The base-model iPad is all grown up
> From £499 FROM Apple, apple.com/uk > FEATURES Finishes: Silver, Blue, Yellow, Pink. Capacity: 64GB/256GB. Size: 9.79-inchesx7.07-inchesx0.28-inches. Weight: Wi-Fi model 1.05 pounds. Wi-Fi + Cellular 1.06 pounds.
Apple has upgraded its base-model iPad with a striking new design.
The single biggest difference between the previous base iPad model and this iPad 10.9 (2022) is the design. It’s an all-new chassis that owes most, but not all elements to the iPad Air Fifth generation. The aluminium enclosure is, at first glance, virtually indistinguishable from the Air’s, but there are crucial differences.
Display
For the iPad 10.9 (2022) display, Apple has essentially adopted the iPad Air’s LEDbacklit Liquid Retina display. At 2360 x 1640 pixels (264ppi), it’s a nice upgrade from the iPad 9th gen’s 10.2-inch 2160 x 1620 screen. Interestingly, the 264ppi is the same. Also the same are the 500 nits (good enough for decent if not totally sun-beating outdoor viewing), and the TrueTone display, which adjusts brightness and image temperature based on the environment.
Unlike the iPad Air, though, the iPad 10.9’s display is not fully laminated, and does not include an antireflective coating – something that was noticeable, especially when we took the tablet outside.
The wide-colour display is generally excellent, though, in every situation. It looks as good displaying photos as it does playing HD Netflix content, and the resolution supports multiple apps without anything becoming unreadable. It’s a fun and responsive gaming screen, and the action never smears or looks muddy (who doesn’t love playing a racing game while wildly turning your iPad this way and that?).
Cameras
Compared to the cameras on the iPad 9th generation, at least one of the iPad 10.9’s two lenses is a big upgrade. Instead of an 8MP wide camera, we now have a 12MP wide, f/1.8 lens on the back.
It’s very similar to the 12MP rear camera on the iPad Air, right down to the Autofocus with focus pixels. It‘s also a capable video camera, shooting up to 4K at 60fps (for the ultra-real look).
On the front is the 12MP ultrawide camera, which seems largely unchanged from the iPad 9th gen’s FaceTime camera. It still supports 1080p video and offers a 122-degree ultra-wide field of view, which the camera uses for CenterStage. This is a software-based feature that keeps you centered on–screen by moving the viewport around that very wide frame. It’s quite effective, and any time we did a video call, people on either side of us would marvel at how our camera appeared to be on some sort of intelligent gimbal.
Speaking of video calls and the FaceTime camera leads us to one of t
