Apple iPad 10.2-inch review: Retina display, new keyboard connector & desktop-like viewing are impressive

Apple iPad 10.2-inch
Get it for: Rs 29,990

The Indian personal tablet market over the years has been littered with corpses of Android devices — the notable exception being Samsung — that struggled to match up to the iPad. The iPad has become one of those generic brand names like Xerox or Walkman. A tablet is an iPad for most people and Apple now has an iPad for almost every budget. The latest iPad is the 10.2-inch variant and starts at Rs 29,990.


This is the new entry-level iPad but supports all the apps that the expensive iPads come with on board. Don’t go looking for anything new — except the screen size and a slight improvement in display resolution — in this iPad. It doesn’t support FaceID (that’s for the iPad Pros) but gets Apple Pencil (first-gen) support. Apple continues to have a meagre 1.2-megapixel front camera that does a respectable job for FaceTime calls only.

This is the iPad that most people will end up buying, simply because it is the cheapest iPad in the market. And it is a really good iPad all things considered. The Retina display still looks good and Apple has added a new keyboard connector for the first time in an entry-leve iPad, however, buyers will have to fork out about Rs 11,000 extra for it. The A10 Fusion chip — around three years old — is capable of handling almost everything like watching multimedia content and even graphic-intensive games like Call of Duty. It has a battery that lasts easily up to a day.

The star of the show here is iPadOS 13 that makes this iPad work like a charm. You can get desktop-like browsing, thanks to Safari. You can also add external devices like a Xbox controller or a mouse, if you plan to use this as a gaming device. At just over 480 gram, this is quite a lightweight device but if you’re looking for a light and small iPad, then there’s always the iPad Mini.

This iPad is a statement of borderline arrogance from Apple. It says that Apple doesn’t need to add a glitzy display, a super fast processor or improve the audio output and STILL manage to have all the ingredients that will impress first-time iPad buyers. Clearly, the new iPad is meant for those who don’t have an iPad or those whose old iPads don’t support iPad OS13. Go for it and you won’t be disappointed. After all it is an iPad: reliable, impressive and easy-to-use.