Introduction
The 9th generation Apple iPad, also known as the iPad 10.2 (2021) is probably the Cupertino tablet that needs the least introduction. It has remained a staple of the company's lineup, technically dating back all the way to 2010. Way before any mini, Air or Pro hit the scene, as clearly evident by the formidable 9th iteration mark.
Currently, the "vanilla" iPad sort of anchors the iPad lineup because it's the cheapest option available, starting at $329 for the Wi-Fi-only version and $459 for the LTE model.
The next step up would be the shiny new iPad mini 2021 (6th generation), which starts at $499 and has been generating quite a bit of excitement, with its trendy design, A15 Bionic chipset and optional 5G connectivity, among other things.
The regular iPad, unfortunately, doesn't have any of that going for it. Apple hasn't redesigned the iPad since the 7th generation iPad 10.2 (2019). You are essentially getting the same device for the third year in a row. Sure, it gets a chipset refresh, a new selfie camera and some display tweaks. However, the design language is getting long in the tooth, with huge bezels, rounded corners and a home button being a far cry from the current iPad looks.
Then again, you might choose to call the design classic, which is fair to some extent. Users also get to benefit from the lower launch price. The iPad 10.2 (2021) is expected to be the model that less tech-savvy users will gravitate to, and, as such, it is crafted and equipped in a less fancy manner, providing just enough to meet these needs.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021) specs at a glance:
- Body: 250.6x174.1x7.5mm, 487g; Glass front, aluminum back, aluminum frame; Stylus support (1st gen only).
- Display: 10.20" Retina IPS LCD, 500 nits (typ), 1620x2160px resolution, 12:9 aspect ratio, 265ppi.
- Chipset: Apple A13 Bionic (7 nm+): Hexa-core (2x2.65 GHz Lightning + 4x1.8 GHz Thunder); Apple GPU (4-core graphics).
- Memory: 64GB 3GB RAM, 256GB 3GB RAM.
- OS/Software: iPadOS 15.
- Rear camera: 8 MP, f/2.4, 31mm (standard), 1.12µm, AF.
- Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.4, 122-degree (ultrawide).
- Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@25/30fps, 720p@120fps; gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@25/30/60fps, gyro-EIS.
- Battery: 8557mAh.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (front-mounted); 3.5mm jack; Siri natural language commands and dictation.
So, yes, you have to keep your expectations in check. There is nothing fancy about the iPad 10.2 (2021), and it's here to be the iPad for the masses - a job, which it seems to be well-equipped for.
Unboxing
First, let's see what the iPad 10.2 (2021) ships with. The box itself screams Apple all-around - a thick, white, two-piece design, with an early air-tight friction-fit.
On the inside, there are nifty internal supports and separators for sale transportation. Great to see. Better still, Apple seems to be sticking to its "green" promises, at least here, since every material in the packaging appears to be recyclable.
Our only complaint on that front is that the box seems to be way thicker than necessary, which is not particularly ecological in terms of materials, as well as shipping costs. You might call it nitpicking, but as long as there is a dedicated eco "talk-down" session at every Apple presentation, we're going to scrutinize every detail.
We're not sure how the inclusion of a charger in the box relates to ecological messages and concerns, but we are glad to see one. It is a Power Delivery unit with a Type-C finale port on it, rated at 20W of current at either 5V@3A or 9V@2.22A. Not too shabby. Alongside it - a standard, white, fairly short Type-C to Lightning cable.
Pretty dated design
There is no point beating about the bush - the iPad 10.2 (2021) looks dated. In more ways than one, in fact. It definitely has that "classic iPad" aesthetic, but that looks well dated in itself. Most designs in the industry have moved away from rounded corners and body shapes and on to stronger and sharper lines. The gap in design language becomes particularly apparent when you look at the 9th gen vanilla iPad next to the recently re-designed iPad Air (2020) or the iPad mini (2021), or the iPad Pro 11 (2021).
The traditional round Home key/Touch ID sensor smack on the front is also particularly nostalgic and instantly dating the overall design. We are sure the older physical input still has plenty of fans out there. Plus, there is something to be said for the simplicity it affords, especially for a remedial user - no matter how deep you find yourself in the UI or a particular app, you just press and are back to a familiar home screen. Having a dedicated physical area to read your fingerprint is also, arguably, easier to comprehend than most other, more modern biometric security setups.
But even if you are not familiar with Apple's older designs or the Touch ID, or even Apple products as a whole, it doesn't take much in the way of comparison to other current competing products to realize how dated the huge display bezels alone are. Here is the iPad 10.2 (2021) next to a similarly-priced Xiaomi Pad 5 with a notably bigger 11-inch display.
Left: iPad 10.2 (2021) • Right: Xiaomi Pad 5
Granted, the Xiaomi has a 16:10 aspect ratio, instead of the 4:3 one on the iPad, but the difference in bezels is stark and immediately apparent. To put that in numbers, the iPad 10.2 (2021) has around 73.8% screen to body ratio, while the Xiaomi has an 82.8% one.
Left: iPad 10.2 (2021) • Right: Xiaomi Pad 5
It's about time we stopped hammering in this particular observation - the iPad 10.2 (2021) looks retro, and that's more than likely a cost-saving move by Apple. We definitely think users deserve to be getting the current iPad design at this price point.
Then again, is the retro aesthetic going to be a significant issue for the iPad? Realistically, for better or worse - probably not. At the end of the day, having more space to rest your palms on and get a proper grip is far from the worse thing in the world, and you'll never hear us complain about getting a physical button. If the look bothers you too much, Apple is probably not targeting you with the vanilla iPad anyway.
