The Ultimate iPad Buyers Guide 2023

foreign buying an iPad right now is potentially the most complicated it's ever been not only is the lineup absolutely massive but each iPad has its own features and Hardware differences and if you decide to spec them up in any way all the prices start overlapping which just makes the whole process honestly a bit of a nightmare so today I'm going to try my best to guide you through the entire iPad range and pick out the right one for you before we jump in though there's a few things which are really worth knowing one is all of these iPads run quick you're not going to buy one and be like oh why is it so slow they're all quick they're all speedy and they all work absolutely fine secondly they all run the same apps as of now so you're going to be able to run any app on any iPad and it's going to be absolutely fine with a very few tiny exceptions but otherwise they all run the same apps they all have cameras on the front and on the back and all the front-facing cameras include the face Tracking Center Stage so it will track your face whenever you're in a video call which is really useful they all support universal control and sidecar so if you have an Mac you can control it with your Mac or if you want an extra screen for your Mac they can all do that too which is awesome and finally and this is kind of an overarching for the entire video If an iPad is going to be your only computer I strongly suggest you look at getting a laptop instead iPads are fantastic and I really really love them but the price will start jumping up very quickly in this video and if you're getting into that kind of higher range then a laptop is going to be a better overall general computing device also throughout this video I'm going to put up my iPad graph which should help you decide which iPad to go for I'm going to put them all into categories so you can easily see which one you should go for and I'll leave a link for that below as well so you can view it at any time but all that aside let's get right into it let's start right at the bottom of the iPad 9th gen and honestly this is still a pretty decent iPad at the moment the a13 chip in there which is a couple years old now still runs iPad OS really really nicely and when I reviewed it about a year ago I was pleasantly surprised at how well it still ran in general and it is the only iPad left with the old design which also in turn means it has a home button which you can press to go home which some people still like and it still has a headphone jack which no other iPad or iPhone has right now the screen on here is nice but it is unlaminated which means there's a bit of an air gap between the glass on top and the screen on the bottom and because of this older design you're only getting bottom firing speakers which sound a bit tinny and they don't get massively loud you are getting apple pencil first gen support on here which is nice and you can pick up an iPad photo keyboard from Apple which is decent so it's got some good accessory support it does start at 64 gig which is a little bit low but you know potentially at this sort of end that's okay and this is the cheapest iPad overall it starts at 3 369 pounds here in the UK and once you add in a pencil and a keyboard you can kind of get this full system for about 650 pounds which isn't too bad if you ask me I think the writing is on the wall for this iPad though it's not going to stick around for much longer there's already an iPad 10th gen and all the other iPads have moved on to the newer design with USBC and all of those sorts of things so unless Apple turned this into an iPad SC I think I would try and avoid it as best as you can plotting this into the graph though I would say this is still good for students because you've got the pencil and keyboard support and it's good for general consumers as well that just want a little tablet to use for watching things or consuming stuff okay next up let's move on to the iPad 10th gen this is the new standard iPad so looking forward this is what they're kind of all going to look like and it is a bit of a strange one because there's lots of weird Hardware things with it and lots of stuff which kind of doesn't make sense on the surface but when I reviewed it I actually ended up really liking it so let's talk about it the iPad 10th gen does have this new design with a liquid Retina Display which is lovely that display is still not laminated though so there is that small air gap but you'd be hard pushed to see it this is also the only iPad with the front-facing camera in the right position it's in the middle of the iPad not on the side so when you're having a voice call you appear in the center of the frame and not off to one side you get USBC with this one which is awesome and also a bunch of colors to choose from which is always nice you're getting the A14 chip in here as well which is a bit of a bump up from the a13 and this performs really nicely again it's hard to really notice with iPad OS when things slow down because it happens so rarely but this still runs really really nicely your base starting storage here as well is 64 gig which again I think is a little bit low but this is still considered an entry-level iPad let's talk about the weirdness of this iPad though despite this having a new design it's still using the first generation of apple pencil and because that first generation of apple pencil uses a lightning connector you can can't connect it directly to this iPad you have to buy a USBC to lightning connector to get the pencil connected up and then you can use it and that's the only way to charge it as well which is really strange this iPad does have its own Folio keyboard from Apple which is absolutely fantastic kind of breaks off into two pieces and you can connect it in loads of different ways and it's arguably the most Pro level keyboard because it's got a function row amongst some other keys but it only works on this iPad so it's like the most Pro level keyboard on the kind of entry level iPad it doesn't work with any other iPad which again is just really odd but all of these things you know contained are awesome this starts at 499 pounds here in the UK but once you add the keyboard