iPad 9 vs iPad 10 Comparison

Vemuda Techno - I've been looking forward to this comparison ever since the iPad 10 was announced because I think that the iPad 9 is a great entry-level iPad, and I wanted to see if the 10 would just take things to the next level.

There's a lot to talk about. There's a new design, a new display, new colors, a new camera and speakers. There's also some things missing from the iPad 10.

Source: Mac Rumors

I've used both iPads for gaming, for browsing the web, for watching video, for social media, and for the basic office-type work that I do for managing Tech Gear Talk.

So how did they compare, and which one is the better choice?

As far as size, there are minor differences, but nothing that's gonna make any kind of impact in terms of portability. Now, the display on the iPad 10 is noticeably bigger. It has higher resolution, but it's still not a fully laminated display.

So we're still getting an air gap just like with the iPad 9. I have to say that you don't really notice it for the vast majority of the things that you do, and it is less expensive to repair because most of the time.

You either scratch or crack just the cover glass, so you don't have to replace the entire display assembly like you would with a fully laminated display. And if you wanna see a more detailed explanation, read this post right here.

In terms of image quality, the displays are plenty good for an entry-level iPad, and of course, we're getting two 60-hertz display, and you're not getting the smoother animation or scrolling that you do with the iPad Pro.

But for watching video, for surfing the web, for working with productivity apps, and even for gaming, which I'll get to in just a moment, it works just fine.

From a design standpoint, the iPad 10 got a dramatic overhaul. We got some new colors. I absolutely love this pink one, and it's as bright and as saturated as I hoped it would be.

Now, instead of the outdated iPad 9 design with the bigger bezels on the top and the bottom, a home button, the rounded back, and a lightning port.

The iPad 10 has the same design as all the other current iPads in the lineup, with rounded corners, squared-off edges, consistent bezels all the way around, and believe it or not, we got a USB-C port.

So now, you can connect an external SSD to work with files that are not stored locally. You can use a lot of USB-C hubs. You can charge the iPad 10 faster. 

And even though it's not a Thunderbolt port like what you get with the iPad Pro, you could still connect an external display at 1080P/60 or up to 4K/30.

Now, the one missing feature on the iPad 10 is the headphone jack, and that's a feature that I know a lot of you really love about the iPad 9 'cause you don't need to worry about having to charge another accessory.

You can always use USB-C headphones with the iPad 10 or an adapter to a 3.5 millimeter, but I actually really like the position of the headphone jack on the iPad 9.

If I'm gaming with the tablet in landscape mode and at the same time using wired headphones, on the iPad 9, the cable is outta the way because it's connected on the top right corner.

And on the iPad 10, whether I use an adapter or USB-C headphones, it's really always stuck somewhere between my fingers.

For biometric authentication, both iPads use Touch ID. The iPad 9 still has it on the home button, and the iPad 10 uses the newer implementation, where Touch ID is incorporated into the power button.

Now, both work well in terms of accuracy, but of course, I prefer the iPad 10 because when you remove the home button, you get a larger display and the same footprint, and I just make sure that I add both fingers so that I can authenticate in portrait and landscape modes.

The camera system was also upgraded, and so we're getting a higher-resolution, rear-facing camera, which can record 4K at up to 60 frames per second, then slow motion in 1080P at 120 or 240 frames per second.

And if you use your iPad camera for video, these are really nice upgrades. The most meaningful change, in my opinion, and it's a first for Apple, is that the front-facing camera was relocated to the long edge instead of the short edge, like we have on every other iPad.

So now, if you're on a video call, and you're using the iPad 10 in landscape mode, you'll be framed right in the center, and it won't look like you're set off to the side, again, like it does with every other iPad, and here's a quick sample.

Here's a camera and microphone comparison of the iPad 9 and the new iPad 10. It should give you a pretty good idea of the type of image quality that you're gonna get and the type of audio quality that you should expect.

This also will show you the difference in framing. So this is me looking at the camera on the iPad 9, and this is me looking at the screen on the iPad 9.

With the iPad 10, this is me looking at the screen, and then this is me looking at the camera. So you can see that I'm much better framed, and I'm in the center, and it doesn't look like I'm off to the side like it does when I'm looking at the screen on the iPad 9.

The speakers were also updated, and the iPad 10 has one speaker on each side rather than having both speakers on the bottom like with the iPad 9.

Now, this gives you much better audio, and when you're watching a movie on the iPad 9, you immediately notice that the audio only comes out to one side, whereas the iPad 10 gives you more of that surround sound feel. 

When it comes to accessories, things get a little strange. So let's start with the Apple Pencil. So the iPad 9 has a lightning port, and of course, you'd expect it to be compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil, and it is.

