All iPads share an unbeatable selection of apps, stellar hardware quality, long battery life, and unrivaled customer support. In the latest Air, you get the iPad Pro’s fast M1 chip and updated design, which we’ve found makes the tablet more appealing and comfortable to use. Luckily you can still use Apple’s best accessories, like the second-generation Pencil and the Smart Keyboard Folio, with the Air, and that makes it a great tablet for someone who is willing to spend some more cash for a better experience but might gawk at the price tag of an iPad Pro.
The best iPads in 2022 for every need and budget
All current models run the latest iPadOS 15 interface, which adds enhanced multitasking abilities, system-wide Quick Notes, and bigger widgets for the home screen. What follows are what I think are the best iPads across four categories, based on both direct testing and deep industry knowledge and expertise.
The 2021 iPad Pros are expensive tablets that are primarily designed for creative professionals who need power and excellent cameras.
Is an iPad Worth It? 5 Reasons Why You Should Buy One
An iPad offers better portability than a laptop, and their big screens make them better for streaming video, reading websites, and getting work done than a phone. An iPad is a tablet that runs on iPadOS, a variation of the operating system that powers iPhones. As a tablet, an iPad is a thin touchscreen device that resembles an oversized iPhone or the screen of a laptop with the keyboard portion removed.
These devices are all highly integrated into the Apple ecosystem, allowing you to access your iCloud files on the go, and use most of the same apps you can use on an iPhone.
They’re better for consuming media and getting work done than iPhones due to their larger displays, and they’re more portable than MacBooks. If you use an iPhone, wear an Apple Watch, and do most of your work on an iMac or MacBook, you’ll find that an iPad is a natural extension of that family of devices.
AirDrop lets you seamlessly transfer files, iCloud gives you access to photos, settings, and other data, and you can even use an iPad as a second monitor with your Mac. Whether you love binge-watching Netflix, spend all day listening to music or podcasts, or are an avid reader, an iPad represents an upgrade over using a phone or laptop.
The big screen is better for video content and e-books, and the built-in speakers provide better sound for instances where you find yourself without your earbuds. Whether you’re Facetiming friends and family or stuck in Zoom meetings all day for work, an iPad is the perfect solution.
Instead of tying up your computer or laptop or relying on the tiny screen of your phone, making video calls on your iPad allows you to free up your other devices and increase your productivity. The latest iPads also have unique features like Center Stage specifically designed to improve video calls.
The base iPad model might be more affordable than you expect, but it’s still pretty expensive compared to other tablets. If you’re working on a tight budget and already have a phone and laptop, it might be a stretch to justify an iPad’s premium price tag. One of the biggest problems with the iPad family of devices is Apple charges a premium for storage. Most Android tablets let you insert an inexpensive micro SD card if you need more space, but Apple doesn’t give you that option.
That could save you money since iPads are cheaper than MacBooks, and they’re also lighter and easier to carry between your classes.
The best iPads in 2022
The new iPad Air 2022 is ideal for consuming and creating content, and its $599 starting price is within reach for many people. 2. iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) The biggest, most beautiful iPad you can buy Specifications CPU: M1 Camera Resolution: 12MP (rear, wide) 10MP (rear, ultra wide), 12MP True Depth (front) Display: 12.9 inches, 2732 x 2048 pixels Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Ports: USB-C, Smart Connector Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches Weight: 1.5 pounds Wi-Fi: 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 with optional 5G Today’s Best Deals View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + XDR display gets super bright + M1 processor sets new iPadOS records + Center Stage is pretty cool Reasons to avoid – Display needs HDR content to look its best – Expensive, especially with accessories
And this 12.9-inch model i the only tablet to sport Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display, which offers much higher brightness — up to 1588 nits! The 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021’s quad-speaker setup booms, its optional Magic Keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience — and its 10+ hours of battery life is enough to get you through a full day of use. That said, the super-bright XDR display needs HDR content to thrive, and that’s not always available — as the likes of Hulu and HBO Max have yet to adopt it. Also, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 is more expensive than the MacBook Air — and heavier to boot, at least when docked with its Magic Keyboard.