Build quality
There are no upgrades or changes in the bill of materials and durability in the 9th generation iPad. As far as we can discern, its body is exactly the same as before. That is to say, an aluminum alloy unibody back and a display, with some undisclosed scratch-resistant glass on top and an oleophobic coating. The body is actually no longer available in Gold like last year, just Silver and Space Gray.
The brushed finish both looks and feels as great as it always has. Though that being said, the iPad does still feel a bit hollow, especially when knuckle-tap the display. Not that that's something you would be doing regularly. Still, worth noting.
The iPad itself weighs 487 grams in its Wi-Fi-only config, which explains why it doesn't feel overly "dense", for lack of a better term. The LTE variant adds a few grams on top of that and tips the scale at 498 grams. It also has a sizeable plastic insert on the top side of its back for the cellular antennas to work properly, making it pretty easy to distinguish. No fancy, slim antenna lines here.
Since we are on the subject of weight, as expected, a large part of it comes from the battery pack, which on the new iPad 10.2 (2021) is identical to the one inside last year's 8th gen model - 32.4 Wh or 8557 mAh. However, it might be worth noting that the 7th get iPad used to carry around a larger 32.9 Wh, 8827 mAh battery inside the same body. Not a major difference, but again, worth noting.
Hollowness aside, the iPad 10.2 has always felt very sturdy, with the aluminum unibody almost absolutely free of any flex. This newest model is no exception. In terms of protection, you get an undisclosed scratch-resistant surface on top of the display. And we do mean, on top of the display, since, unlike most modern devices, the iPad 10.2 (2021) is still using a non-fully-laminated display. Unlike the retro design or any other potential cost-savings, we find this aspect of the iPad build quality the hardest to swallow. .
If you are not familiar with the terminology, in a non-laminated display, the LCD panel is mounted under the glass panel, and in-between the two, you have the digitizer - the touch-sensitive layer. This means the LCD does not appear flush with the surface, and there is even an air gap under the front glass. The air gap causes some light refraction, and the image does not appear as clear and contrasty. On the other hand, laminated displays have all three layers tightly sandwiched as one whole with no air gap whatsoever.
A non-laminated setup has one potential benefit -you can replace a cracked screen without repairing the expensive display panel itself. However, it has a multitude of downsides, mostly regarding picture quality and glares and reflections.
In case you were wondering, no, there is no ingress protection on the iPad 10.2 (2021). You need to keep it away from the elements. Oh, and that oleophobic coating we mentioned earlier, it is not good at all. The display is a fingerprint magnet and tends to get greasy real quick.
Controls and connectivity
Familiarity is the name of the game when it comes to the iPad 10.2 (2021) and its control setup and layout. Everything is just where you expect it to be. You got to love Apple's signature, ever-so-clean wireframe diagrams for their devices, so let's just start there.
Like we said, nothing out of the ordinary or out of place. The volume rockers and power buttons are in a decently convenient location, and both feel great - nice and tactile, with an encouraging "click" to them. Literally no complaints there.
Besides the power button, the top side of the tablet also houses a trusty old 3.5mm audio jack, as well as one of two microphones. The other one is quite close, on the backside of the tablet. Since there is no native call functionality here, you don't get a bottom mic, just in case you were wondering.
Speaking of slightly odd control placements, the iPad 10.2 (2021) has stereo speakers, but both are on the bottom, which is far from ideal for actually achieving a stereo effect.
In the middle of those - a Lightning connector with a USB 2.0 controller behind it. OTG support is at least, thankfully, a thing and now doable via the native Files app, but does seemingly require the official Lightning to USB adapter, with most older, third-party lightning card readers and pen drives failing to work since iOS/iPadOS 14.
We wish Apple would sort this whole connector thing out already and properly move on to USB Type-C. As things currently stand, even the shiny new iPhone 13 lineup still has a Lightning connector with a USB 2.0 controller. All the while, the iPad Mini and Air have moved on to Type-C, with the latest iPad Pro even offering blazing-fast and industry-standardized Thunderbolt 4 and Display Port connections via Type-C.
As far as additional expansion and accessories go, the iPad 10.2 (2021), like its predecessor, has its Smart Connector on one side. It is meant to accommodate a keyboard accessory. In the case of the vanilla iPad, you only have one choice here - the Apple Smart Keyboard, which will set you back about $150. No magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Folio.
iPad 10.2 (2021) with the Apple Smart Keyboard
Last, but not least, despite its basic nature, the iPad 10.2 (2021) still supports the Apple Pencil. The original clunkier one, that is. The one that comes with wired charging or rather without wireless charging, magnetic attachment and its virtual "button". In terms of actual drawing performance, however, the two generations shouldn't be too distinct, so if you are an artist on a budget, it might be a viable option, at an MSRP of $99.
Familiar 10.2-inch LCD display
The iPad 10.2 (2021) still uses the same, familiar 10.2-inch LCD display as the older 8th gen and 7th gen vanilla iPads. It has the same 1620 x 2160-pixel resolution too, which works out to a pretty sharp 265 ppi, or so. It is also in a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is geared more towards productivity than multimedia consumption. There is definitely still something to be said for reading on an iPad. We wouldn't necessarily recommend this particular LCD panel for that purpose, but this use case is definitely legit for a tablet.