and a pencil you can jump well up into the 800s and this is where I really think it's worth considering moving to kind of a MacBook Air or something like that you're in a similar price range now and a MacBook Air especially if you end up getting a pre-owned one with the M1 chip they're absolutely incredible and you'll get a little bit more for your money as well okay plugging this into the graph I think this is good for students and for consumers and I would also put it into the Creator area as well because you've got the pro level keyboard here the pencil support is still good and it's got plenty of power to keep it going for years as well moving up the pricing scale we actually get onto the iPad mini and I'm kind of dubbing this one the Goldilocks iPad because it kind of works for absolutely everybody on kind of any scale and it's the least confusing of this entire range because of its size if you want a small iPad this is the only way to go and it's a beautiful little thing as well this inherits the pro and air designs and it's literally just shrunk right down you get a bunch of color choices here which is always lovely to see you're getting USBC you're getting apple pencil generation 2 support which snaps to the side and charges up which is just absolutely excellent and you're also finally getting a laminated screen of this one which just feels like you're touching the pixels on the screen it's really really great once again the iPad Mini starts at 64 gig which I actually potentially think is okay for the smaller iPad but you can boost it up to 256 if you feel like you need to while you are getting pencil 2 support there's no kind of official keyboard from Apple but you can find plenty of those on Amazon if you'd like to but arguably I'd say this isn't really the place to be typing out an entire essay or anything like that I've actually just made a video on the iPad mini and why it's actually kind of the Hidden Gem of the entire iPad range so I'll link that up here if you'd like to see it and I'll obviously pop it below as well I would also say this is the best iPad for gaming it's got the Apple a15 chip which is the same one which is still in the iPhone 14 series at the moment which makes it really powerful and if you combine that with the size and the fact that you can just hold it for ages without your hands or you know kind of arms getting tired it's a really good little device for gaming this one starts at 569 pounds here in the UK and putting it into my scale is actually kind of impossible because it works for everyone this one sits outside the scale as if you need a small iPad then get this one let's look at the iPad Air now and this is where things in my opinion start to get really exciting with iPads in terms of design we're getting the new squared off kind of Pro Design on the air here with a slightly smaller 10.9 inch screen rather than an 11 inch there's USBC there's a bunch of colors to choose from we're getting the nice laminated screen which is always great to see but unfortunately this iPad still starts at 64 gigabytes of storage which I actually think is too low coming in at this price point also with the air you're getting access to the proper Pro level accessories so you're getting the apple pencil 2 support which is great snaps to the side charges up we love that but you're also getting access to Apple's magic keyboard and this is arguably the best keyboard from Apple this has that beautiful floating design and the iPad just snaps in and snaps off with the smart connectors no problem at all we're getting backlit keys and absolutely everything it's a shame there's no function row but this is one of the best accessories for iPad and if you want to turn it into more of that laptop kind of replacement experience you can with this accessory the iPad Airs are now rocking the Apple M1 chip as well and this is a huge leap in performance over the other iPads it also means you're getting that coupled with eight gigabytes of RAM which just kind of immediately puts it up into laptop territory in terms of power thanks to that in one chip as well you're getting more huge features you're getting stage manager which is proper windowed multitasking on the iPad had which is really nice and you're also getting full external monitor support so if you want a full desktop experience from your iPad you can get that with the iPad Air and that all connects through the USBC slot nothing in the lower range has this so this really separates the air and Pros above everything else these iPads start at 669 pounds but once you add in a pencil and the magic keyboard you can happily spend over a thousand pounds no problem again this is when you should consider a laptop if you're thinking about only having one device plugging this into my graph as this goes beyond students and consumers and This falls directly into kind of the Creator and prosumer category if you know you're going to make some money with this iPad or if you know it's going to be one of your main devices then iPad Air is absolutely the way to go they're really fantastic devices before we move on to the Pro Models I did want to talk about today's sponsor paper like if you are thinking about picking up a new iPad and you want a way to not only protect your screen but also enhance the feeling then paper like might be for you paperlike is a screenplay sector for iPad that makes you feel like you're actually writing on paper they use nanodoc technology which is spread over the surface of the protector which adds resistance and grip to your pencil inputs removing that unnatural feeling of writing on glass and replacing it with that familiar papery feel now on version 2.1 paperlike is better than it's ever been before made in collaboration with a Swiss based manufacturer with new material Composites the distribution of those Nano dots is a lot more accurate and a plastic used is way thinner making it a notable Step Up in picture Clarity also if you're an avid apple pencil user like I am the new pencil grips in charcoal from paper like are also worth checking out these come in pairs with one being designed for you for long writing or drawing sessions to reduce grip fatigue and the other is for