3. iPad mini 6 2021 The best super-portable iPad Specifications CPU: A15 Bionic Camera Resolution: 12MP (front and rear) Display: 8.3-inch (2266 x 1488 pixels) Liquid Retina Storage: 64GB, 256GB Ports: USB-C Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches Weight: 0.7 pound Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6, optional 5G (Sub-6) Today’s Best Deals View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Super-portable, light design + Speedy A15 Bionic processor + Sharp and bright display Reasons to avoid – No Magic Keyboard or headphone jack – Pricey It has the thin-bezels and flat-edges design of the iPad Air, support for the second gen Apple Pencil and even USB-C. Also, its A15 Bionic processor is blazing-fast and its battery life is shockingly good for a tablet this small.
4. iPad Pro 2021 (11-inch) The best iPad for power users on the go Specifications CPU: M1 Camera Resolution: 12MP (rear, wide) 10MP (rear, ultra wide), 12MP True Depth (front) Display: 11 inches (2388 x 1668 pixels) Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Ports: USB-C, Smart Connector Dimensions: 9.7 x 7 x 0.2 inches Weight: 1 pound Wi-Fi: 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 with optional 5G Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Verizon Wireless (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Fantastic screen + Epic battery life + M1 processor is blazing-fast Reasons to avoid – 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s display is better – iPadOS feels limited with M1 power On top of that, you get the astonishing speed of the Apple M1 chip, which is powerful enough to handle even the most demanding video and image editing apps.
Its bright and colorful display is sharp, its four speakers provide much larger sound than you might expect from such a thin device, and if you’re willing to pony up the cash its amazing (optional) Magic Keyboard offers the simplest and smoothest tablet typing experience there is. Apple iPad 2021 The great all-around iPad Specifications CPU: A13 Bionic Camera Resolution: 8MP (rear), 12MP (front) Display: 10.2 inches, 2160 x 1620 pixels Storage: 64GB, 256GB Ports: Lightning, Headphone Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.3 inches Weight: 1.07 pounds Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with optional LTE Today’s Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Apple (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Bright screen + Improved front-facing camera + Good battery life Reasons to avoid – Dated design with big bezels – Nowhere to store Apple Pencil
If you take a lot of video calls, you’ll be impressed by how much clearer you look on this iPad vs the previous models, as Apple’s upgraded the 1.2MP front-facing camera to a 12MP sensor. And that lens is smarter, because of Center Stage (Apple’s new trick to keep you in the frame when you move around on video calls). The A13 Bionic chip is a welcome update for speed, since iPadOS 15 is getting smarter and features like LiveText (which lets you copy and paste text out of images) are improved with a faster processor. Is it mostly going to stay within easy reach of the couch, and be used primarily for light entertainment like browsing Reddit, watching YouTube videos, or looking up trivia on IMDB?
But if this is a tablet you plan to use for creative purposes, either as a laptop replacement (which basically requires investing in a Magic Keyboard attachment) or as a device for editing photos and videos, you should consider paying the premium for a new iPad Pro. Having an iPad that can access cellular data networks really improves your quality of life by letting you use Internet-reliant apps wherever you can get a signal.
After that, we put them through our in-house battery test, which times how long it takes — while surfing the web with brightness at 150 nits — to drain a tablet of a charge.
Is iPad (9th gen) worth buying in 2022?
With the onset of September, the iPad (9th gen) will be completing its first anniversary since its worldwide release around the same time in 2021. It belongs to a long line of budget tablets that Apple offers and caters to a wide variety of needs.
The second point will compare it to the kind of features users will receive in the upcoming 10th generation, given its potential release window. Given the usual trend, the 10th gen will have some advantages, but the overall impact won’t be very significant.
Power management and battery life remain excellent as ever, and the device can easily last a day based on moderate usage. Considering the features and lack of competition in the tablet market, there’s no reason to feel that the iPad (9th gen) won’t be worth it in 2022.
Apple iPad Air 5 (2022) Review: The best tablet option for just about everyone
When Apple announced it would be building its own silicon to replace Intel processors a couple of years ago, the tech industry didn’t know what to expect. And then not only did the Apple M1 deliver — garnering critical acclaim and immediately making Intel-powered Macs lose most of their resale value — Apple is now working towards democratizing the chip to make it available in nearly everything but iPhones (and who knows what will happen there eventually?). With the announcement of the new M1-powered iPad Air 5 (2022), Apple’s silicon is now powering everything from a tablet to a 24-inch desk-bound iMac. The fact that an iPad Air technically packs the same processing power as an iMac is bonkers — but yet here we are.