Let's start with some positives about the display. Just as advertised, the iPad 10.2 (2021) max brightness can go as high as 500 nits of brightness. There is automatic brightness and a proper lux meter on the 9th gen iPad, which works well. There is no max auto mode beyond said 513 nits, though.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0.47 | 625 | 1330:1 | |
| 0.37 | 610 | 1649:1 | |
| 0.282 | 522 | 1851:1 | |
| 0.391 | 518 | 1325:1 | |
| 0.65 | 515 | 799:1 | |
| 0.457 | 513 | 1123:1 | |
| 0.53 | 508 | 964:1 | |
| 0.414 | 497 | 1200:1 | |
| 0 | 484 | ∞ | |
| 0.376 | 478 | 1271:1 | |
| 0.60 | 477 | 779:1 | |
| 0.63 | 476 | 762:1 | |
| 0.51 | 458 | 812:1 | |
| 0.44 | 458 | 1048:1 | |
| 0.292 | 455 | 1558:1 | |
| 0.56 | 450 | 804:1 | |
| 0.229 | 432 | 1886:1 | |
| 0.55 | 429 | 775:1 | |
| 0.53 | 410 | 776:1 | |
| 0.26 | 404 | 1554:1 | |
| 0.27 | 395 | 1458:1 | |
| 0 | 388 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 382 | ∞ | |
Things start to look less impressive when we look into the light bleed into blacks, which is a bit high, and that's without taking into account any potential glare that's inevitable with a non-laminated screen.
Even though 500 nits of brightness is respectable, outdoor use can be severely hampered by said glares in certain lighting conditions.
It's a real shame, too, since the actual LCD Apple is using performs really well in terms of color accuracy too. There are no color profiles to choose from. By default, the iPad 10.2 (2021) is tuned to target the sRGB color space and does so nearly perfectly, with just a small bluish tint in whites and only at full brightness. Once we lowered that down to a more reasonable 200nits, which is our standard for conduction battery tests, the 9th gen iPad managed to basically nail color accuracy.
True Tone is a new addition to the iPad 10.2 (2021). It is definitely not new within the Apple device ecosystem, though. It is a system that adjusts the current whitepoint reproduction on the display based on color of the ambient light so what your eyes see as white on the screen looks right. We imagine that's why there are two circular sensors hidden away on the top frame above the display - one for a lux meter, the other for ambient light color.
There is no mention of HDR video support, though. Neither in official specs nor is HDR reported by apps like Netflix.
Finally, we would be remiss not to mention that the iPad 10.2 (2021)'s particular panel isn't very fast. And we are not referring to the fact that it still refreshes at 60Hz. That is expected on a "vanilla" model. Rather, the individual pixels have a sluggish response time, which manifests as a "smeary" image at times. Particularly when scrolling text.
Battery life
The iPad 10.2 (2021) has an 8557 mAh battery. That's yet another thing borrowed from the 8th generation tablet. Though, it should be noted that the originator of this particular iPad design - the 7th gen - had a slightly bigger 8827 mAh battery. Hardly a big difference, and it should be vastly overshadowed by the advances in both hardware and software since then.
Anyway, we put the 9th gen iPad through our standard battery testing procedure, or at least the relevant bits - that is to say, web browser testing and offline video playback, both done at 200 nits of brightness. No call test and no standby test either, since we don't have the LTE-enabled version.
We got right around 12 hours of battery life from the iPad, regardless of whether it was browsing on Wi-Fi or looping through a video. Not too shabby, though not overly impressive either.
Charging speed
The iPad 10.2 (2021) is hardly the fastest charging device out there. Still, compared to other tablets, it holds its own. Apple provides a 20W charger in the box. Using that, we managed to get from zero to about 24% in 30 minutes, with a full charge taking around 2 hours and 45 minutes.
30min charging test (from 0%)
Higher is better
- Huawei MatePad 11
36% - Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6
33% - Xiaomi Pad 5
27% - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
24% - Realme Pad
23% - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
20% - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
18% - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
18%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Lower is better
- Huawei MatePad 11
1:50h - Xiaomi Pad 5
2:00h - Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6
2:10h - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
2:45h - Realme Pad
2:55h - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
3:05h - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
3:30h - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
3:35h
Speakers
The iPad 10.2 (2021) has a stereo speaker setup, just like its predecessors. The two speakers, however, reside side by side on the bottom of the device - not ideal in terms of basic stereo separation.
Loudness is only average too. Still, the speakers get the job done. You might not be getting a lot of sound, but what is there is quite good in terms of quality. Frequency response in the lower-end is particularly impressive. Voices also come out sounding clear and clean.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Familiar OS, with some quality of life and productivity features
The iPad 10.2 (2021) ships with iPadOS 15 out of the box. If you have used an iPad in the last few years, you will find everything largely familiar and feel right at home. Not much has changed, yet there are some noteworthy new additions. Nothing truly revolutionary. Not even close to the scale some people were hoping for out of 2021 iPads, now that the top-of-the-line model has Apple's flagship M1 chip inside it and more performance than some of the company's MacBook computers. Unfortunately, the lofty ambitions of full OSX apps and things like running Final Cut Pro on the iPad remain a pipe dream for now. Perhaps in a few years, or maybe Apple just wants to keep the two device categories segmented and continues just offering slightly better iOS app experiences on tablet. Only the future will tell.
Anyway, we'll go through some of the more significant new additions and changes. In no particular order, widgets are now first-class citizens in iOS 15. No longer are they relegated to their own dedicated slideover area, but you can now place them freely anywhere on the home screens.
Widgets can now go on the home screens
Widget can come in different sizes, including a new huge banner size. You have the ultimate freedom to experiment and craft something useful to you, personally. You can mix and match app shortcuts and widgets or even have home screens dedicated to just widgets. Your call.
New huge widget size
By the way, the familiar slide over widget strip that appears when you swipe left from the leftmost homescreen is still there and functions as before.
Older widget interface is still there
Another great convenience feature that is part of iPadOS 15 is the App library. You can get to it by swiping right from your rightmost home screen or from an optional shortcut on the Dock.
App library
It is essentially Apple's long-overdue answer to Android's long-standing app drawer. By default, you get a nifty, automatically categorized folder structure, but you can also search your apps and get a simple alphabetized list to choose from.
There are also a few behavioral settings related to the App Library, found under Settings->Home Screen and Dock. Here you can choose whether you want newly-installed apps to just be added to the App library or get a shortcut on the home screen, as well. Understandably, this is the default behavior for consistency.
You can also choose whether to have notification badges on your app icons within App library. And that optional App library shortcut for the Dock is also toggled from here.
Home Screen and Dock settings
Split screen, or multi-tasking, depending on how you chose to interpret each term's meaning is, naturally present in iPadOS 15 and mostly works just like before. However, Apple has worked hard to try and make its features more "visible", apparent and convenient for users. First off, apps now have three dots near the top of their UI as a constant fixture. Clicking those offers three app "states", for lack of a better term. The first is full screen, clicking the second collapses the app temporarily to one side and asks you to select a second app for a two-app vertical split.
Two-app split screen
While technically not "true multitasking," this is an ideal setup for doing things like copy-pasting or reading a source of some sort and taking notes. You get the idea. The split, like before, can be adjusted, with some limitations. In vertical orientation, you can only have a 1:2 or 2:1 split. To get a 50% split down the middle, you need to hold the iPad horizontally. We guess that makes some sense, though we would like to see some more "free-form" window behavior from Apple one of these days.
Adjusting the two-app split
If you minimize a split-screen setup of two apps, they stay as a pair in your recent apps and can be quickly called back, which is great. Sort of like a temporary app pair.
However, in an attempt to further simplify this split-screen behavior, iPadOS 15 now lets you drag one app from the recent app screen onto another and start a split-screen that way. Neat!
Starting split screen from recent apps
Some apps, notably Safari, even allow you to open multiple instances and have them in a split-screen setup. Safari even has this nifty option where it shows you a list of all your currently open tabs as separate instances with the same ability to drag and drop one onto another for a split-screen view.
Safari tabs can be split screen apps
Circling back to the three dots at the top of each app and the third and final option. This will be familiar to Apple users already. It is called "slide over" and it basically creates a tall, "skinny" version of the app that hovers over your otherwise active app or even a split of two other active apps and can get dragged around from the left to right side. But, again, not really fully adjusted and in a free-form fashion. You can't even resize the window. It is just "there".
Slideover apps
Slideover apps get their own dedicated carousel of recent apps if you have more than one open. But they also appear in this elongated fashion as entries in the general Recent Apps interface as well.
Slideover apps
Again, most of this is not radically new in core functionality, it is just presented in a different, arguably more convenient fashion.
The Notes app has gotten truly powerful in its latest version within iPadOS 15. Powerful dragging and dropping, as well as the seamless selection, copy and paste features, have been a strong suit of Apple software for some time now.
You get to see the full power of those systems in action with Notes, especially now that you can swipe from the bottom right angle of the display regardless of where you are inside the UI and spawn a new Quick note.
Quick notes
Quick notes are actually their own category and get saved separately in the Notes app. The benefits of having a notes window hovering on top of whatever else you are doing are numerous. You can, of course, take quick notes manually, but also copy paste and drag and drop pretty much any element you desire right into the note - text, images, links. It all works.
Quick notes
Better still, there are some powerful hidden features here as well, like the one-tap ability to paste in the current URL you are on if you open a quick note while browsing a page. Or the ability to select a part of the page and then save not just the text to the note but the text with a link. When you open said link, the highlighted text is still highlighted. Pretty nifty stuff.
And Notes gets more powerful still when you add an Apple Pencil to the mix and things like handwriting recognition.
The Safari web browser has a pretty neat new addition in iPadOS 15 - extensions. You can find a dedicated menu for them in settings, which redirects you to a web repository, already full of quite a few interesting entries.
Safari extension
Naturally, you get things like ad blockers, but also some powerful and less morally ambiguous extensions like Grammarly or Honey. Just to make it clear, though, you can't just install any extension on the iPad that you could on a desktop Safari browser, though most of the big names are already here, and we only expect to see more in the future.
While this sounds like a relatively small feature on the surface, its scope has the potential to massively improve productivity and quality of life for many users. Especially power users that need advanced functionality on the web. Better still, web browsers with extensions have been struggling to get things right and offer enough freedom on Android for years, with few standout efforts on the matter, like Samsung's browser and Firefox still trying hard to get extensions right but not quite there yet.
Speaking of quality-of-life features, we would be remiss not to mention Notification summary. The name is perfectly self-explanatory. You go into your notification settings, select apps that might be a bit too frequent on the notification end or you simply don't want to deal with during certain hours, but still want to get alerts from eventually and put them on a scheduled summary to consume at your leisure.
Notification summary
Again, a potentially game-changing feature for some users that while can be mimicked quite successfully with third-party tools and tinkering is yet to appear as a core Android feature.
You can take things a step further in terms of notification filtering and go beyond that with the Focus feature. The way it works is that you have different focus scenes or profiles, each meant for you to be focusing on a particular activity. By default, a Do Not Disturb profile is defined, as well as one Work and another Personal one, but you can also activate any number of additional ones for things like gaming or make an entirely custom one.
Focus mode
Focus modes can be triggered automatically based on a simple schedule or based on your current location, or after you open a specific app. There is even a Smart Activation option that will try its best to learn which profile to apply under certain repeated conditions.
