The iPad (10th Gen) got the best update at Let Loose!

It did not get a spec or design update at Apple’s recent Let Loose iPad event, but the iPad (10th generation), the torchbearer of the OG iPad, got something just as important. Or perhaps even more so.

A price cut.

As Apple tightened up Let Loose and brought the curtain down on the event, it announced that the iPad (10th generation) would now be available at USD 349 (Rs 34,900), down from the USD 449 (Rs 44,900) at which it had been launched in 2020. However, it was available at USD 399 (Rs 39,900) in the interim. And at this new price, we think this is an iPad with staggering value for money. Yes, even though it is almost two years old.

Finally, clear blue water between the iPad and iPad Air!

To understand the impact of the price cut, let’s go back to October 2022, when Apple introduced the iPad (10th generation). At USD 449 (Rs 44,900 in India), it was not only significantly more expensive (almost 45 percent) than its predecessor, the iPad (9th generation), which had been priced at USD 329 (Rs 30,900 in India), but actually was very close to the iPad Air (5th Generation) that had been priced at USD 599 (Rs 54,900). There was no doubt that the iPad (10th generation) had been a very significant update in terms of design and specs – it got narrow bezels, straight sides, lost the home button, had a better-located selfie camera, and got a much bigger 10.9-inch display than its predecessors, apart from the usual chip and other expected hardware upgrades.

However, this had come at a rather steep cost. So much so that we had felt in 2022 that the price gap between the basic iPad and its Air counterpart was so small that it would make very little sense for someone to opt for the former – in fact, you could get a much better iPad Air for the price of the cellular variant of the iPad. “Spend a little more and go for the more powerful iPad Air,” was our advice to anyone considering investing in a basic iPad.

At Let Loose, Apple changed that. At USD 349 (Rs 34,900 in India), the iPad is back to being a significant distance from the iPad Air, which is a much more expensive proposition at USD 599 (Rs 59,900 in India). In simple terms, anyone thinking of buying a normal iPad is not only going to get the device for a lower price but is also very unlikely to be tempted by a significantly better model being available for an additional 15-20 percent. The new price tag not only brings the iPad (10th generation) close to the price zone of Rs 30,000, most identified with the base iPad, but also moves it a significant distance from the iPad Air, which starts at a price that is significantly (more than 70 percent) higher!

And still a darned good iPad!

Thanks to a major design rejig, the iPad (10th generation) does not look like something that was released in late 2022. It was the first ‘normal’ (suffix-less) iPad to follow the stylesheet of the more expensive ones, ditching the smaller display, fingerprint scanner in a round home button below the display, lightning port, and wide bezels. The iPad (10th generation) looks incredibly sleek and contemporary with its premium metal body, bright colors (we really wish the new Air had got them), and a mere 7mm thinness. It also comes with a large 10.9-inch display, straight sides, and a USB Type-C port. We actually think that the pink iPad (10th generation) is one of the best-looking iPads we have ever seen and can certainly hold its own alongside the new iPad Pro and iPad Air in terms of sheer appearance.

The hardware is pretty good, too. The A14 Bionic processor goes back to 2020 but remains a very solid performer, and unless you venture into heavy-duty gaming or hefty video edits or go crazy running multiple apps, you are unlikely to notice a major difference in performance between it and even the M2 or the M4 on the new iPads. The display is a Liquid Retina one and has the same 2360 x 1640px resolution and 500 nits brightness that the much more expensive new iPad Air (11-inch) has, and actually even has the same pixel density of 264 ppi that the new 11-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro have.

Also on board is a 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.8 aperture and support for 4K video, as well as what Apple terms a front landscape ultra-wide camera of 12 megapixels with support for Centre Stage and support for 1080p video – specs broadly similar to the new 11-inch iPad Air and the Air Pad Pro. The iPad (10th generation) comes with ‘landscape stereo speakers,’ two microphones, a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, “up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video,” a 20W charger in the box and support for 28W charging, all of which are very similar to what is on offer on the 11 inch iPad Air.

We are reasonably sure that the new iPads would have better and newer versions of hardware, but our point is that unlike the iPad (9th generation), which had looked from a different time and age and looked utterly out of place in front of its Air and Pro siblings, the iPad (10th generation) fits right in. It has a broadly similar design and somewhat similar hardware, and, thanks to Apple’s software expertise, it is pretty much the same iPadOS. What’s more, it actually comes with what we think is the best tablet keyboard out there, the brilliant (if expensive) Magic Keyboard Folio, and supports the very good Apple Pencil (USB-C), although it does need a dongle to charge it!

“Just spend a little more and get an iPad” times are back!

The iPad (10th generation)’s earlier price tag in the vicinity of Rs 45,000, and later Rs 40,000, not only took the iPad out of the OG iPad’s price zone of Rs 30,000 but, by doing so, opened the door for Android tablets. In the past, Android tablets priced even close to Rs 25,000 had to deal with the “just spend a little more and get an iPad” argument. The iPad (10th generation) not only changed that equation – it literally took itself out of it.

The most notable beneficiary of this was perhaps Xiaomi, which grabbed a huge chunk of the Rs 30,000 and below zone with its Xiaomi Pad 5 and Xiaomi Pad 6 in 2022 and 2023. Even OnePlus’ first tablet, the OnePlus Pad, which was launched in 2023 at Rs 37,999, was significantly more expensive than the iPad (10th generation).

That could change in the coming days as the iPad (10th generation) goes back into familiar iPad territory. Its processor might not be the most recent, but it still packs a respectable punch in its new price zone (the processors on the Xiaomi Pad 5 and 6 and even the OnePlus Pad are still considered to be a step behind the A14 Bionic). Blend that with its other specs, steady performance, contemporary design, very good accessories, and up-to-date software, and Android mid-segment tablets have reason to get those OG iPad feels again. And every person looking to spend about Rs 25,000 – Rs 30,000 on a tablet will once again start getting that familiar advice: “Just spend a little more and get an iPad.”

It has the same looks as before. And the same specs, too. But as the iPad Pros and Airs strutted in the limelight, the iPad (10th generation) might have got the best update of them all.

A price cut.

Apple just Let Loose the spirit of the OG iPad.