20W charging brick included Security Touch ID fingerprint sensor Rear Camera(s) 12MP, f/1.8 Front Camera(s) 12MP, ultra-wide, f/2.4 Port(s) USB-C Audio Dual Stereo Speakers Connectivity 5G Wi-Fi 6 Software iPadOS 15.4 Other Features Compatibility with Apple Pencil (gen 2) and Magic Keyboard
Just like the iPhone SE 3 that was launched at the same event, the 2022 edition of the iPad Air brings back the exact same design from the previous 2020 model, save for some new flashy colors like blue or purple. Like the 2020 model, there’s a fingerprint scanner located in the power button and it works perfectly fine. This is a small, $600 machine with more raw processing power than most laptops or Android devices costing two or three times as much. The iPad Air 5 (2022) runs on iPadOS 15.4, a fork of iOS that is better suited for the large screen. The most notable deviation from iOS is the ability to run two apps at once in split-screen mode. Tapping on the three dots open up the options to either go split-screen, float the window, or go back to full screen (if you were already in the previous two state).
But on the smaller 10.9-inch iPad Air, I don’t mind the two-screen limit, as it seems ideal for the screen size. The iPad Air 5 (2022) offers solid battery life — for productivity use (word processing with some Spotify streaming and video watching), the machine can last a full nine, ten-hour workday and finish with 20% battery left still. At 10.9-inches, the display is large enough to offer more immersion than a phone screen (or even a foldable phone screen), but it’s not so large that it becomes unwieldy to hold like the larger iPad Pro or Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. It provides protection for the iPad Air and also lifts the tablet slightly off the table or lap for a slightly more ergonomic angle, but more importantly, it has backlit keys with good key travel and an uncannily accurate trackpad.
I think Android fans who just read the above several paragraphs are probably rolling their eyes, assuming I’m just the typical Apple fanboy. I am not — I carry an Android phone most of the year and my Twitter feed is full of snarky jokes about how much I don’t like the iPhone 13 Pro’s cameras or form factor. Apple’s iPad is just more polished than other rival tablets, with only the Galaxy Tab S8 series even being able to compete. It’s neither too big nor too small and its starting price of $599 is reasonable, especially since you’re getting the all-powerful M1 chip (that’s overkill on an iPad).
However, as is usual with Apple products, you will likely pay way more than the base retail price to get the full experience.
Review: The new $329 iPad is an incredible value for anyone who wants a good mobile computer
Over the past several days I’ve been rocking Apple’s new 9th generation iPad and I’m stunned to say, it’s fantastic and it’s the first one that has everything I need. But I’ve learned quickly that neither of those things are even remotely necessary for a great iPad experience.
It’s for a very niche audience of people who want a tiny computer that fits in a jacket pocket and feels like a 21st century moleskin journal. But if you opt for the silver model, you get an all-new two tone look that Apple hasn’t offered since the fourth generation iPad.
I know there are lots of nuances to consider, but in day-to-day standard use I don’t feel any sort of difference. I love puzzles and simulators and both categories play no differently here than they do on the more expensive iPads.
I’ve been playing a ton of Townscaper on my iPad and it runs spectacularly well. The neural engine in the A13 makes the new iPad scream, it’s the best thing about this particular chip upgrade.
It’s blazing fast and makes multitasking feel as fluid as it does on iPad Air. If you have last year’s 8th generation iPad with the A12 chip you’re still in good shape. Center stage uses a new wide angle front facing camera and adjusts the field of view to properly show you and anyone else on your end of the call. With True Tone on the new iPad, the display adjusts its color temperature based on ambient lighting.
Apple’s tech here is miraculous and anyone who has used True Tone knows its something you can’t live without once you’ve used it. Apple has doubled the storage configurations on the new iPad but kept the price points the same. Apple previously only offered 128GB maximum on the iPad, but 256GB is computer level good. It’s unclear if the technology will be affordable enough to put in the 10th generation iPad next year, but it’ll get here eventually.
