iPad 8th Generation: Review On Apple iPad 8th Gen 10.2-inch Display

iPad 8th Generation

admin 2021-12-29

0 53 9 minutes read

Table of Content

The iPad 8th generation 10.2-inch isn’t as revolutionary as its predecessor, but it does bring a few key enhancements to the table. The introduction of the A12 Bionic chip, which was previously seen in the iPad Air 3, is the largest difference in the 2020 iPad. It also has enhanced battery life and screen sensitivity when used with the Apple Pencil, as well as a few other improvements. I tried an 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch over the course of a few weeks to see how these changes transfer in real life. I put the iPad 10.2-inch to collaborate performing daily tasks including writing, email, online surfing, and entertainment by linking this with a Smart Keyboard. While I wasn’t able to completely abandon my laptop, the 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch offers an unbeatable combination of convenience, pricing, and portability.

iPad 8th Generation With Classic Design

In 2019, the iPad line received a substantial overhaul, and the 2020 iPad is continuing on that trend. Picking up an 8th generation iPad will feel like coming home if you’ve used a 7th generation iPad. It has the same curved edges of the iPad Air and iPad Pro, as well as the same lightweight aluminum and glass design, hefty bezels, and the same Smart Connector that allows it to connect to old iPad Air and iPad Pro accessories like the Smart Keyboard.
While Apple has abandoned the Lightning port in favor of the more universal USB-C in several of its products, this isn’t the case here.

The Lightning connector is still available, which is a good thing overall. All of your previous ports and accessories, including the Apple Pencil, will continue to work with no need for conversions, but it appears that Apple is only putting off the inevitable. However, you do get a Lighting-to-USB-C adapter in the box, which is a nice gesture.

10.2-inch Apple iPad (8th Generation) Display Screen:

The bright 10.2-inch display looks fantastic. The screen of the 8th gen intel core iPad is unaltered from the earlier models, as is the general design. That’s not a big deal, because the 10.2-inch Retina Display has a resolution of 2160×1620 and 500 nits of brightness, and it looks amazing in most situations, but if you’ve had a 7th generation iPad, it will be the same display you’ve already seen. The display is bright and clear, and I had no trouble working on article draughts or sending emails while on the go. The colors are likewise fantastic, and when I looked through some of my iCloud-stored DSLR photos, they really stood out.

Display With Apple Pencil

When using the Apple Pencil, the display felt really responsive. I’m not an artist, but I found the touchscreen to be fairly accurate when I was doodling and when I was playing Champ’d Up on Twitch. While Apple has dropped the Lightning port in favor of the more universal USB-C in several of its products, that isn’t the case here…

iPad 8th Generation A12 Bionic Processor Performance:

With the A12 chip, the iPad 10.2-inch is actually worth comparing to Windows laptops, 2-in-1s, and convertibles in the same price range. Even for basic productivity tasks like word processing, email, and web browsing, these devices often ship with low-powered Celeron processors to meet cheap price points and thus don’t compare favorably to the iPad 10.2-inch. With the improved task management of iPadOS 14, the 8th generation iPad breezes through all of those tasks without a hitch, juggling many apps and windows. Although the A14-equipped iPad Air 4 is naturally faster, I never observed any serious concerns.

I loaded up the smash hit open-world adventure game Genshin Impact to check how the iPad 10.2-inch handles a current game, in addition to basic productivity and media streaming. The end effect was stunning, with Teyvat’s impressionistic universe rendered beautifully on the Retina display and wonderfully responsive gameplay. The main issue was with the touchscreen controls since the iPad 10.2 inches is a little big to handle as a controller for long game sessions, but the widescreen meant my fingers never covered anything crucial.

