A few days after Apple announced new iPads and Apple Watches, some of these devices have started appearing in the hands of reviewers. In regards to the 10.2-inch iPad, so far Scott Stein from CNET and Chris Velazco from Engadget have shared their opinions on the latest low-cost ‌iPad‌.

f1600191751
Given that this ‌iPad‌ lacks the complete design overhaul seen on the 2020 iPad Air, it's come off as a bit underwhelming in these first hands-on previews. That still doesn't undermine what Velazco described as welcome "extra power" under the hood for the 10.2-inch ‌iPad‌.


That's because of the biggest new addition to the ‌iPad‌: the A12 Bionic chip, leading to a performance boost that was "noticeably smoother" to Velazco, even when gaming.

Multitasking on the 2019 model could feel a little choppy at times, but I haven't noticed any of that yet, even when running two apps side by side with a third in a floating window.

I've also tried a handful of games over the past day, including Redout and Oceanhorn 2 -- two titles that gave last year's model some trouble. Thankfully, none of the little hiccups I ran into with that earlier model have shown up here yet, but that’s not to say they won’t. The A12 packs a redesigned GPU alongside more raw compute power than the A10 Fusion found in last year's iPad, so it’s no surprise that this iPad runs with less fuss.

Stein echoed similar sentiments, noting that while there's not a lot to say about the new ‌iPad‌, the A12 is a "big difference" in comparison with the previous generation. He noted that if you have an ‌iPad‌ that's a few years old, this could definitely be a solid upgrade, particularly if you don't care about the more pro-level features of an iPad Pro or ‌iPad Air‌.

Stein did note a few ongoing gripes with the ‌iPad‌, relating to the lack of USB-C and the lack of compatibility with Apple Pencil 2 (it only supports ‌Apple Pencil‌ 1). Despite these woes, Stein said that this will still likely be the ‌iPad‌ to buy for most consumers, given its cheaper entry point.

Apple's fancy iPad is still a few weeks off. Do you wait for that? It depends on whether you're willing to spend more and you think you'll need the extra processing oomph. The new Air may have a sharper design and could be the best all-around iPad, but it's hard to beat what's essentially last year's iPad Air right in front of me for just $329.

I haven't spent more than a day with the new iPad, so more impressions to come. But there's nothing I've seen so far that changes my previous advice. For most people, this is the iPad to buy.

More hands-on impressions of the newest ‌iPad‌ and Apple Watch models should be coming soon. If you're curious about unboxing videos for the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, we've accumulated some of these right here.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

baller1308 Avatar
62 months ago
This should be called the iPad SE. The new air should be called iPad and then you have the iPad Pro line. iPad Air used to be the the thinner and lighter version of the iPad but now it’s nearly identical to the Pro line.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NewUsername Avatar
62 months ago
This iPad is all right for the price, but they should have given it 64GB of storage.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dantracht Avatar
62 months ago
Love my 7th gen, and see no reason to upgrade. Does all I need it to do, which is mostly reading in bed at night.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arvinsim Avatar
62 months ago
32GB is just too low.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
62 months ago

This should be called the iPad SE. The new air should be called iPad and then you have the iPad Pro line. iPad Air used to be the the thinner and lighter version of the iPad but now it’s nearly identical to the Pro line.
Yes, this is exactly what they should have done. SE means cheaper/older design with somewhat updated internals. “Air” as a designation means literally nothing anymore, as the Macbook Air isn’t the smallest macbook, and the iPad Air is not the thinnest or smallest iPad.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
62 months ago
Honesty, I don’t get the naysaying. It’s a $329 iPad. It’s the iPad you buy your parents because they don’t need anything else.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's broader...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...