Triggering Focus modes
The Focus modes themselves come with a number of customizable limiters, so to say. You can limit which apps get to send you notifications or which contacts get to punch through to you. You can also choose which apps to allow in every mode. You can even create a home screen of shortcuts and widgets for a given mode and only have it available.
Focus Mode settings
It is a truly powerful system, though one that can get quite confusing if you don't take the time to properly set it up and understand what it is doing. We feel like remedial users will just shy away from it altogether since it would be relatively easy to accidentally lock yourself out of certain apps or people by accident.
Performance
The iPad 10.2 (2021) or 9th gen iPad, as it is also known, might have inherited practically every aspect of its design and build from its predecessor, but it did get an incremental chipset upgrade. It's, unfortunately, not equipped with the latest and greatest Apple A15 Bionic like the iPhone 13 family, as well as the new iPad mini (2021) announced alongside it. Instead, it gets a bump up from the A12 Bionic to the A13 Bionic.
It may be a small upgrade, but it's not insignificant. The A13 chip still has a hexa-core CPU configuration, like its predecessor, but is based on a slightly better 7nm+ manufacturing process and uses different CPU cores: 2x2.65 GHz Lightning + 4x1.8 GHz Thunder. There are also four ambiguously named Apple GPU cores on board for graphics
Just like the 8th and 7th gen iPads, this new 9th gen still has just 3GB of RAM. Even with Apple's formidable closed-ecosystem optimization, 3GB of RAM is a bit of a bottleneck nowadays, particularly for multitasking.
On a more positive note, the base storage is now bumped up to 64GB, which is the model we are testing.
Now, running synthetic benchmarks on any hardware with the intent of gauging real-world performance is flawed even on the best of days. Still, it is the best and most controlled and repeatable way we have to at least get some figures that can then be compared against other devices, doing the exact same tests and workloads. While this applies universally, Apple devices are just way fewer in total number for us to accumulate any substantial database.
Also, there is the matter of benchmark comparability across different hardware architectures and designs, as well as different OS environments. In general, that introduces such a massive extra layer of variables that the already approximate synthetic numbers become even less comparable. Keep that in mind as we kick things off with some pure-CPU loads and GeekBench.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2020)
4709 - Apple iPhone 13
4645 - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
4584 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
4240 - Apple iPhone 12
4067 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
3503 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
3466 - Huawei MatePad 11
3282 - Apple iPhone SE (2020)
3237 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
3124 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
2690 - Xiaomi Pad 5
2583 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
1904 - Realme Pad
1236
We did our best to include a nice mix of Apple devices, which should provide relatively comparable scores, as well as some competing Android tablets, which don't quite do so due to a number of factors. Still, seeing how all of the gadgets were still tasked with the same exact straight computational workloads, any underlying architectural hardware or software differences are a valid factor to consider in an absolute comparative sense. Not that anybody will conceivably be using any of the devices to simply crunch Pi over and over again, but our point for a relatively fair, even if flawed comparison stands.
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 13
1727 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
1606 - Apple iPhone 12
1605 - Apple iPhone SE (2020)
1334 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
1333 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
1332 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
1328 - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2020)
1121 - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
1113 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
959 - Huawei MatePad 11
920 - Xiaomi Pad 5
743 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
615 - Realme Pad
340
In any case, we can at least verify that the iPad 10.2 (2021) is making proper use of the CPU cores in its A13 Bionic, since both the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the iPhone SE (2020), rocking the same chip, manage very similar scores.
Comparability across devices gets muddied even further when we start to add graphics benchmarks into the mix. Simply put, for a while now, Apple has been using and constantly improving its own graphics API, called Metal - specifically designed to make the most out of its hardware, often at a much lower level than industry-standard alternatives. Android, on the other hand, still uses said industry-standard APIs, like OpenGL ES and Vulkan. We won't get into the matter any further, but we will note that AnTuTu, as executed on the iPad 10.2 (2021) does use Metal. Approach the following scores accordingly.
Overall, it does look like the 9th generation iPad is not strapped for graphics processing power and holds its own well.
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 13
775519 - Apple iPhone 12
692020 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+
655528 - Huawei MatePad 11
639631 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
617292 - Xiaomi Pad 5
555079 - Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
355430 - Realme Pad
226474
GFXBench tests are in the exact same boat - the app uses the Metal API on Apple devices and a mix of OpenGL ES and Vulkan on Android. Hence, the previous point of scores not being directly comparable definitely stands, but we would argue that there is still some merit to mixing and matching the numbers like this, since despite clear hardware and software differences, all devices were still asked to render the exact same set of scenes. Still, to keep things are clean as possible, we are just including Apple devices in the graphics-only benchmark charts.
GFX Manhattan 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
239 - Apple iPhone 13
222 - Apple iPhone 12
195 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
194 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
179 - Apple iPhone 11
179 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
178 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
170 - Apple iPhone XS Max
130 - Apple iPhone XS
114 - Apple iPad Pro
62.5
GFX Manhattan 3.0 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
100 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
60 - Apple iPhone XS
60 - Apple iPhone XS Max
60 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
60 - Apple iPhone 11
60 - Apple iPhone 12
60 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
60 - Apple iPhone 13
60 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
60 - Apple iPad Pro
29.4
Comparing on-screen scores across devices, even just Apple ones has its own set of issues, mostly due to resolution differences. Apple has never been one to go for standard resolutions, instead choosing appropriate aspects for the UI to look its best.
