Guidemaster: Picking the right tablet for each use case

Microsoft's Surface Pro 9.
Enlarge / Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9.
Andrew Cunningham

Tablets looked to take the computing world by storm during the iPad’s meteoric rise, but they have now stabilized into their role as a secondary device oriented around convenient content consumption and portability—at least as far as at-home use goes. Still, tablets are hugely popular, especially with families where kids and adults each want their own computing solution, but not everyone has room for a desk.

And given that younger generations are touch-first, keyboard-and-mouse second, and there are plenty of reasons to spring for one or more tablets these days. While Google has struggled to translate its Android smartphone operating system into a viable tablet platform, Apple’s iPad dominates the market, with Amazon’s Fire lineup covering a lot of other users.

There’s also the sort-of-tablet Surface line of products from Microsoft, which are aimed more at productivity and power users. Today we’ll go through our best tablet picks for different types of users and use cases based on our time reviewing these devices. Let’s dig in!

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The ideal tablet for most people: iPad Air 5th generation (2022)

The 2022 iPad Air.
Enlarge / The 2022 iPad Air.
Samuel Axon

Apple iPad Air 5th Generation

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Ars editor Samuel Axon has said it again and again in our reviews: the iPad Air is “the best deal in Apple’s tablet lineup in terms of performance and features you get for the price.”

Sure, if you just need a good, reliable tablet for the basics and want to spend as little as possible, the 9th-generation iPad is there. (And it’s our budget pick found below.) But for a step up to the latest design, colors, faster USB-C charging, and more performance than a tablet of this kind needs, then we recommend the latest iPad Air.

The Air is nearly the same dimensions as the 9th-generation iPad, but it fits a slightly larger 10.9-inch screen (as opposed to the 9th-gen’s 10.2) into its frame, thanks to a more modern design with slimmer bezels. It replaces the older iPad design’s home button with gestures that only take a short time to learn. You also get a markedly upgraded display that covers much of the DCI-P3 color gamut. But unlike the even-more-expensive iPad Pro, the Air still doesn’t get FaceID—instead, the Touch ID sensor is relocated to the power button atop the iPad. We’ve never had any big complaints about Touch ID in its current implementation, though.

The real star of the iPad Air is the M1 chip, which puts this consumer tablet in the same performance class as the lowest-end MacBook Air as well as the 24-inch iMac. Apple also equipped the Air with 8GB of RAM, making this iPad quite the powerhouse for those who’d like to work, game, or multitask heavily. In the unlikely event that you’re going to do a lot of creative productivity work, it will actually serve you quite well.

Add Apple’s Magic Keyboard or a less expensive, backlit keyboard like Logitech’s Combo Touch to complete the productivity package.

The good

  • A display that’s about as good as LCD displays get in this size
  • Modern design with slimmed-down bezels
  • Supports the latest and greatest Apple Pencil
  • M1 processor will serve just about anyone’s tablet needs

The bad

  • Optional Magic Keyboard is an ultra-expensive add-on

Budget alternative: iPad 9th generation (2021)

The $159 Smart Keyboard and $99 Apple Pencil add quite a bit to the tablet's $329 starting price.
Enlarge / The $159 Smart Keyboard and $99 Apple Pencil add quite a bit to the tablet’s $329 starting price.
Andrew Cunningham

Apple iPad 9th Generation

(Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.)

Many people will get by just fine with Apple’s entry-level iPad. Like its pricier cousins, it has an unmatched app ecosystem. Add in Apple’s lengthy software support —usually around four or five years, and even longer for critical security updates—and you’ve got a secure Internet device that bests most of what is offered in the Android camp.

For those who want a tablet for consuming media, web browsing, and occasional productivity, the 9th-generation iPad (2021) is a reliable choice with solid hardware to meet the task. Remnants from Apple’s aging design archives, like the home button and Touch ID, may make the standard iPad look stale compared to other devices in the company’s lineup, but as we noted in our review, Apple “doesn’t skimp on construction and materials, so your hardware still looks and feels nice despite being a bit dated.”