Snap-on the Smart Keyboard Performance

Since the arrival of smartphones and tablets, software keyboards have been the torment of my existence as a writer. They’re fine for sending a short email or text message, but I’ve never been able to get any serious work done on them, which is why I’ve avoided using an iPad as a laptop replacement. Sure, you can prop up the iPad with a variety of different covers and pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard, but I’ve always found that to be far too difficult. Then, with the 7th gen iPad, the Smart Adaptor was introduced, allowing for the usage of the Smart Keyboard, and everything changed. When I link my iPad with a Smart Keyboard, it transforms from a toy to something I can use to get actual work done both at and away from my office.

Chip Performance Of iPad 8th Generation

The integration of the 8th generation iPad and a Smart Keyboard was a fair viable substitute for my laptop in a lot of scenarios, thanks to iPadOS 14, which makes it quicker and faster to move between programs. I still prefer the larger screen real estate of my HP Spectre x360 or even my much smaller Surface Laptop 3, but the iPad is so much easier to throw in my messenger bag and bring out anytime I have a spare moment. The addition of the A12 Bionic processor in the 8th generation iPad is without a doubt the most significant upgrade. This is the same chip that Apple utilized in the previous iPad Air and iPad Pro models, which is impressive given that the iPad 10-inch is still priced at the same entry-level cost as last year.

As previously stated, the 8th generation iPad, like its predecessor, supports the 1st generation Apple Pencil.
If you’re a creative type, this gives a great boost to productivity, while charging via the Lightning connector is still as inconvenient as it was before.

Audio Performance Of iPad 8th Generation

The stereo speakers of the 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch are adequate for FaceTime and other forms of teleconferencing, but the sound quality isn’t ideal for listening to music or watching films. The sound is hollow and shallow, but not to the point of being offensive. The good news is that this is the only full-sized iPad with a physical headphone connector, allowing you to use your preferred wired headphones or earbuds without having to worry about the speakers.

Network: Wi-Fi and LTE speeds are adequate.

I evaluated the 8th generation iPad’s Wi-Fi + Cellular version, so I had a decent idea of its capabilities on both sorts of connections. For Wi-Fi, I used an Eero mesh Wi-Fi system with a Mediacom Gigabit connection, which measured just shy of 1Gbps at the modem. For cellular, I utilized an AT&T data sim that I also use in my Netgear Nighthawk M1 mobile hotspot router on a regular basis.

The iPad 8th generation performed admirably over both Wi-Fi and LTE connections, with Wi-Fi performance being more spectacular than cellular ones. Other devices tested at the same time had faster connections, but the iPad’s rates were more than acceptable for streaming music and video, working in Google Docs, accessing the web, and playing online games.

The iPad recorded an astounding 387Mbps down and 67Mbps up when tested in close proximity to my router.
My Pixel 3 reported 486Mbps down and 67Mbps up when tested at the same time, indicating that the iPad has a good connection but isn’t utilizing all of it. The effects were nonetheless spectacular from afar. With 368Mbps down and 62Mbps up about fifty feet from the router and no nearby access point, the iPad scarcely slowed down. It still reported an incredible 226Mbps down around 100 feet from the modem, down in my garage, when my Pixel 3 only managed 149Mbps.

4GLTE Network Connectivity

The results were less striking when linked to AT&T’s 4G LTE network. The Apple iPad only managed 4.79Mbps down and 2Mbps up in the same place as my Netgear Nighthawk M1 recorded a download speed of 15Mbps and 2Mbps up. I couldn’t get any faster than that in any of the areas I tested, whether indoors or out. The Nighthawk, on the other hand, was connected to an antenna, whereas the iPad does not, and 4.79Mbps is fast enough for me to watch YouTube videos without buffering.

Camera: The FaceTime camera’s 720p resolution leaves a lot to be desired.

Aside from the archaic design and thick bezels, the iPad 10.2-inch cameras are still the biggest letdown. They’re fine for simple tasks, and the A12 chip’s extra processing power makes still photos appear better than ever, but they’re still far behind the hardware of the more expensive iPad Air and iPad Pro. In a world where video conferencing has become the norm, the 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch still has the same 720p front-facing camera as the previous model, which feels a little anemic. It’s good enough to get by, and it’s better than the cameras found in most inexpensive laptops, but it’s far from ideal. Of course, the front-facing camera still has the long-standing issue of being difficult to center when using the iPad in portrait mode for video calls, but that’s a quirk we’ve had to deal with since the iPad’s inception…

Battery: Ready to last all day, or close to it if you use your phone a lot.