GFX Manhattan 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
181 - Apple iPhone 13
150 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
135 - Apple iPhone 12
132 - Apple iPhone 11
121 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
120 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
118 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
104 - Apple iPhone XS Max
99 - Apple iPhone XS
98
GFX Manhattan 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
66 - Apple iPhone XS
60 - Apple iPhone XS Max
60 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
60 - Apple iPhone 11
60 - Apple iPhone 12
60 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
60 - Apple iPhone 13
60 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
60 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
55
GFX Car Chase 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
102 - Apple iPhone 13
98 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
78 - Apple iPhone 11
76 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
70 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
67 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
66 - Apple iPhone XS
60 - Apple iPhone XS Max
60 - Apple iPhone 12
58
GFX Car Chase 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 11
60 - Apple iPhone 13
59 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
57 - Apple iPhone 11 Pro
57 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
55 - Apple iPhone 12
53 - Apple iPhone XS
47 - Apple iPhone XS Max
47 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
44 - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
39
Still, looking at all the numbers, particularly the off-screen ones, we can see that the iPad 10.2 (2021) almost manages to match the scores of the iPhone 11. The small difference in FPS could be down to a lower clock speed in the iPad or perhaps some other hardware differences. Though, it is impossible to say exactly since Apple just doesn't go into any additional hardware details for the chip.
GFX Aztek High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 13
55 - Apple iPhone 12
45 - Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
42 - Apple iPhone XS
36 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
33 - Apple iPhone XS Max
32 - Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2018)
31
GFX Aztek High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
40 - Apple iPhone 13
34 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
32
As far as we know, both devices use the same Apple A13 Bionic with a 4-core "Apple GPU", whatever that means.
3DMark Wild Life (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 13
8986 - Apple iPhone 12
7996 - Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
7537
At least it is good to see that the 9th generation iPad is not starved for power and can still hold its own reasonably well. Even if not as well as we might have expected from an A13 Bionic, based on previous experience.
We ran some throttling tests, as well, just to see how well the A13 Bionic is being cooled in this new tablet home and are happy to report that it thermal-throttled to a very reasonable 86.7% of its performance with a combined CPU and GPU load. The fps chart showed no sudden drops or stutters, either, which is what you want to see.
Throttling tests
Not that this comes as a major surprise, given the huge volume available for cooling on the iPad 10.2 (2021), as well as the fact that the surface tablet never managed to get even slightly toasty under load.
So, overall, there is nothing particularly surprising, concerning or for that matter exciting about the performance numbers on the iPad 10.2 (2021). Some practical observations of the perceived performance and experience are in order here, though, since most Apple users aren't buying a new gadget because of the extra power its chipset has. That is particularly true for the target audience of the vanilla iPad.
We personally found it to be perfectly usable. In terms of snappiness and fluidity of the UX as a whole, it is naturally nowhere near devices with the bleeding-edge A15 Bionic. You can get the occasional stutter when opening or scrolling a particularly heavy website or app, and stutters are a relatively frequent occurrence when multitasking. That being said, we didn't find a particular use case or app that rendered it totally unusable. Perhaps, that might be a valid consideration in the long run, seeing how new OS updates have been known to slow down older yet still supported Apple hardware in the past. For now, though, with iPadOS 15 on board, the iPad 10.2 (2021) delivers a perfectly reasonable and usable, even if basic, overall experience.
Familiar camera, now with EIS and a new ultrawide selfie
Right off the bat, our usual PSA for tablet cameras is in order here - unless you really don't have a better option, you should avoid using your tablet as a walkaround camera. Not only does it look quite odd and present some ergonomic challenges, but more than likely, any fairly recent smartphone camera setup will likely outperform the iPad 10.2 (2021) and its solitary 8MP rear camera.
This is pretty much the same 8MP camera from the 8th gen, as well as the 7th gen iPad. It has 1.12µm pixels and a pretty dim f/2.4 aperture lens. You get the same basic autofocus as well. The only new addition being gyro-EIS, which is now a thing on the 9th generation iPad. A minor upgrade, if we ever saw one, but we'll still take it.
The selfie camera on the 9th gen iPad, on the other hand, has gotten a major upgrade. You now get a significantly higher-resolution 12MP selfie, which Apple refers to as a FaceTime HD camera. It is also significantly wider than before, with a 122-degree field of view - perfect for group FaceTime calls, where you even get automatic reframing. But we'll get to that in a bit. Video capture on the selfie has been bumped up to 1080p, to match the main camera, and you can even do 60fps on the selfie cam. Plus, gyro-EIS works here as well. Unfortunately, you still get a fairly dim f/2.4 aperture lens.
Before we get to quality analysis, just a few words on the camera app. In a word, it feels quite dated, both in features and design. Apple should really consider updating it slightly or, failing that, fixing some of the bigger annoyances. Like, the fact that you still can't turn off EIS and the field of view cropping it comes with.
Camera app
At least you no longer have to go into the main system settings to adjust video resolution on the fly. That being said, the existing control is janky, hardly responsive, and switches between 720p and HD, with the latter actually referring to 1080p. But that's confusing on multiple levels.
Also, why is there no portrait option on the iPad, all the while the retro panorama mode is right there, alive and well.
Photo quality
Let's start with the main 8MP camera first. Photos from it can only be described as decent. That's about as much praise as we can give it. Well, that and perhaps the fact that autofocus is decently consistent, even if a bit slow. Colors don't look too bad either, perhaps a bit muted for our taste.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 8MP main camera samples
Probably the biggest issue here is the limited dynamic range. Highlights, in particular, tend to get clipped more often than not. Noise is also quite an issue. Though to be fair, whatever Apple is doing for sharpening seems to be well-balanced, so noise is primarily noticeable when zooming.
