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Apple has introduced the new iPad 10, a more colorful and strong device that exudes a more playful and unique design. This iPad comes in four different colors and is being marketed as a redesign, with Apple citing it as “All screen. All colorful.”
Besides the color variety, how much of an improvement is the iPad 10 over the iPad 9? In this article, we’ll go over direct comparisons to determine the crucial differences between the two iPads.
iPad 10 vs iPad 9: Design
Apple has maintained little to no change in its entry-level iPads. The iPad 9 conserves the same design as the original iPad: large bezels, Touch ID beneath the display, and rounded edges. The lack of changes in aesthetics was starting to become a deal breaker, especially when the iPad Pro was released with the immense design changes.
The iPad 10 came to change it all. It has a more angular design. The iPad 10 moves the Touch ID to the power button, just like the iPad Air, and is presented with flat, curved, and much smaller edges.
The iPad 10 is almost the same size as the 9 but weighs 10 grams less and has a larger screen, which provides an overall better experience.
| iPad 10 | iPad 9 | |
| Height | 9.79 inches (248.6 mm) | 9.8 inches (250.6 mm) |
| Width | 7.07 inches (179.5 mm) | 6.8 inches (174.1 mm) |
| Depth | 0.28 inch (7 mm) | 0.29 inch (7.5 mm) |
| Weight (Wi-Fi) | 1.05 pounds (477 grams) | 1.07 pounds (487 grams) |
| Weight (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | 1.06 pounds (481 grams) | 1.09 pounds (498 grams) |
The iPad 10 also comes in a wider variety of colors. There are the common Space Gray and Silver options of the iPad 9, in addition to four new colors: Silver, Pink, Blue, and Yellow.
iPad 10 vs iPad 9: Display
The iPad 10 uses about the same space as the previous gen but more efficiently. Apple includes a 10.9-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with a 2360×1640 resolution at 264 PPI. It also has True Tone display technology, which adapts the display to show color as pure and precise as possible.
The iPad 9 has a smaller 10.2-inch display with the same LED-backlit Multi-Touch variation. This device has a smaller resolution at 2160×1620 at 264 PPI. and it also offers the same True Tone display, with sRGB.
Apple developed the iPad 10 with a more modern Liquid Retina Display, while the iPad 9 has just a simple Retina Display. This type of display technology means that the screen is capable of handling a pixel density high enough that, according to Apple, the human eye wouldn’t be able to differentiate at a standard viewing distance. Liquid Retina is supposed to be an improvement over the base Retina display. Both are Apple trademarks and the actual technical parameters are not to allowed to be disclosed.
iPad 10 vs iPad 9: Cameras
The iPad 10 improves the camera setup respective to the previous generation. The first and most iconic change is the inclusion of a landscape front camera. The iPad 10 shifted the front camera from the usual position to the larger side of the device, a change Apple should’ve done years ago. The iPad 9 conserves the classic front camera position to the top, which makes it a little more difficult for video meetings.
Front Camera
| iPad 10 | iPad 9 | |
| Landscape Ultra Wide camera. | Ultra Wide camera. | |
| Megapixels | 12MP | 12MP |
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 | ƒ/2.4 |
| Zoom | 2x Zoom Out | 2x Zoom Out |
| HDR | Smart HDR 3 | HDR |
| Video Recording | 1080p HD at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 1080p HD at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
Additionally, the iPad 10 has a 12MP wide rear camera, while the iPad 9 has an 8MP wide rear camera. This improvement allowed Apple to upgrade the aperture reaches on the new iPad, with a ƒ/1.8 aperture against the ƒ/2.4 aperture on the iPad 9. This is a big improvement if you’re looking to take better pictures in low-light conditions. on the other side, both front cameras are 12MP.
Rear Camera
| iPad 10 | iPad 9 | |
| Megapixels | 12 MP Wide camera | 8MP Wide camera |
| Aperture | ƒ/1.8 | ƒ/2.4 |
| Zoom | Digital zoom up to 5x | Digital zoom up to 5x |
| HDR | Smart HDR 3 | HDR |
| Video Recording | 4K at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps | 1080p HD at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps |
| Dynamic Range | Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps | – |
| Slo-mo | Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps | Slo-mo video support for 720p at 120 fps or 240 fps |
iPad 10 vs iPad 9: Specs and Performance
The iPad 10 is powered by the A14 bionic processor, an upgrade that gives a significant improvement in performance to the new iPad 10 vs the iPad 9. The A14 Bionic chip has a smaller transistor and updated architecture, which gives this chip a 17% higher CPU clock speed: 3100MHz vs 2660MHz.
The iPad 10 has double the neural engine cores that the iPad 9 has. This allows the A14 chip an 80% improvement in artificial intelligence operations and machine learning tasks, hence the upgraded performance results of the new iPad entry-level gen.
| iPad 10 | iPad 9 | |
| Chip | A14 Bionic | A13 Bionic |
| CPU cores | 6 | 6 |
| GPU cores | 4 | 4 |
| Neural engine cores | 16 | 8 |
| Storage | 64 or 256GB | 64 or 256GB |
| RAM | 4GB | 3GB |
| USB type | USB-C | Lightning connector |
| Cellular | 5G | 4G |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.2 technology | Bluetooth 4.8 technology |
| Battery | Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video | Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video |
iPad 10 vs iPad 9: Expert View
The iPad 9 costs $329 for the WiFi version, while the new iPad 10 price starts at $449 for the WiFi version. That is a $120 price increase, a small enough price hop in comparison to the upgrades the iPad 10 offers. Thanks to these enhancements, the iPad 10 is more closely related to the iPad Air 5th Gen than its predecessor.
If you’re in the market for a nice entry-level iPad, the iPad 10 is the best option for you. You’ll get most of the benefits of an iPad Air for almost $150 less.
