All products recommended by Engadget have been selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at time of publication.
Today, Apple introduced a new crop of iPads alongside an updated Apple TV 4K. The new gear was announced via a trio of press releases, not the usual pomp and circumstance of a livestream event. For the most part, that makes sense: The new iPad Pros and Apple TV 4K don’t bring many major changes, while the all-new iPad largely takes over the existing iPad Air, albeit with a few compromises.
That said, new is new and all updated devices are available for pre-order from Apple’s online store starting today. If you’re curious about upgrading to a new tablet or high-end media streamer, here’s a quick rundown of what’s new, how much everything costs, and how to pre-order everything announced today.
Apple iPad (10th generation)
Apple
The 10th generation iPad represents the most significant innovation of the gadgets unveiled today. It is now available to order in four finishes: blue, pink, silver and yellow. Prices start at $449 for a 64 GB model or $599 for a 256 GB model. You can add cellular connectivity to those storage counts for $599 and $749, respectively. Apple says the tablet will hit stores October 26.
Pre-order iPad (10th generation) at Apple – $449
In terms of design, the 10th generation iPad follows closely in the footsteps of the iPad Air. It features a similar 10.9-inch IPS display with a crisp 2,360 x 1,640 resolution and 500 nits of rated maximum brightness. The design has flatter bezels, slimmer bezels, no dedicated Home button, a USB-C port, and a Touch ID sensor in the sleep/wake button. Battery life is still estimated at up to 10 hours of video playback and web browsing over Wi-Fi.
There’s a 12MP wide camera — higher than the 8MP sensor in the ninth-generation 10.2-inch iPad — that Apple claims can shoot 4K video and use the company’s “Center Stage” frame-centering feature. The front-facing camera is mainly located along the landscape edge of the tablet, which should make it particularly suitable for group video calls. The device also supports WiFi 6, while the mobile version works with 5G networks. Like other new iPad models, the 3.5mm headphone jack is also being ditched.
The new iPad is powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic system-on-a-chip, previously found in the iPad Air 2020 and the iPhone 12 phone family. This should be a handy upgrade over the 10.2-inch iPad’s A13 Bionic chip and give more than enough heading for most uses, but it’ll still be a few taps behind the M1 chip in the iPad Air. . The new iPad’s display also remains unlaminated — so you’ll see a small air gap between the image and the layer of glass it covers — and it only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil, not the second-generation stylus with more convenient magnetic charging.
In addition to the 10th-generation iPad, Apple is introducing a $249 Magic Keyboard Folio case, which is similar to the existing Magic Keyboard for the iPad Air and Pro, but includes a 14-key function row, but the tablet “floats” over the top. from the keyboard, relying instead on a built-in kickstand.
Apple says it will continue to sell the 9th-generation iPad at the same suggested retail price of $329 (but often less than that online) for those who want a more affordable option, albeit with an outdated design.
11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros with M2
Apple
The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros are a bit more familiar, with the most significant upgrade being internal: both slates now run on Apple’s M2 SoC, which can also be found in the latest MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. Both units are again available in silver or space gray finishes. Like the 10th generation iPad, the new iPad Pros are available to order now and will hit stores October 26.
Pre-order iPad Pros (2022) at Apple – $799 and $1,099
When we reviewed those M2 Macs, we found that the M2 brought a nice performance boost over the M1, although you’ll probably have to go way beyond standard tablet usage to see a big difference in real-world usage. But for those who want a tablet for video editing and other intensive tasks, it should still be more future-proof.
The new Pros also support faster WiFi 6E networks, Bluetooth 5.3 and, according to Apple, “more 5G networks around the world”. For those with second-generation Apple Pencils, there’s also a new “hover” feature that allows the tablets to detect the stylus when it’s up to 12mm from the screen, similar to previous Samsung phones and tablets. Apple says this lets you preview marks you can make before actually applying the pen.
That’s about it. Both tablets still support refresh rates up to 120Hz, although the 12.9-inch model remains the only one with a brighter and more vibrant Mini LED panel, while the 11-inch model has a less (comparatively) LED screen. The ports, cameras, accessory support and overall design are largely the same as before. Perhaps oddly enough, Apple has decided not to move the front camera to the landscape side on the more expensive Pro models, leaving that feature only to the much cheaper 10th-generation iPad.
The Pros should nevertheless remain the best tablets in Apple’s lineup, though their price will likely keep them limited to the most engaged iPad users. The 11-inch model again starts at $799 for 128GB of storage, while the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099 for the same amount of space.
You can also upgrade to 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB of storage, with the 1TB and 2TB models also doubling the included RAM from 8GB to 16GB. For the 11-inch model, they cost $899, $1,099, $1,499 and $1,899 respectively. For the 12.9-inch Pro, those jump to $1,199, $1,399, $1,799 and $2,199. Adding cellular connectivity to whichever option you choose will cost an additional $200.
Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)
Apple
The new Apple TV 4K also gets a performance bump, jumping from the 2018 A12 Bionic SoC to the faster A15 Bionic chip introduced last year and seen in the iPhone 13 phone family and the latest iPad Mini. In addition to the usual Dolby Vision HDR, the set-top box also supports HDR10+ playback and the included Siri Remote now charges via USB-C instead of Lightning. Physically, the box itself is 50 percent lighter and also slightly thinner.
Pre-order Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) at Apple – $129
Everything else is pretty much the same as before, but the most notable (and welcome) change is the price: The new Apple TV 4K now starts at $129 for 64GB of storage. That’s still quite a bit more expensive than a Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max, but it’s a nice drop from the previous model’s $179 starting price and 32GB of storage anyway. (Although we’ve seen some deals on that device in recent months.)
If you need more storage space for Apple Arcade games and the like, you can order a model with 128 GB storage for $149. This version also adds a Gigabit Ethernet port and support for the Thread mesh network protocol for certain smart home devices. devices.
The new Apple TV 4K is now available to order from Apple’s online store, though Apple says it won’t be available until November 4. It’s also worth noting that with the company’s introduction of the new streamer, the company will also include 1080p-only Apple TV HD.