Speaking of zooming, there is naturally no dedicated telephoto camera on it, seeing how there is just one shooter on the back. The iPad can still do zoomed shots, although entirely digital. There is a toggle for 2x zoom in the camera UI. These shots are probably best described as usable. Nothing beyond that, though.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 8MP main, 2x zoom camera samples
All of the dynamic range and noise issues are still very much present. Softness is even worse, though.
There is no macro camera on the iPad either, but we were pleasantly surprised by how close the main camera was able to focus. If your subject doesn't mind, you can actually get some decent macro-style stills. Particularly if you shoot in 2x mode.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 8MP main, close-up camera samples
Selfie photo quality
The new 12MP FaceTime HD selfie camera is nothing short of a major upgrade over the 1.2 MP, f/2.2 selfie snapper the regular iPad used to rock. Arguably, more so for video capture than photos, but stills get a decent boost too.
The selfies themselves are decent but far from impressive. There is a decent amount of detail, and the colors look vibrant, even if, arguably, a bit oversaturated. There isn't too much noise either.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 12MP selfie camera samples
Dynamic range is one of the bigger issues. Shadows tend to get crushed easily. Unlike on the main camera, sharpening is pretty heavy-handed on the selfie cam. So much so that we would say it is the definitive feature of these shots.
The 122-degree ultrawide field of view is a nifty addition to the mix. You can switch between the narrow and the wide field of view with a single click on the camera app, both for photos and videos. Ultrawide shots are quite consistent in overall look to the narrow ones.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 12MP selfie camera ultrawide samples
There is some additional softness near the far edges of the frame, which is to be expected from an ultrawide. On a more positive note, the barrel distortion correction seems to be doing alright.
For the sake of thoroughness, we also captured our standard posters with the iPad 10.2 (2021). A pretty hard task to pull off, actually, between the inability to fit the iPad inside any of the mounts we had at hand and then on a tripod, as well as the inability to disable EIS and stop the viewfinder from floating around. Still, feel free to pixel-peep.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021) against the iPhone 6 and the iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) in our Photo compare tool
Video capture quality
The iPad 10.2 (2021) can capture 1080p video on both its main and selfie cameras, with the selfie also able to do 60fps capture. In terms of format, like recent Apple iPhone and iPads, this one captures HEVC, h.265 video, by default, as well as photos in the matching HEIF format. There is a "compatibility" toggle in the camera settings, which forces photos to JPG and videos to h.264. We would have preferred two separate controls for these, but the iPhone still has the same setup as well.
Anyway, we recorded videos in h.264 for the best possible quality. These get saved with an AVC stream of about 15.5 Mbps, which is decent for 1080p, alongside a single channel of AAC audio. That's right, the iPad only captures mono audio. Pretty disappointing. All of this is saved in a MOV, format, as opposed to the more widespread MP4. Not a major issue, though.
The rear camera on the iPad 10.2 (2021) captures very respectable 1080p videos. We would say that that's about the best we can expect from the hardware at hand. Detail is good for a FullHD camera; colors are also pleasant.
The dynamic range is limited, but that's no surprise coming from the photo section. Noise is a bit more than we would have liked, too.
At 2x zoom, videos continue to be serviceable, but with noise even more apparent. The same goes for the narrow dynamic range.
There is constant EIS working on both the main and selfie cameras of the iPad 10.2 (2021). You can see how well it copes for yourself. We think it is decent but not overly impressive. Unfortunately, there is no way to turn it off.
Here is how videos from the main camera stack up against other devices from our extensive video comparison database.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021) against the iPhone 6 and the iPad Pro 12.9 (2015) in our Video compare tool
Videos form the selfie camera arguably look on par, if not even better than ones from the main camera. The resolution is, once again, 1080p. Detail is ample, the colors look great, there is pretty much no noise to speak of. Dynamic range is still a bit of an issue, but a showstopper.
As mentioned, you can choose whether to capture videos in a narrow field of view or using the full 122-degree capabilities of the camera. These videos look a bit jarring at times, especially if you are holding the iPad at an arm's length. That's just par for the course.
Like we mentioned, gyro-based electronic image stabilization is now available for both the main and the selfie cameras on the iPad 10.2 (2021). The stabilization itself is decent, but not actually that impressive. It deals with more jarring jitters fairly well, but that's about it.
Unfortunately, there is no way to turn off EIS. Though, to be fair, that is only ever a practical issue if you want to precisely frame a subject. Here are a narrow and a wide selfie video side by side to compare the quality of the EIS.
To be clear, Apple doesn't expect many of its users to go out and actually capture videos with the selfie camera. The most likely use case for the selfie cam, as a whole, is definitely video calling. Apple actually makes great use of the extra-wide field of view, automatically re-framing and adjusting the view on the fly during video calls.
The feature is called Center Stage and works surprisingly well, following a singular subject around, as well as automatically widening the frame when another face is detected. Unfortunately, the nifty automatic re-framing only seems to work within the FaceTime app, as well as potentially in the Zoom app.
Low-light camera quality
The main 8MP camera on the iPad 10.2 (2021) struggles quite badly in low-light conditions. Pretty much an expected development from the mere 8MP sensor, with a quite dim f/2.4 lens in front. Photos come out looking very soft and pretty noisy. Though, to Apple's credit, not overly so. Nor is there an absurd amount of oversharpening applied. The algorithm appears to be doing the best it can with the hardware at hand.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 8MP main camera low-light samples
Light sources are pretty blown-out, yet both shadows and highlights look a bit better than what we would have expected from the limited dynamic range on offer here, meaning the auto HDR is pulling its weight nicely. By the way, before you ask, there is no Night mode. Just Auto HDR.