Running on the same A13 chip design as the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage, the 9th-generation iPad will be a smooth operator for most tablet tasks, like watching movies or browsing the web. You’ll need to up the performance to play the latest 3D games, though, and the screen is just fine by today’s standards, whereas the higher-end iPads really up the ante there for HDR movies and the like.

The 12-megapixel front-facing camera supports Center Stage, leveraging artificial intelligence to keep you in the middle of the frame on FaceTime calls. That said, this feature can be a bit wonky at times, so it may not be to everyone’s taste. If you think you’ll do some note-taking, emailing, or document editing, you can add Apple’s $160 Smart Keyboard. Our reviewer preferred Logitech’s $150 Combo Touch keyboard for its superior typing feel, trackpad, and loop to store your Apple Pencil.

A couple of things to note: This iPad uses a Lightning cable to charge (versus newer iPads that use USB-C) and only supports the first-generation Apple Pencil. Rumor has it Lightning may soon be sunsetted in Apple’s lineup, so in that sense, it’s not the most future-proof. Many people will be just as happy with the first-generation Pencil as the newer one, but it’s worth noting that it has a bizarre charging solution that’s a bit unwieldy, and it just doesn’t feel as nice to use on the iPad’s cheaper screen.

The good

  • Relatively affordable price
  • Access to robust catalog of iPadOS apps
  • Support for keyboard, mouse, and Pencil
  • Long period of time for software support

The bad

  • Charges via Lightning instead of USB-C
  • Apple Smart Cover keyboard case is expensive
  • The screen is just OK
  • Lacks the Mac-like performance of more expensive iPads

Another option for kids: Amazon Fire 7 Kids, Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids

Amazon's Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet, protective bumper case and all.
Enlarge / Amazon’s Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet, protective bumper case and all.

Amazon Fire Tablets for Kids

(Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.)

If you have kids between the ages of 3 and 12 and want to spend around $100 on a tablet, Amazon’s Fire tablets have some great options.

The Fire 7 Kids tablet is designed with children in mind. It’s a 7-inch slate with a colorful 1.1-inch thick case and built-in adjustable kickstand, doesn’t have ads, and comes with a two-year “Worry-Free Guarantee.” Amazon says, “If it breaks, return it and we’ll replace it for free.”

It also comes with a one-year Amazon Kids+ subscription with access to a range of kid-centric apps and shows, including original content and some from Disney, Nickelodeon, Lego, PBS, and more. There’s also a set of configurable parental controls. And with 16GB of RAM, USB-C charging, and a microSD card slot, this kid’s tablet checks off a lot of boxes.

For older kids, a slightly larger Fire HD 8 Kids tablet provides more screen canvas for content and up to 13 hours of battery life. The thicker case and slightly heavier weight make the larger variant less ideal for younger children, but you’ll still get access to the same year-long Kids+ subscription, two-year warranty, and access to fun and educational content.

If your child is a little past the age of having a thick, colorful, nearly indestructible case and could benefit from a larger tablet, the regular Fire HD 10 is a great step up. The Fire HD 10 is a more grown-up tablet, lacking the chunky child-proof case of its smaller siblings, though it still comes in fun colors. For that trade-off, you get the larger screen, options for 32GB and 64GB models, and the option for use with a keyboard case that only adds about $30 to the price.

The Fire 7 Kids version is regularly on sale for between $60 and $70, but the full retail cost is $110. It’s still a decent value at full price, but with frequent sales, we’d recommend buying when a discount pops up.

The good

  • Excellent warranty
  • Frame is bulky but adds to durability
  • Pre-loaded educational content

The bad

  • Amazon Kids+ subscription limited to one free year

The hybrid alternative: Surface Pro 9

Microsoft's Surface Pro 9.
Enlarge / Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9.
Andrew Cunningham

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

(Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.)

If you want a computer first and a tablet second, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 should be at the top of your list. It has a nice 13-inch screen with an option for a 120 Hz refresh rate, a range of processors and storage configurations to choose from, and access to a robust ecosystem of apps and programs designed for desktop Windows. These features make this tablet one of the best laptop replacements on the market today.

