Apple iPad (A16) evaluate: The vanilla ice cream of tablets

Apple iPad A16 Intro

New yr, new iPad!

Earlier this month, Apple unveiled the eleventh era of the bottom iPad earlier his month, and completely unsurprisingly, it’s just about equivalent to its predecessor with simply minimal adjustments scored.

It has been greater than two years because the earlier iPad tenth gen was launched within the fall of 2022, and that one was fairly an overhaul of the earlier iPad ninth gen, giving us a contemporary new design, bigger display screen, higher efficiency, and nice worth. If that one was a “tick” replace, this one here’s a “tock” one, with upgrades that may be counted on a single hand. 

Is that essentially a nasty factor, although? Effectively, no. The bottom iPad has at all times been among the many best-value Apple merchandise you will get, and the identical applies to the brand new iPad A16. It delivers some welcome efficiency enhancements, will get you double the bottom storage, whereas holding the remainder of the package deal kind of the identical, which is simply wonderful!

Let’s discover what’s new and what has stayed the identical. 

Desk of Contents:

iPad (A16) Specs

Blink and you’ll miss the adjustments

Here is a short overview of the iPad (A16)’s specs sheet. Spoiler alert, there aren’t many adjustments compared with the earlier iPad tenth Gen. 

Contained in the iPad (A16) field, we get the next:

Furthermore, the show boasts an old-school 60Hz refresh fee and low 500-nit SDR brightness, which is simply adequate for indoor use. There isn’t any XDR brightness assist, so HDR content material cannot be considered and colours and brightness will not pop up like on an iPhone. The show is extraordinarily reflective, as there is no antireflective coating or nano-texture show glass possibility like on the extra premium iPad Professional items.

The largest offense right here is the truth that the show continues to be non-laminated. Which means that there is a slight air hole between the display screen glass and the show panel itself. Because of this, the show feels “hole” and interacting with it’s surprisingly noisier compared with absolutely laminated iPads, particularly for those who use an Apple Pencil. We do not actually like non-laminated shows, nevertheless it’s true that they’re cheaper to restore and this can be a base iPad in spite of everything. 

Primarily, the one change with the iPad (A16) show are the semantics: Apple has rounded up the display screen measurement and calls it an 11-inch one, albeit it nonetheless being 10.9 inches throughout. Basic Apple.

When it comes to display screen properties, the iPad (A16) fares reasonably just like its predecessor in our in-house show assessments, attaining comparable most brightness, colour temperature, and colour accuracy. 

The pill is among the final Apple units that also comes with Contact ID, which is embedded proper into the top-positioned energy button. Earlier this yr, Apple eliminated Contact ID from the iPhone lineup by using Face ID on the brand new Telephone 16e, making this right here iPad A16 and the iPad mini (A17 Professional) the final of the Contact ID Mohicans. 

For all intents and functions, Contact ID right here capabilities flawlessly, in fact with the added disadvantage that it’s a must to bodily contact the facility button. In our opinion, Face ID is extra handy, regardless of what Contact ID’s fiery fan base may declare. 

iPad (A16) Keyboard and Stylus

You need to use the Magic Keyboard Folio with the iPad (A16). This accent was launched with the earlier iPad tenth gen and consists of two separate components: a again case that protects the pill and doubles as a kick stand and a separate full-sized keyboard. Each connect to the pill magnetically and really feel very sturdy. 

The keyboard keys function some fairly first rate key journey, making typing on this accent handy. The total 14-key operate row on the high of the keyboard makes interplay with core options like quantity and brightness choice fairly handy and simple. The trackpad can also be very handy, significantly enhancing the flexibility of the pill.

The iPad (A16) additionally helps the primary era Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil with USB-C. The Hover function shouldn’t be supported right here (it requires a 2nd gen Apple Pencil or later).

Video High quality

Picture High quality

iPad A16 entrance digicam

The entrance digicam may be very satisfactory in all lighting situations. Respectable element and good topic publicity is the spotlight right here, a typical and pretty protected Apple digicam high quality. 

The rear digicam is ok as nicely. Good sharpness, okay dynamics, and first rate total high quality is what you’ll often get right here. 

The distinction is within the accessible cores: the A16 chip within the new iPad comes with 5 CPU (two efficiency + three effectivity) and 4 GPU cores. iPhones outfitted with the Apple A16 Bionic chip had six-core CPUs (two efficiency + 4 effectivity) and five-core GPUs. 

The distinction should not be noticeable in on a regular basis utilization, and also you may solely discover that one thing is “improper” with this new A16 chip for those who examine the artificial benchmark outcomes with these older iPhones. In actual life, the iPad (A16) is a pleasure to make use of and has ample reserves of efficiency. 

What’s vital within the {hardware} is the storage variants that the bottom iPad mannequin is now accessible in. The gadget now begins with 128GB of storage, twice as a lot because the iPad tenth Gen, which got here with the paltry 64GB of storage. The iPad (A16) additionally is available in 256GB, and for the primary time within the vary, a spacious 512GB model.

Connectivity-wise, we get the pill with both Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and mobile. Nevertheless, in contrast to the iPad tenth Gen, it is value mentioning that you could’t use a bodily SIM card with the mobile model of the iPad (A16), you possibly can solely use an eSIM. 

iPad (A16) Software program

The iPad (A16) would not assist Apple Intelligence. With all of the delays and questionable good thing about the Apple Intelligence suite, at present this is not a serious loss.

The pill comes with iPadOS 18. That is one is a reasonably main software program replace for Apple’s tablet-centric OS. 

It introduces many enhancements, like a completely customizable residence display screen that permits you to freely place app icon positions, flip the icon look between gentle and darkish modes, and even tint icons with a colour of your alternative (which most of the time results in tasteless outcomes).

iPadOS 18 additionally allows you to lock and conceal apps from prying eyes, personalize the structure of the Management Middle and fine-tune it to your distinctive necessities, and extra.

iPad (A16) Battery

The battery measurement is essentially irrelevant although, as we now have battery take a look at outcomes, which reveal… no change compared with the earlier iPad era. Each units carry out largely the identical in our customized battery assessments with the display screen set at 200 nits of brightness. The brand new iPad performs barely higher within the gaming take a look at, however loses a bit within the net shopping and video assessments. All of it evens out, although, so that you get the identical whole battery life. 

PhoneArena Battery Take a look at Outcomes:

Apple hasn’t launched any upgrades by way of charging speeds. You continue to get 20W wired charging and no wi-fi charging. That is not ideally suited, as a full cost takes fairly some time––it takes round two hours. 

Beginning at $349 and now with 128GB of base storage, the iPad (A16) is a superb deal, no two methods about that. It is the proper pill for most individuals, particularly those that are within the Apple ecosystem and are not actually involved with the premium options discovered on the iPad Air or iPad Professional lineups. With first rate efficiency and good battery life, it is the no-nonsense pill for individuals who simply want an additional display screen with out an excessive amount of further fanfare.