After 12 years, Apple has finally ditched the button from the front of the iPad, brining it into line with the rest of the iPad range. In addition, the Lightning connector is gone, replaced by the soon-to-be everywhere USB-C but there’s no support for the second generation Apple Pencil. instead, owners of a first generation Apple Pencil will need a new USB-C to Lightning adapter to charge their Apple Pencil.
Under the new iPad skin
The new iPad comes in four colours: blue, pink, yellow, and silver. Amazingly, Apple has used normal colour names and not applied their marketing imagination to come up with the sorts of colour names you’ll see at your local paint store or car dealership.
The Liquid Retina display is an upgrade on the previous generation and now runs from edge to edge, making the the new iPad fit in with the design aesthetic of the iPad Pro, iPad Mini and iPad Air. The display runs at 2360×1640-pixel resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and supports True Tone technology.
While the old school TouchID button is gone from the front face, it has moved to the power button, like the iPad Air.
The front camera gets a boost to 12MP and is located on the long-edge of the iPad, rather than the short side that’s been the case since the first generation iPad released in 2010. It supports Centre Stage – the tech that enables the camera to automatically follow you as you move so you stay centred on the screen.
The rear camera is a 12MP Wide that delivers high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video with support for 240-fps slo-mo.
Performance boost from last generation A14
There’s been a processor boost with the iPad getting an A14 Bionic power plant which delivers a 20 percent increase in CPU and 10 percent improvement in graphics over the previous generation. Apple says this makes it up to 5x faster than the best-selling Android tablet (which Apple says was a MediaTek MT8768N-based Android tablet systems with the latest version of Android 11 available at the time of testing).
Apple’s strategy with the iPad has been to make it a very capable tablet without giving it all the latest and greatest tech. While the A15 has been around for a couple of years and is used in the iPad mini, iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, iPad Mini (6th generation), iPhone SE (3rd generation) and iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, Apple has kept the iPad a generation behind.
What this means is that each member of the iPad family is now differentiated from the others:
- iPad: A14
- iPad mini: A15
- iPad Air: M1
- iPad Pro: M2
Price and availability
The new iPad is available to order from apple.com/au/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including Australia. In store availability starts from Thursday, 27 October 2022.
Wi-Fi models of the new iPad have a starting price of RRP A$749 inc. GST, and Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at RRP A$999 inc. GST. The new iPad, in 64GB and 256GB configurations and comes in blue, pink, yellow, and silver.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.