more precision based inputs giving you the edge when you need to put on those final touches each pack comes with both types of grip and marks with both apple pencil models too you can get all of this with a cleaning kit in the pro pack or buy them separately so I'll leave a link in the description below if you you want to check any of this out and of course a huge thank you goes out to paperlike for sponsoring this video alright let's talk about the iPad Pro Series and obviously these iPads go hard they've kind of got the best of the best and if that's what you want from an iPad then you should potentially start here one of the main differences and Flagship features here for the Pro Models is the 120 hertz screen which is the pro motion screen and it is absolutely wonderful to use it just means everything you do is super smooth and super responsive and if you use the apple pencil if you're a drawer or note taker or anyone like that you will feel the difference absolutely immediately also the 12.9 inch model has the mini LED display which is way more contrasty and it goes completely black in certain areas when you're not using it which just means the colors and everything that bounce off that screen are incredible I'll use it a huge amount to check these videos before I put them live but if you're an artist or if you're a video maker or anybody like that you will find that really really useful the screens also have a hover feature of the apple pencil as well which is kind of nothing new in the tech space but it's kind of an interesting thing when once you hover your iPad pencil over a tool or something it will highlight what it's going to do it will show what's going to happen before it does happen which is kind of a nice little add-on feature as well the pro amenities don't end there either you're getting face ID for unlocking the iPad you're getting a Ultra wide camera on the back as well as the normal one and a lidar scanner so you can scan through the environments really neatly the USBC is fun about 4 enabled and way faster than anything else below this one and the speakers on here are not only way louder but they also sound way better too which is really awesome obviously you're getting the pro level accessories so apple pencil 2 support is a given as is the magic keyboard that is also combined with Apple's M2 Chip which is just insane to have that inside an iPad you're also getting up to 16 gigabytes of RAM and in a tablet that's just wild because of that M series chip as well you're getting all of those extra features which came with the air so full external monitor support up to 6K with this one which is just mad and you're also getting stage manager for that true windowed multitasking on the iPad these iPads start at 899 pounds here in the UK and they balloon all the way up to 3197 pounds if you decide to go all out on one of the 12.9 inch models which is absolutely insane so I really think you've got to have a very specific reason to go for one of the Pro Models especially if you decide on maxing it out or upgrading it a little bit plugging these iPads into my scale I'd say they kind of jump over pretty much everything else I'd say they're still good for higher end creators and then just professionals but I think for everybody else all of the earlier iPads especially the air is potentially the way to go I also wanted to mention that I really think pre-owned iPads are well worth checking out especially on Apple's website on their refurbished thing first off you can get an iPad Air 4th gen which is the one that came before this which still has an A14 chip has apple pencil 2 support a laminated screen and all of that and that's cheaper than the current iPad 10th gen and I would argue that that's potentially a better iPad over the iPad 10th gen so that's definitely worth checking out you can also pick up an iPad Pro with the M1 chip which is a year old now which is still a fantastic chip it's still a current chip for the current iPad Air and that starts at 669 pounds on Apple's website and that is potentially a better buy than the current air so that's worth looking into too and the example I can give you is I recently picked up the iPad Mini again but I managed to get this for 340 pounds from CeX here in the UK which is almost a 200 pound difference and they're cheaper on Apple's refurbished website as well so please do check all of that sort of before you just go in straight to the new stuff because you can find some really good deals on there before this video is over I wanted to tell you what I think I would personally buy because I've used all of the iPads I have this weird kind of access to all of them but if I were to start again and to buy something completely brand new I would currently Buy the iPad Air because I think that gives you kind of like 90 of the iPad experience of everything possible it's going to stay fast for years it's going to have access to all the pro level accessories if I needed them and I think it just kind of gives you the best bang for your buck iPad at the moment even though it's still quite expensive but if we're looking at pre-owned ones I would actually buy one from Apple's refurbished website and I would get the iPad Pro in either the 11 or the 12.9 inch versions but last year's one so I buy the M1 Edition because they're just so much cheaper and they're such a decent iPad you get access to absolutely everything with them and I know that getting one with the M1 chip or higher is just going to Future proof that iPad I do a lot of work on an iPad I talk about iPads a lot I kind of need one up in that area so that's absolutely where I would go okay that wraps up this iPads buyers guide I hope it was useful for you I hope you got some information from it and you've got a clearer idea of what you should get now if you're thinking of picking one up or maybe you totally disagree with me or you've got some other advice put it in the comments below I always love to hear what you have to say and as always I will see you all in the next one foreign

Channel: Byte Review

Views: 293,086

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Id: -v992SD1D2Q

Length: 16min 21sec (981 seconds)

Published: Sun May 07 2023