The pencil itself works just fine, but I've never really been a fan of having to charge it by inserting it into the lightning port. I always feel like there's a risk that it would break even though I've had pretty good luck so far.

It also means that the Apple Pencil is not being charged when the iPad is being stored or when it's being transported.

Now, you can use an adapter and then a regular charging cable, but I pretty much lost mine as soon as I got it, and regardless, it's not something that I wanna have to bring with me everywhere I go.

The iPad 10 has a USB-C port, and it has squared-off edges, so you'd expect it to be compatible with the second-generation pencil, and it's not.

It's still compatible with this first-generation pencil, and this is where things get a little clunky because now, you can't even pair this pencil with the new iPad without a lightning-to-USB-C adapter, which Apple will sell you for $9.

And you still need that adapter every time you wanna charge your pencil, unless you get a dedicated charging cable with a female lightning port. So from a user experience standpoint, this is definitely not optimal.

As far as keyboard cases, there are a lot of third-party options on the market for both iPads, and Apple also made a new Magic Keyboard Folio for the iPad 10.

Now, I love the design and the features of this new Magic Keyboard, so you could definitely expect to see some dedicated content about it, but it's 250 bucks, (cash register jingling) which seems really expensive for someone who's looking for the cheapest possible iPad.

Now, Apple did upgrade the chip in the iPad 10, so we're going from the A13 to the A14. We're getting better single and multi-core performance.

We're getting significantly improved GPU performance, at least in terms of benchmarks, and we're also getting four gigabytes of RAM instead of three.

For most users, this isn't really gonna make a major difference right now, but the iPad 10 is better suited for things like 4K video editing, and even if you don't work with video, it means that it'll have more headroom in terms of processing power as these iPads get older.

Now, looking at battery life, both have been excellent. So the base iPad has always been an excellent performer in this area. The iPad 10 is no exception.

When we look at gaming, in most cases, the games themselves worked very well on both iPads.

So I haven't really noticed a major improvement when moving from the A13 to the A14 because the A13 was already super-powerful.

But again, having that additional headroom with the A14 just means that as games become more and more demanding, the iPad 10 will continue to perform better for longer.

Now, I played all my usual games with PUBG: Asphalt, Genshin, and both iPads ran them smoothly, and of course, less demanding games are not gonna be an issue, but I wanna talk about audio.

So if you play without headphones, there's no question that the iPad 10 is a better choice. You're getting audio from both sides. It sounds better, and it's easier to detect where sounds are coming from.

Now, most of the time, I'm wearing headphones, so it really comes down to what you use. If you're using wireless headphones, both of these will work just fine.

But if you want wired headphones, I'm gonna give the edge to the iPad 9 because, like I mentioned earlier, it has a headphone jack, and it's located outta the way.

Now, both tablets also work great with the Xbox Game Pass app, so you can use an Xbox controller and then play any of the available games.

I'm going to give the edge here to the iPad 10 because it has a larger display, so everything looks slightly bigger. But in order to not waste your money and decide which one is the better value, we have to look at pricing.

So in the US, through the Apple Store, the iPad 9 sells for $330, and the iPad 10 is 450 bucks. So we're already looking at $120 difference, and if you use the links in the description, you can pretty much always find the iPad 9 for 300 bucks, so now, the iPad 10 is 50% more expensive.

The other issue is that we're still only getting 64 gigabytes of storage for that price, and we need to add another 150 bucks to get 256 gigabytes, which to me is disappointing.

Sure, if you don't need a lot of games or apps, and you don't store photos on your iPad, and you're pretty much only using it for streaming and for working with web-based applications,

Then you can get by with 64 gigabytes of storage, but this iPad could last you six or seven years, maybe even more in terms of processing power.

And I really thing that Apple should've changed the base model to 128 gigabytes and then moved to 512 for the higher-end model.

The way the iPad 10 is priced right now doesn't really make sense to me. It's a lot more expensive than the iPad 9 for a set of features that are nice to have, but they're not critical for someone who only wants the base iPad.

The new keyboard does have an awesome design, but it seems pricey for the target audience, and the Apple Pencil compatibility is just odd.

So I think a better option woulda been to make the iPad 10 compatible with both the first and second-generation pencils. That way, you'd have more versatility.

What's good is that Apple and other vendors are still selling the iPad 9, so if you're looking for the better value in my opinion, that's the iPad 9.

If an updated design, a larger and higher-resolution display, a more powerful chip, a USB-C port, and then Wi-Fi 6 5G support and Bluetooth 5.2 are worth the price difference for you, then you should go ahead and grab an iPad 10 in one of these new, fun colors.

Now, you should check out this iPad comparison. You know what I always say: buy it nice, or buy it twice. Good luck, and see you soon. Thanks for reading at Vemuda Techno. 

We have also posted about Cool Features of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. 

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