Its iconic form factor integrates a built-in, adjustable kickstand and pairs with a magnetic, optional backlit keyboard cover that could be angled upward for better ergonomics. When the optional keyboard cover is attached and used with the kickstand, it may be an issue for those who like to use their notebooks on their laps.

You can also add the Surface Pen to take notes, sketch, and act as a mouse with right-click functions. For other peripherals, like external displays or portable solid-state drives, the Surface Pro 9 has two Thunderbolt-compatible USB-C ports.

The Surface Pro 9 runs Windows 11, which means it can run any Windows-compatible program, as well as Android apps available on Amazon’s Android app store with the Windows Subsystem for Android support.

The entry-level model (Intel i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, 128GB) is often the same price on sale as the 256GB model, so you can get a little more for your money. From there, you can option the Pro 9 all the way up to an i7 processor with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage, with eight configurations in between. Microsoft also offers a 5G version that comes with a Qualcomm-made Microsoft SQ3 Arm processor.

The good

  • Slim tablet that runs Windows 11 with access to complete Windows ecosystem of apps and programs
  • Robust multitasking capabilities
  • Elegant and premium design
  • Choice of Intel or Arm-based processors

The bad

  • Keyboard cover is not included in the box
  • Lap-comfort issues with kickstand and keyboard cover
  • Arm version suffers from some sluggish performance

Best for Android users: Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with Keyboard Cover
Enlarge / Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with Keyboard Cover
Chuong Nguyen

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series

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Samsung’s premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a tablet that does it all, with a spacious 14.6-inch display. And though portability is hindered with such a large screen—don’t be fooled, however, as the Tab S8 Ultra still manages to pack in plenty of features into a slim 5.5 mm form factor—productivity is elevated with a vivid AMOLED display for content consumption, a bundled digital S-Pen stylus for creativity tasks, and Samsung’s One U.I. multitasking software to juggle multiple apps at the same time.

Like the iPad, Samsung’s support for the Android operating system makes the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra a touch-first computing device. And similar to its Apple competitor, you can add Samsung’s Book Cover Keyboard case for productivity. The case includes a trackpad, a kickstand cover for the tablet, and a backlit keyboard, which comes in handy to write notes, compose emails, and enter passwords as a laptop alternative. Where the Galaxy Tab excels is multitasking, and Samsung’s approach to juggling multiple windows simultaneously with its DeX interface combines the best of the iPad and Surface Pro in one slim device.

Like the iPad, you get access to a robust library of mobile, tablet-first apps, but like the Surface Pro, you run multiple resizeable windows simultaneously. In standard Android mode, the tablet can snap together multiple windows on its screen, running them smoothly side by side. This makes the Galaxy Tab S8 one of the closest desktop replacements for a consumer slate that doesn’t run Windows.

For productivity and content consumption, Samsung’s large screen has its advantages, but there are some disadvantages if you prefer to use your device handheld as a tablet. With a wider aspect ratio in landscape mode that allows the tablet to feel like a laptop, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is horrible ergonomically in portrait orientation with a longer, top-heavy screen. This is really a shame, as the bundled pressure-sensitive S-Pen is a joy for drawing, doodling, and note-taking. And even though some users complained about the notch in the display to accommodate the front-facing camera due to the Tab S8 Ultra’s slim bezels, we got used to the peculiar design and weren’t too bothered by it in daily use for video calls; just don’t try to use this unwieldy tablet as a replacement for a camera or smartphone. If you need to use the slate in portrait orientation as a tablet, we’d recommend the standard Galaxy Tab S8 or Galaxy Tab S8+ instead.

The large footprint of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra allowed Samsung to squeeze in an impressive 11,200mAh battery, which can give the Tab S8 Ultra a range from 8 to 13 hours.

Most users who adopt the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will find the tablet’s prosumer features appealing. The tablet can serve as a Wacom replacement for digital artists who want to doodle or draw on the large screen. And while Samsung’s One U.I. software can be polarizing—the company’s first-party apps confusingly overlap with native Google offerings—we appreciated that the software was able to truly take advantage of the slate’s hardware and deliver an unrivaled multitasking experience on a mobile device.