It’s running the same iPadOS 15 with improvements to multitasking, quick note, and widgets on the Home Screen. Slide over is quick and apps are pretty good at staying in the state I left them.
The app switcher isn’t wonky at all and I haven’t noticed any dropped frames. Long story short, the new iPad works perfectly for multitasking. It’s not a big deal for most people since neither are really used anymore, but if you live in a country or area that does use them it’s important to know. The most obvious thing that’s still the same is the Touch ID sensor built-in to the home button on the front.
An average iPad user doesn’t need USB-C and they’ll more than likely be happy that they can use the same charger as their iPhone. The only real benefit of the second generation Apple Pencil is that it sticks to the side.
It’s fine for shooting a quick video or snapping a photo on the fly, but you do not want to use this as your primary camera.
2021 iPad review: The best iPad for nearly everyone
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. Apple’s ninth-generation iPad isn’t a giant leap in design or feature improvements for the line, but as the cheapest tablet in the range, it’ll do just fine. While announced alongside the iPhone range, the iPad doesn’t tend to get much in the way of major revisions year-over year. A13 Bionic Apple Pencil Support Yes, First Generation Yes, First Generation Smart Connector Yes Yes Dimensions (inches) 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.29 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.29 Weight (lbs) 1.08 1.07 Battery (hours) Up to 10 Up to 10 Rear Camera 8MP 8MP Front Camera 1.2MP 12MP
Just looking at the outside, you can tell there hasn’t been any major changes to the ninth-generation iPad, as it has been using the same design as the seventh-generation model. For the third release in a row, you’re looking at a 9.8 by 6.8-inch tablet that’s 0.29 inches thick, and even weighs the same 1.07 pounds as two generations ago.
The screen on the front is also a continuation of the tried-and-tested 10.2-inch non-laminated LED-backlit IPS display that’s on its third generation of iPad. This time, Apple has tweaked the display to give it support for the sRGB color gamut and True Tone, which are nice extras.
This is two generations behind the latest iPhone SoCs, the A15 Bionic, but versus its competitors, it’s still a very powerful and capable chip for typical tablet uses.
These are all expected improvements on the 1,100 single-core, 2,400 multi-core, and 5,300 Metal scores of the previous iPad model. Media consumption, web surfing, and reading don’t exactly demand a lot of computing horsepower. On the rear, you have the usual 8-megapixel Wide camera, with the standard f/2.4 aperture, 5x digital zoom, and HDR support.
That hasn’t changed from two generations ago, and neither has its 1080p video recording at 30fps with 3x zoom, nor the 720p 120fps Slo-mo feature. To go along with the higher resolution, you now gain a 2x zoom-out capability and an extended dynamic range for video up to 30fps.
This all helps drive the main reason for the upgrade: Center Stage support, namely the automatic tracking and zooming of the camera frame to match the user’s movements during a video call. With so many people relying on the iPad for video communications, it makes sense to not only upgrade the camera sensor, but also to add in Center Stage.
The rest of the iPad’s features list was lifted from the 8th generation’s specifications, though you wouldn’t expect much in the way of changes in it anyway. There’s cellular options again, with both nano SIM and eSIM support, but unlike the iPad mini, you’re stuck on LTE at best.
While Apple has kept the status quo or improved areas, there is one minor part that has seen a reduction. While you can get a Silver or Space gray iPad, the previously-available Gold option is no longer available.
It’s doubtful that there will be a great deal of internet drama or garment-rending at the loss of the Gold iPad. The entry level iPad is not going to light the world on fire with its feature set. Looked at from that all these perspectives, Apple’s latest iPad will fit into the market that it wants to address with it, just right.
Apple iPad 2018 review: The iPad for everyone
Apple unveiled the new iPad at a March event in Chicago touting its commitment to education. And insofar as the new iPad’s pricing goes, it still feels like a miss compared to its primary Chromebook competitors. Yes, you’re still paying a premium for the iPad versus, say, ultrabudget Amazon Fire tablets. But the addition of Pencil support — here if you want it, but not required — is the icing on the cake of what was already a top-notch consumer tablet.
Yes, buying the Pencil and a good keyboard or case gets you back up into the pricing territory of a midrange Windows laptop. But the baseline iPad is delivering the bulk of the features of its step-up Pro siblings at almost half the price.