The 8th generation iPad battery life is a major plus. Apple estimates that the battery will last for 10 hours of typical web browsing or streaming video over a Wi-Fi connection, but my own experience suggests that Apple is being conservative. I had to seek for my Lighting cord and charger after many days of mild use, and an always-on, always-streaming test saw it last over 13 hours until it died. With the Apple Pencil and Scribble, you can handwrite emails, fill out forms, and use chat apps, and your handwriting is automatically transformed into text on the screen.

Software: iPadOS 14 is a flexible and powerful operating system.

The iPadOS 14 that comes with the 8th generation iPad 10.2-inch is even better than the one that came with the prior iPad. The option to display larger widgets on the left side of the screen, as well as Smart Stacks, which lets you stack a variety of different widgets for convenient access, are two of the most beneficial improvements in this latest version of the tablet-centric OS.

The Apple Pencil now has better functionality in iPadOS 14, allowing you to write in any text field using the Scribble feature. With the Apple Pencil and Scribble, you can handwrite emails, fill out forms, and use chat apps. Your handwriting will automatically translate into text on the screen.

This appears to be quite advanced technology. Ss well, as it accurately translates my handwriting across the board. In addition to the big-name new features, iPadOS 14 offered a nearly desktop-like experience in many cases, with a slew of sidebars and pull-down menus to make a variety of chores a lot easier.

Price: Apple’s cheapest iPad is still a terrific buy.

The best part about the apple iPad 8th generation is the pricing, which hasn’t changed since last year. Despite the introduction of the more powerful A12 Bionic chip, the base iPad remains Apple’s most affordable IPad, with an MSRP of $329 for the base model and $559 for a fully loaded version. While it is more expensive than many non-Apple tablets, it is still an excellent choice for those on a budget or seeking a feasible laptop replacement for their children.

Apple iPad Air 4 compared. Apple iPad 10.2 inch

The iPad 10.2-inch is market as a less expensive alternative to the iPad Air 4. While the iPad Air 4 is market as a less expensive alternative to the iPad Pro. So this isn’t quite a fair comparison. The iPad Air 4 has a starting price of $599, which is nearly double the starting price of a standard iPad 10.2-inch. You get a slightly larger display that looks a lot nicer for the extra money, a substantially more powerful A14 chip, compatibility with the improved Magic Keyboard and 2nd generation Apple Pencil, better cameras, a USB-C connector, and more for that extra money.

The iPad Air 4 is definitely the best gadget, but you should consider that you could have two iPads for the price of one iPad Air, and how much functionality are you giving up? Because both tablets run on iPadOS 14, they have a lot in common in terms of productivity. Although the Magic Keyboard outperforms the Smart Keyboard, Logitech offers a competent alternative keyboard and touchpad cover combo for the iPad 8th generation that is nearly as excellent.

Smart Choice

The iPad Air 4 is the better tablet if you have the money, but the iPad 10.2-inch is a wonderful alternative if you’re on a budget, need to buy multiple tablets, or simply don’t require the iPad Air 4’s superior features. I find the combination of the 8th generation iPad with a Smart Keyboard to be a fair alternative for my laptop in a lot of scenarios, especially with iPadOS 14, which makes it quicker and faster to switch between programs.

The Final Word

The iPad 10.2 inch has definitely been surpassing by the iPad Air and iPad Pro. Yet it remains in a strong position due to its significantly lower price. The decision to upsize the line the last generation is still advantageous. As it can use with previous iPad Air and iPad Pro accessories. Moreover, the strong A12 CPU with iPadOS 14 provides a very pleasurable experience across the board. The Lightning connector keeps the iPad 10.2-inch stuck in the past, but money talks, and this is still a tablet worth listening to.