Apple iPad 10.2-inch (2019) Review

Since it’s launch back in 2010, Apple’s main iPad hasn’t changed all that much. But last year, Apple gave its main iPad, an update with a slightly larger body and a 10.2-inch display.

After using the 7th gen iPad for a few weeks, it’s a great device but has some issues.

Design & Hardware

If you’ve used an iPad in the past few years, then the look and feel of the iPad (2019) won’t look all that different. There is now a 10.2-inch Retina display, up from 9.7-inch and it offers a resolution of 2160×1620 pixels.

The display on the iPad (2019) looks great, especially when watching videos and playing games.

Powering the iPad (2019) is the A10 Fusion chip, which was first introduced in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and the 9.7-inch iPad (2018). The iPad is fairly quick and there were no real issues navigating through iPadOS.

Just like the previous model, the iPad (2019) supports the 1st Gen Apple Pencil. The Apple Pencil is great to use but it does come at an additional cost of $129 CAD.

The iPad (2019) still features a Lighting port, headphone jack, volume buttons, stereo speakers and Touch ID. What is new is the Smart Connector on the side, so you can use Apple’s accessories like the Smart Keyboard.

With my iPad (2019) review unit, Apple was able to send over an Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. While the keyboard is somewhat comfortable to type on, it feels a bit mushy because it’s made from plastic.

Thankfully, there are other keyboard accessories out there for the iPad (2019) beyond the Apple Smart Keyboard ($219 CAD) like from Logitech (which is $129 CAD) Brydge (which is $169 USD) and Zagg (which start from $60 USD).

For battery life, you can expect at least 10 or so hours on a single charge. It would have been great if Apple could make that even longer but 10 hours is still good. Standby time has always been a strong suit on Apple’s iOS devices and the new iPad is no different.

The cameras on the iPad include an 8MP rear camera and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. While the iPad (2019) still uses a Lighting port, Apple includes a slow 12W USB power adapter in the box.

If you want your iPad (2019) to charge faster, you’ll need to shell out $59 CAD for Apple’s 30W USB-C Power Adapter and another $25 CAD for an Apple Lightning to USB-C cable for a total of around $84 CAD.

For third-party options, I would go with the Anker USB-C to Lightning Powerline II cable (that is certified by Apple) for $27 CAD and Anker’s USB-C Wall Adapter for $25 CAD or Anker’s new PowerPort Atom PD 1 for $40 CAD for a total of $52 CAD or $67 CAD, depending on which Anker charger you go with.

The iPad (2019) comes in Space Gray, Silver and Gold colour options.

The pricing is below.

• iPad (32GB/Wi-Fi) – $429 CAD
• iPad (128GB/Wi-Fi) – $549 CAD
• iPad (32GB/Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $599 CAD
• iPad (128GB/Wi-Fi & Cellular) – $719 CAD*

* The model I tested

Software

Back at WWDC 2019, Apple introduced iPadOS which is technically iOS but it is now more tailored towards the iPad. The iPad (2019) is one of the first iPads to ship with iPadOS.

Some of the changes include a new homescreen that will show you widgets on the Today View. While multitasking isn’t new to the iPad, Apple has made improvements to Slide Over and Split View.

You can now have multiple apps in Slide Over and quickly switch between them. Split View in iPadOS will now let you open two documents or windows from the same app.

The Apple Pencil has been given deeper integration in iPadOS, there’s a new tool palette that lets you mark up web pages, documents, emails just by swiping with the Apple Pencil.

The App Switcher in iPadOS will also show you all open windows and spaces in the OS.

Another thing introduced in iPadOS is a new way to access the multitasking screen. While you can just double press the home button on the iPad (2019), you can also swipe up from the bottom and stop in the middle.

One thing that I wish Apple would include in iPadOS and iOS is the ability to close all apps from the App Switcher. On Android devices, most have a clear all button to close all your open apps. This would be a helpful feature in iPadOS, especially if you have tons of apps open and swiping each individual app can be a nuisance.

There were a few bugs in iPadOS such as the device not going to the App Switcher when a double-pressed the home button. But that was fixed when I restarted the iPad.

iPadOS isn’t perfect but it’s getting better with each update like the iPadOS 13.4 update enables trackpad support, which is especially helpful for those wanting to use their iPad as a computer.

Apart from the features I mentioned, iPadOS includes a Dark Mode (that can be scheduled), AR improvements via ARKit 3 and overall improved performance.

iPadOS is compatible with the following iPad models:

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 4th generation
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 3rd generation
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation
• 11-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
• 11-inch iPad Pro
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro
• iPad 7th generation
• iPad 6th generation
• iPad 5th generation
• iPad Air 3rd generation
• iPad Air 2
• iPad mini 5th generation
• iPad mini 4

If you have an iPad running iPadOS and a mac with macOS Catalina, then you can use a feature called Sidecar that basically turns your iPad and Apple Pencil into a secondary display/ drawing tablet.

In addition to iPadOS, since the iPad (2019)’s release back in September, Apple has two services, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade.

Apple TV+ is the company’s foray into streaming video to go up against the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and countless others. Some of the content includes Little America, Dickinson, Mythic Quest, The Morning Show, For All Mankind and the upcoming animated show, Central Park.

Apple TV+ content can be viewed not only on Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV) but also Samsung Smart TVs (2018 and later), Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV, LG, Sony and Vizio TVs via the Apple TV app.

When you purchase an Apple device (iPad, iPhone, Mac, Apple TV etc), you’ll 1 year free of Apple TV+. The service costs $5.99 CAD ($4.99 USD) per month with a 1-week free trial.

If streaming video isn’t your thing, Apple has also introduced Apple Arcade, which is a video game subscription service. You’ll get unlimited access to more than 100 titles from companies such as Lego, Sega, Ubisoft and more.

Apple Arcade costs $5.99 CAD ($4.99 USD) per month and offers a 30-day free trial.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the 10.2-inch iPad is a great device that is quick, has Apple Pencil support and a cheaper alternative to the more expensive iPad Pro.

Pros

• Has a slightly larger display (now 10.2-inches
• Apple Pencil (1st Gen) support
• Smooth performance
• iPadOS works well for the most part
• Long battery life with great standby time
• Smart Connector brings Smart Keyboard compatibility

Cons

• The overall design hasn’t changed that much (apart from screen)
• Slow 12W charger included
• Limited storage options (32GB and 128GB)
• Powered by the outdated A10 Fusion processors (from 2016’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus)