Apple just introduce a new 10th - contemporaries iPad and M2 iPad Pro , but still sells the ninth - gen iPad . give in the iPad miniskirt and storage sizes and we ’re in an “ Oops ! All iPads ” site where it can behard to figure out which one to buy .
That confusion is perhaps most enounce when determine between the new10th - gen iPadand theiPad Air . The tenth - gen model take on the strong-arm characteristic of the iPad Air , with a magnanimous display , flavourless sides , and bear on ID in the side push button . It ’s also substantially more expensive than the ninth - gen iPad , close that wide gap in price between Apple ’s entry - stage and midrange tablet .
Despite the visual law of similarity , there are significant divergence between them . If you ’re considering a mid - tier iPad , perhaps this article will help you decide whether you should get the newfangled 10th - gen iPad or the iPad Air . ( If it ’s the ninth gen iPad you are consider read our9th gen iPad vs iPad Airarticle ) .
The 10th gen iPad
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Specs compared
One of the easier ways to get a feel for how these pill are different is to look at their specs side - by - side .
As you’re able to see , despite their strong-arm similarities , there are quite a few difference , some more significant than others .
Apple iPad (10th gen, A14, 2022)
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: A14 vs M1
Probably the big dispute is in the CPU . While the M1 CPU in the iPad Air is base on the same general architecture as the A14 , it ’s way more powerful . It ’s start two more high - performance CPU cores , double the GPU effect , more read/write memory , and media engines to speed up the encoding of H.264 and HEVC video .
You may not need all that , of course of study . If you primarily use your iPad for surfing the web , claim notes , electronic mail , social media , and the alike , the M1 is overkill . If you create a lot of digital artwork in apps with custom brushes or do video recording editing , you will likely appreciate the M1 ’s extra heftiness .
It ’s also worth remark that Stage Manager , a new multitasking feature article iniPadOS 16.1 , is only available on late iPad Pro models and the iPad Air with an M - serial processor . We ’re not very big fans of the new feature article – it take a tidy sum of work – but if it finally becomes great it will probably remain out of reach for the 10th - multiplication iPad .
The 10th gen iPad
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Design
For all intents and determination , the tenth - gen iPad and iPad Air have the same plan . When side by side , you ’ll see that the iPad is slightly bigger and somewhat heavier than the iPad , but you wo n’t find either . They both have a thin - bezel uniform design with flat edge and a Liquid Retina display . They also both come in a variety of colors , though the 10th - gen iPad ’s chromaticity are significantly bright than the iPad Air ’s shades .
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Foundry
The 10th gen iPad
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Display
The display on the 10th - gen iPad and iPad Air are the precise same sizing , with the same resolution , and brightness . And both underpin straight Tone . So what ’s unlike ? For one , the gloss gamut of the 10th - gen iPad is sRGB , while the iPad Air has a wider P3 color gamut , so the coloring material in photos and some videos may be a niggling productive and more vivacious . The iPad Air ’s display also has an anti - reflective covering .
More significantly , the iPad Air ’s video display is laminated and the tenth - gen iPad ’s is n’t . A laminated show decimate the small disruption between the exhibit and the glass . In our critique of the 10th - gen iPad , we found the non - laminated display felt meretricious and almost plasticky in compare to the iPad Air ’s ranking screen .
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Camera
Both iPads have selfsame rear and front camera with the same firmness of purpose ( 12MP ) , aperture ( f/1.8 ) , and supported features ( Smart HDR 3 , Panorama , Burst modal value , etc . ) . However , the 10th - gen iPad has the border here . Where the front camera on the iPad Air is locate along the short side like all other iPads , so it ’s at the top when you hold your iPad in portrait predilection , the 10th - gen iPad is the first to position the front camera along the long edge , so it ’s centered when your iPad is docked or in a keyboard grammatical case .
We think this is a great estimation and something for which we ’ve been ask for year .
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Connectivity
You ’ll find almost identical wireless capabilities in these two iPads . Both have dual - band 802.11ax ( Wi - Fi 6 ) support with a throughput up to 1.2 Gbps . If you purchase the cellular - enabled rendering , both back 5 chiliad , but only the sub-6GHz bands .
The only real difference of opinion is that the tenth - gen iPad supports Bluetooth 5.2 , while the iPad Air sustain Bluetooth 5.0 . There ’s no practical difference between them right now , but Bluetooth 5.2 is postulate for some engineering likeLE Audio , which could potentially come in future iPadOS updates .
In other words , there are no pragmatic differences in wireless capabilities today , but the 10th - gen iPad is just slightly more futurity - trial impression .
The iPad Air 2021
Both poser have a USB - degree centigrade port for charge and information transfers , though they ’re not quite the same . The 10th - gen iPad ’s port is limited to USB 2.0 data swiftness of 480Mb / s while the iPad Air is significantly quicker at 10Gbps .
iPad Air (2022)
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Accessories
If you want to use an Apple Pencil all the sentence , the option here is pretty clear . The iPad Air supports the second - gen Pencil , which magnetically attaches to the side of the iPad to charge and is more comfortable to use .
The tenth - gen iPad uses the first - gen Pencil , which is smooth and round so it never stays put , has a small cap on the back to cover the Lightning hack ( that the great unwashed often turn a loss ) , and call for an included Lightning - to - USB - coulomb dongle and cable to shoot . Despite identical spec , the secondly - gen Pencil is a much better experience overall .
These two iPads also use dissimilar keyboard and cover supplement , despite their law of similarity in physical size . The iPad Air supports more or less the same keyboards as the 11 - in iPad Pro : the Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio . The 10th - gen iPad , on the other hand , is only compatible with a new $ 249 Magic Keyboard Folio . ( Yes , Apple ’s expanding line of reasoning of keyboard has fuddle names . ) It has a full - sized keyboard with a function rowing as well as a large trackpad than the Magic Keyboard . But the Magic Keyboard Folio is a bit flimsier than the Magic Keyboard and adds a whopping 60 percent to the cost .
10th-gen iPad vs. iPad Air: Which is the smarter purchase?
With a starting cost of $ 449 , the tenth - gen iPad might seem like a better bargain for a casual drug user than the $ 599 iPad Air . It ’s get the same major features , cameras , and more than enough big businessman for insouciant everyday tasks . In fact , you could get the 256 GB model for the same monetary value as the 64 GB iPad Air .
However , the iPad Air is often on sale for $ 520 or less , which puts it at less than $ 100 more than the 10th - gen iPad . For that price , it ’s extremely recommend . If you are a digital artist or subject matter creator , you ’ll probably appreciate those areas where the iPad Air has an boundary . The 2nd - gen Apple Pencil is a lot dainty to expend , and the M1 processor really picture its benefits on strenuous covering like ProCreate , Affinity Designer , or LumaFusion . contented Divine will in all probability appreciate the P3 color gamut for the display , too .
If you ’re on a tight budget , the tenth - gen iPad is a all right choice , but no one will rue buying the iPad Air or else .
take our separate usher for more help decidingwhich iPad to buyand be indisputable to check out our roundup of thebest iPad dealsandbest iPad Air batch .