If the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is too pricey for your budget, Amazon has recently entered the productivity slate space with its Fire Max 11. Amazon’s tablet ships with an 11-inch screen. Like the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, can be configured with an optional keyboard case with kickstand and pen; the Fire Max 11‘s productivity bundle comes in at a little more than half the cost of Samsung’s 11-inch Galaxy Tab S8 without the keyboard cover for comparison. And while both slates run Android, Amazon uses a forked version of Google’s OS. The retailer also replaced Google’s Play Store with its app store. Unlike Samsung, there’s no DeX equivalent on the Fire Max 11 for those who prefer a desktop-like UI with resizable windows.

The good

  • Samsung DeX multitasking mode combines the best of Android and Windows multitasking in a consumer tablet
  • Large, vibrant display for entertainment and work
  • Access to a large catalog of touch-first Android apps
  • Pen is included and can magnetically charge on the tablet

The bad

  • Doesn’t run pure Android; comes with Samsung’s One U.I. overlay.
  • Keyboard folio case is optional and adds to the cost of the tablet
  • Tablet use is awkward with screen aspect ratio that’s too long in portrait mode

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1946193




PineTab 2 is another try at a Linux-based tablet, without the 2020 supply crunch

PCB for the PineTab 2 prototype
Enlarge / PCB for the prototype PineTab 2, a successor to a tablet that hit production at the worst possible point in 2020.

Pine64, makers of ARM-based, tinker-friendly gadgets, is making the PineTab 2, a sequel to its Linux-powered tablet that mostly got swallowed up by the pandemic and its dire global manufacturing shortages.

The PineTab 2, as described in Pine64’s “December Update,” is based around the RK3566, made by RockChip. Pine64 based its Quartz64 single-board system on the system-on-a-chip (SoC), and has all but gushed about it across several blog posts. It’s “a dream-of-a-SoC,” writes Community Director Lukasz Erecinski, a “modern mid-range quad-core Cortex-A55 processor that integrates a Mali-G52 MP2 GPU. And it should be ideal for space-constrained devices: it runs cool, has a variety of I/O options, solid price-to-performance ratio, and “is genuinely future-proof.” While Linux support was scarce early on, development for RK3566 is “booming,” and it’s now a prime candidate for mobile operating systems, Erecinski writes.

Inside a PineTab 2 prototype, with a battery and connectors that are far from hidden for a potential replacement.
Enlarge / Inside a PineTab 2 prototype, with a battery and connectors that are far from hidden for a potential replacement.

The PineTab 2 is a complete redesign, Erecinski claims. It has a metal chassis that “is very sturdy while also being easy to disassemble for upgrades, maintenance, and repair.” The tablet comes apart with snap-in tabs, and Pine64 will offer replacement parts. The insides are modular, too, with the eMMC storage, camera, daughter-board, battery, and keyboard connector all removable “in under 5 minutes.” The 10.1-inch IPS display, with “modern and reasonably thin bezels,” should also be replaceable, albeit with more work.

[embedded content]
Pine64’s video for their December update—details about the PineTab 2 start at 7:11.

On that easily opened chassis are two USB-C ports, one for USB 3.0 I/O and one for charging (or USB 2.0 if you want). There’s a dedicated micro-HDMI port, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera and rear-facing 5-megapixel (not the kind of all-in-one media production machine Apple advertises, this tablet), a microSD slot, and a headphone jack. While a PCIe system is exposed inside the PineTab, most NVMe SSDs will not fit, according to Pine64. All of this is subject to change before final production, however.

As with the original PineTab, this model comes with a detachable, backlit keyboard cover, included by default. That makes supporting a desktop OS for the device far more viable, Erecinski writes. The firmware chipset is the same as in the PineBook Pro, which should help with that. No default OS has been decided as of yet, according to Pine64.

The tablet should ship with two memory/storage variants, 4GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB. It’s due to ship “sometime after the Chinese New Year” (January 22 to February 5), though there’s no firm date. No price was announced, but “it will be affordable regardless of which version you’ll settle on.”

