The new 2020 edition of the iPad, now in its eighth generation, continues to be an iPad. It is very good at iPad things: watching movies, reading, browsing the web, editing photos, and so on. Starting at $329 for a 32GB version, it is a remarkable deal.
Over the past few years, Apple has made a relentless push to get the iPad past the old criticism that it’s “just a big iPhone.” It’s made into more of a computer, able to do tasks that once were solely the domain of laptops.
So the thing about “iPad things” is that there are more of them now: more things you’d like an iPad to accomplish, even the lowest-tier iPad. Although this iPad with its new A12 Bionic processor is still legitimately great, some parts are starting to feel stuck in the past. It’s great, but some of its limitations are starting to grate.
IPAD HARDWARE
The eighth-gen iPad is unchanged from the last generation. It still has a 10.2-inch screen that looks great even though it doesn’t have some of the more techy features of more expensive iPads. If you have used an iPad Pro and care about things like ProMotion or a laminated display, they haven’t made their way down here yet.
Neither has the iPad Pro’s design — it has only reached the Air. That means this iPad still has awfully large bezels on the top and bottom. It does make the iPad feel a little out of step with the rest of the gadgets and tablets you’ll see in 2020, where bezels are the exception rather than the rule.
Touch ID is still on the big, circular fingerprint sensor, which is as satisfying as ever to click. There’s also a headphone jack, and I do genuinely think it’s an important feature for this device, in particular. Apple wants to push the iPad into classrooms, and the idea of trying to hang on to dozens of Lightning headphones or Bluetooth headphones sounds like a nightmare.
Because Apple is keeping the same design, that means it’s also keeping the Lightning connector. I think we’ve reached the point where I can confidently call that a mistake. USB-C isn’t something that’s just reserved for pros anymore: it’s on the iPad Air and every Android phone no matter the price, and it’s also on every Chromebook that Apple is trying to replace in classrooms.
I understand the hassles and problems of USB-C, and I also understand that the switching cost from Lightning to USB-C isn’t trivial. But it’s the standard now, and the iPad ought to hew to it. I believe the same about the iPhone, by the way, but I realize the switching costs there are even higher than they are for the iPad.
The iPad has a couple of cameras, but they’re nothing to get super excited about. They’re better than what you’ll find on competing tablets — but it’s awfully hard to even find competing tablets for the iPad in this price range. The most notable thing about the cameras to me is that the front-facing one is in the wrong spot: on the side in landscape mode.
If you have the iPad connected via its Smart Connector to a keyboard, it will be in landscape mode. That means your camera is off on the left side instead of top center, which makes videoconferences awkward.
Finally, the same hardware means that the iPad has the same support for the Apple Pencil — the first-generation $99 Apple Pencil, I should point out, with its weird Lightning charging connector and easy-to-lose cap. I can see a little lag when using it compared to what I get on an iPad Pro, but not enough to say it’s a problem.
That’s several harsh things I’ve said about the iPad’s hardware, so let me emphasize the essential context: it’s an iPad! That means it’s thin, light, and sturdy. The fact that Apple achieved this quality of design many generations ago doesn’t take away from its quality today.
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