Last year’s $329 model was pretty great at being a basic tablet with solid performance. Much like Microsoft’s Surface Pen, the Pencil stylus is pressure-sensitive and is helpful in art apps.
Games run great, apps load fast, and battery life has been surprisingly good, even by iPad standards. Apple claims the same 10 hours of life for all current iPads when streaming and browsing the web.
That’s correct, and that’s why I wouldn’t recommend anybody with the otherwise excellent 2017 iPad run out and upgrade to this model unless you’re really in love the idea of a stylus. And nothing has changed about the Pencil’s design, which is hardly kid-friendly: the rear cap covering the Lightning plug is way too easy to lose.
I thought I’d put the Pencil to use on a family vacation with the new iPad, and we ended up barely using it. And the Pencil’s slightly delicate build made me less likely to let my littler kid use it. I’d suggest taking the Pencil for a spin in the Apple Store before plunking down the hundred bucks, though. iPad Pros benefit from that side port, which works with keyboards and a few docks.
It’s not a huge problem to lose it, since Apple never did much with it, and more affordable, good Bluetooth keyboard cases are everywhere. That means it’s not as good as the current iPad Pro, which has louder quad speakers and a larger 10.5-inch screen, with a faster 120Hz refresh rate TrueMotion display.
It’s not terrible, but if you’re using the Pencil to draw, the extra gap creates some distance and makes the writing feel slightly less immediate. I still think this iPad’s camera quality, for a tablet, ends up impressing. So while it needs to have the space for the Touch ID home button, the larger bezels on the top and bottom are starting to feel old. Using it back and forth with a 10.5-inch iPad Pro, I prefer the Pro: its faster display, smoother scrolling, more tuned colors, better speakers, and better screen-to-body ratio is really nice, and I like using Smart Connector keyboard covers to type with. I think, unless you’re a professional who has a use case in mind, it’s difficult to justify the spending what’s effectively twice the price. And I doubt whether it’ll be the answer for cash-strapped schools that might be looking for something more affordable, or something that could be more like a standard laptop computer.
Bargain hunters outside of a school environment should still check out the Amazon Fire HD 10, which delivers a good set of tablet basics — web browser, video viewing and plenty of apps and games — at half the price. And that’s the only caveat I can issue here: this is one shoe dropping in Apple’s yearly iPad deployment.
iPad review: Apple’s basic tablet is still the best option for almost everyone
This iPad is perfect for using popular apps and streaming video, and so is ideal for most people. Get honest reviews on top products & services — delivered weekly to your inbox.
For $330, it’s a worthy sidekick for your phone that gives you a larger display to run typical, common apps and even graphics-heavy games whether you’re on the couch or commuting.
The iPad Air’s Liquid Retina display offers slightly bolder colors, but it’s also nearly twice as expensive. Apple’s standard iPad runs on the company’s mobile processors found in iPhones. It’s an older processor compared to the A15 Bionic in the iPhone 13 series, and it’s not as powerful as the computer-grade M1 processor in the iPad Air, but it’s still perfectly capable to run every app and game you throw at it. Benchmark scores using the Geekbench 5 app show that the iPad Air is more powerful, especially for tasks that use more than one of the M1 processor’s eight cores. The images produced are much sharper and clearer, and it’s also an ultra-wide camera with Apple’s Center Stage feature that follows your face as you move within the video frame.
Between the megapixel increase and the ultra-wide capabilities, this is a significant upgrade over the 2020 iPad.
In this respect, the standard iPad’s front-facing FaceTime camera is similar to the iPad Air’s, save for Apple’s Smart HDR 3 tech that improves photo lighting, but not for FaceTime calls — only selfies.
That’s similar to the iPad Air’s four hours and 53 minutes result in the same test Its small size means the iPad Mini is lighter and more portable, all while offering a larger display than your phone.
The $700 Galaxy Tab S8 is a viable alternative, but also still way more expensive than the standard iPad. If you’re planning to browse the web, stream videos, run common popular apps, and play even graphics-heavy games, there’s little reason to spend more on the iPad Air, let alone the iPad Pro series. In this case, the basic iPad maintains its position as the best Apple tablet for most people.
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