Honestly, even zoomed shots at 2x and 5x aren't comically bad, which is a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 8MP main camera low-light zoom samples: 2x • 5x
That is not to say we would consider these good in any way.
Low-light selfies are a bit of a mixed bag, but there is absolutely no doubt that the new 12MP camera is a massive upgrade over the selfie shooter in older models. By default, selfies have an automatic screen flash feature enabled, which tends to be quite consistent and triggers as expected. The rather large display of the iPad shines in a skin-tone color and, in turn, the camera seems to ease up on any additional processing, which leads to a darker, less HDR-looking and boosted shot, but one that tends to have more details and a more natural look in areas where the light from the display did shine.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 12MP selfie low-light samples with screen flash
You can, of course, chose to disable screen flash, which kicks all of the HDR-style stacking and boosting back on. You might stand to benefit from this mode in some cases.
Apple iPad 10.2 (2021): 12MP selfie low-light samples
Overall, though, selfies are decent but unimpressive. The amount of detail is solid, but like the main camera, the dim f/2.4 lens is just a massive limiting factor, leaving soft and noisy stills behind.
Low-light videos are in pretty much the same boat quality-wise. That is to say, soft and noisy, with blown-out light sources, but still usable. Depending on your interpretation of the word.
Just don't try to add any digital zoom to the mix, since quality deteriorates rapidly.
The competition
The iPad 10.2 (2021), 9th gen starts at $329 / £319 / AU$499 for the Wi-Fi-only model, which is, in all fairness, a pretty tight budget for a tablet nowadays. That doesn't mean you necessarily have to settle for the old-school looks and non-laminated display on the iPad. Well, unless you really want an Apple device. Then, unless you explore the second-hand market, the 9th gen vanilla iPad is probably your cheapest entry point into the ecosystem. That has generally been the case for some time now and is still the case.
Left: Xiaomi Pad 5 • Right: Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
If you don't mind rocking Android instead, there are plenty of options below or around the EUR 350 mark. Xiaomi recently released the Pad 5, which we already referenced in the review, since it is kind of a direct competitor to the iPad. With it, you get a much nicer 11-inch fully-laminated IPS display, with 1600 x 2560-pixel resolution, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support and 1600 x 2560-pixel resolution. You also get a very decent 4-speaker set up to round up the quantifiably better multimedia experience.
Xiaomi Pad 5 • Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 10.4 (2020) • Huawei MatePad 10.4
You can find plenty of good value offers from Samsung, as well, like the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite and the Tab A7 10.4 (2020). The two models are very similar, and which one you end up potentially getting will likely depend on local pricing and availability. Both offer a 10.4-inch, fully-laminated, 1200 x 2000-pixel LCD - not nearly as fancy as the Xiaomi. Also, a four-speaker setup on the Galaxy Tab A7, among other things.
Left: Xiaomi Pad 5 • Right: Apple iPad 10.2 (2021)
If you don't mind living without Google Play Services, the Huawei MatePad 10.4 might also be worth considering. Like the name suggest, it is rocking a 10.4-inch, 1200 x 2000-pixel IPS LCD display again alongside a stereo speaker setup.
Verdict
The iPad 10.2 (2021), also known as the 9th generation iPad is quite a familiar device. Apple, more or less, refreshed the 8th and the 7th generation iPad, before that, once again, giving it an Apple A13 Bionic chipset, a new, fancy ultrawide FaceTime HD 12MP selfie camera and bumping up the base storage to 64GB. Not too bad, given the £319, $329 and AU$499 starting MSPR for the Wi-Fi variant and £439, $459 and AU$699 for the LTE-capable one.
The value proposition is still very much there, even more so now with the new additions. We have no doubt that the iPad 10.2 (2021) will sell well. It definitely has a target audience of its own. Honestly, it is pretty much impossible to beat as an affordable entry into the Apple ecosystem or just a no-frills, little-friction supplementary device to just pick up occasionally so you can enjoy iOS apps on the bigger screen.
The things that kind of rub us the wrong way about it mostly have to do with the well-overdue total redesign to finally elevate the vanilla iPad to the level of its siblings. The non-laminated display is one aspect that stings, particularly from a 2021 device.
If you just need the larger screen for web browsing and enjoying your photos, you can definitely find better, Android-powered hardware out there for a similar price.
If you are heavily invested in the Apple iOS ecosystem, the iPad 9 would make a great supplementary device for occasional use and would definitely delight less demanding users. These are both use cases where its cheaper price tag would be its biggest selling point.
Pros
- Functional and familiar, if dated design. Unibody still feels solid.
- Support for first generation Apple Pencil and Apple Smart Keyboard.
- Good 500 nits of brightness, as advertised and nearly-perfect sRGB color accuracy.
- Solid, but unimpressive battery life and charging speed.
- Latest iPadOS 15, with improved multi-tasking features and polished UI, with some new elements.
- Apple A13 Bionic performs about as expected inside the iPad 10.2 (2021) and is not holding back the software. It is perfectly usable.
- The new selfie camera works great for FaceTime and video conferencing and is a major upgrade over what was available previously.
Cons
- Outdated design, with huge bezels. Kind of hollow body and fingerprint-magnet glass front. Still no ingress protection.
- Display is not fully-laminated and has an air-gap, causing plenty of glare. Pixel response time is not great either. No HDR video support.
- Stereo speakers perform well, but are not well separated and sit right next to each other.
- Main 8MP camera is still quite underwhelming overall.
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