and the Air with that
10:39more powerful M1 simply because this is, well firstly still limited by those kind of slow
10:43iPadOS animations but more importantly it's also still only 60Hz, only the Pro's get
10:49that smoother 120Hz.
10:51And I think overall there's a lot to like about the Air, there's not a whole lot to
10:54complain about except for being, well, a little bit pricey, accessories are also more expensive
10:58and also as I say, not really feeling the benefits of the M1 most of the time.
11:03Okay 4 down, 2 to go.
11:04Still with me?
11:05Let's talk about the iPad Pro 11 and the iPad Pro 12.9.
11:10These have just been refreshed as well although to be honest, it's not a particularly exciting
11:14upgrade.
11:15We have the M2 chip which takes the already ludicrously fast M1 and makes it, well, even
11:20more ludicrously fast with a roughly 10% faster processor, 30-35% faster graphics and also
11:25a 40% faster neural engine for all that AI wizardry.
11:29The Pro models also have more RAM, either 8 or 16GB of the stuff but honestly I would
11:33be impressed if you ever really need this kind of performance unless you're doing some
11:37intense 4K video editing, 3D rendering or some bespoke medical imaging maybe or perhaps
11:43you just want to max out Genshin Impact and any kind of frame drop is just not acceptable.
11:47So they're faster and also they're the only iPads to get the new Wi-Fi 6E support, that's
11:516GHz spectrum although of course you will need a 6E router for my American friends to
11:57take advantage of that and also get ready to be amazed because with the new Pros, the
12:01Apple Pencil can now hover above the screen which gives you a little preview of where
12:05your pencil is or what it's gonna do although only a handful of apps like Pixelmator and
12:09a few of Apple's own support it and also Samsung's had this for what, like a billion
12:13years now?
12:14We also get Bluetooth 5.3 and also Smart HDR 4 for the photos so the camera's a little
12:19bit better.
12:20It's a pretty underwhelming refresh but that doesn't take away from the fact that these
12:24are still the best and most powerful and most versatile iPads you can buy because while
12:29the iPad Air is very capable and obviously has the M1 chip, the most noticeable upgrade
12:33going with one of the Pros is that higher 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate.
12:38Every swipe and scroll feels smoother and games that support 120Hz feel so much faster
12:43and perhaps more importantly, for any keen designer, drawer or doodler, it makes the
12:47pencil feel much more responsive.
12:49Design-wise the Pros are very similar to the Air although they forgo the fun colours in
12:53favour of, well, a beefier camera system for a start, we have this ultrawide lens and also
12:57a LiDAR sensor for better augmented reality although I mostly use it for taking more accurate
13:02measurements and it can also improve focusing in low-light portrait shots.
13:05It's a nice extra but not something you'll use that often.
13:08Also whereas all other iPads use Touch ID, the Pro models get Face ID thanks to the True
13:13Depth camera.
13:14The Pros also get much better sounding quad speakers which are genuinely epic and also
13:21the USB-C port has been upgraded to USB 4 so you can actually connect this up to a 6K
13:26display which of course includes Apple's own Pro Display XDR.
13:31Now the 11-inch Pro, as it says on the tin, has an 11-inch screen, 0.1 inch bigger than
13:36what you get on the Air or the 10th gen iPad, that's not really a big deal.
13:39What is a bigger deal is it's a bit brighter, 600 nits of SDR versus 500 nits on the Air
13:44but that's nothing compared to the screen you get on the 12.9-inch Pro.
13:49This is bloody gorgeous and actually it's the same screen basically as you get on a
13:52MacBook Pro because uniquely to the biggest and of course the most expensive iPad is this
13:57mini-LED screen which not only gives us much better contrast close to OLED levels of inky
14:02blacks and rich colours, albeit with a fair amount of blooming in some cases, but you
14:06can see particularly with the black bars around a video or a movie, just look at the difference.
14:12But wait there's more because the mini-LED screen also boosts the brightness to 1000
14:16nits in SDR and a peak of 1600 in HDR.
14:20To be honest I had hoped the mini-LED screen of the 12.9 would find its way onto the 11
14:24with this year's refresh but sadly not and so I think that leaves the 11-inch Pro
14:29in a bit of a weird space.
14:31To somewhat mitigate the higher price of these Pros, they do come with 128GB of storage as
14:36standard and there's also a whopping 2TB option if you really do have very deep pockets.
14:41And then of course you've got the usual 5G, Magic Keyboard and Pencil options as well.
14:46So aside from the size, the mini-LED screen and of course also the price, the Pros are
14:51essentially identical.
14:53But the question is, is it worth paying ÂŁ350 more, which is actually more than the price
14:58of the base iPad by itself, is it worth paying that much more to get the 12.9?
15:02Well in my opinion if you're going to go for a Pro model, you may as well go for the proper
15:06Pro model.
15:07Yes it's very expensive but chances are if you are buying one of these, you want that
15:11performance, you want that big screen size and perhaps it is going to be a laptop replacement
15:14for you so the bigger screen size not only makes multitasking and stage manager easier
15:18to use but also the bigger Magic Keyboard is a little bit more comfortable as well.
15:22And also once you go mini-LED, it's kind of hard to go back.
15:25Downsides of the Pros, well they are eye-wateringly expensive, it's also a case of diminishing
15:29returns with their M.2 chip, yes it's more powerful but you're not really going to see
15:33it very often.
15:34There's also just a lot of stuff that you probably don't need, I mean, hover pen, WiFi
15:386E, very few people have 6E routers, how often are you going to use the ultra-wide lens.
15:42And also remember the fantastic M.2 MacBook Air is the same price as the Pro 12.9 and that's
15:48before you had the expensive Magic Keyboard which actually combined also makes it heavier
15:53than the MacBook.
15:57And breathe.
15:58Let's wrap up.
15:59Let me tell you which I think is the best iPad and straight away, out of the 6, I think
16:02there's only really 3 that you should consider and that is the base 9th gen iPad, iPad Air
16:075th gen, the 12.9.
16:09I think these 3 are the best options, although of course if you do want a small iPad, get
16:14the mini.
16:15And I mentioned this at the beginning but I reckon the best option is to get the previous
16:19generation iPad and hopefully save some money.
16:22In most respects, the older 4th gen iPad Air is still better than the new 10th gen iPad
16:26so an older Air or Pro could be a great option unless you can make use of Apple's pretty
16:30decent trading scheme and maybe also if you're eligible for one of their discounts like you're
16:34a student or a teacher.
16:37But if I had to pick one of these, I reckon the best option is the iPad Air.
16:43Yes it's a little pricey but it'll probably last you forever and having an M1 chip kind
16:46of underscores that this is in the future iPads and not the older ones with the A-series
16:51chips.
16:52But that's just me.
16:53What do you think?
16:54Which one of these would you go for or none of the above?
16:56Let me know in the comments below.
16:58Thank you so much for watching guys.
16:59Let me know if you have any questions and I'll see you next time right here on the Tech
17:02Chap.
17:03Oh and don't forget to get 85% off Surfshark VPN and 3 months extra for free when you use
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