The original PineTab eventually shipped, but Erecinski describes it as “a victim of COVID and its fallout,” and its “death” as a choice to focus on the PinePhone. Pine64 later iterated on the phone to deliver the PinePhone Pro. As with the PineBook and PinePhone, context is key: This is a device meant for tinkering, experimenting, or using as a truly low-power spare/alternate device, not a daily driver or workhorse for most people. Those who know themselves enough to order, however, should keep an eye out early next year.

Listing image by Pine64

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1905146




Facing quality and pacing issues, Apple reportedly delays iPadOS 16

Widgets on iPadOS 15's home screen.
Enlarge / Widgets on iPadOS 15’s home screen.
Samuel Axon

Apple will delay the release of the iPadOS 16 software update for iPads well into October, about a month after the September release of the iPhone’s iOS 16. The news comes from a report in Bloomberg citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Typically, Apple releases iPadOS—which is closely related to iOS—very close to or shortly after the iOS launch, which comes in September alongside new flagship iPhone models. It’s arrived slightly later in the past, but this would be an unusually large gap in releases.

According to the report’s sources, the delay can be blamed at least partly on the upcoming overhaul of the iPad’s multitasking features, including the new Stage Manager feature that is also coming to Macs in macOS. Those features were announced at Apple’s developer conference in June.

The iPadOS beta period this year has been relatively rocky, with later release times and some public criticism from developers. One of the criticisms is that Stage Manager is unavailable on all but the newest iPad models, but bugs and ease of use have also been subjects of debate.

In addition to giving Apple more time to iron out the kinks or make bigger changes, the change in release date will allow the company to focus more efforts in the immediate future on the iPhone’s software—the beta period for which has also been running behind schedule.

Bloomberg also says that an October release date for iPadOS 16 would see the software update going out around the same time that Apple introduces new iPad hardware that will make use of it—specifically, an iPad Pro with an M2 chip and a cheaper entry-level iPad that replaces the proprietary Lightning port with the industry-standard USB—something that has already happened to the rest of the iPad lineup.

It could additionally see Stage Manager arriving at roughly similar times across both Mac and iPad systems, instead of the iPad first, since macOS updates typically come in October instead of September.

The delay could also cause headaches for third-party app developers and their users, especially those working on universal apps. For example, iPadOS 16’s delay could lead to delays in some features for iPhone apps using iOS 16 features, depending on how developers went about implementing them in their efforts to support both platforms.

The report notes that, as always, Apple’s plans could change as this fall’s product and software launches draw nearer.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1871362




2022 iPad Air review: M1, other tablets 0

The 2022 iPad Air.
Enlarge / The 2022 iPad Air.
Samuel Axon

Apple’s latest iPad refresh is minor on the surface, but there’s a big step forward inside.

The new iPad Air refresh is mainly about two things: the M1 chip and 5G. Apart from those changes, the new tablet is very similar to its 2020 predecessor.

Those two things are probably not enough to make upgrading from the 2020 model worth it, but thanks to the M1, the 2022 iPad Air is a slam dunk if you have an older iPad or another tablet and you’re ready for a step up.

Specs

Let’s start with what hasn’t changed since the last model.

What hasn’t changed

Starting at $599, the iPad Air comes in 64GB and 256GB (for $150 more) storage configurations, and it features a 10.9-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2,360×1,640 pixels. It’s a great screen, though it can’t achieve the kind of contrasts or deep blacks you get from the OLED or Mini LED screens seen in other devices, like the largest iPad Pro. The refresh rate of the iPad Air still sits at 60 Hz.

The dimensions are almost exactly the same as the 2020 model, too, at 9.74×7×0.24 inches, or 247.6×178.5×6.1 mm. It weighs 1.02 lbs, or 462 g in the case of the cellular model. The Wi-Fi model is imperceptibly lighter at 461 g.

The tablet features a Touch ID fingerprint reader embedded in the top on/off button and stereo speakers in landscape mode, along with two microphones. Apple claims it gets up to 10 hours of battery life when surfing the web over Wi-Fi or during video playback.

The rear-facing camera on the 2022 iPad Air.
Enlarge / The rear-facing camera on the 2022 iPad Air.
Samuel Axon

There’s a rear-facing 12 MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, and the tablet can record 4K video at up to 60 frames per second.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the non-cellular model supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

What’s new

This is where we get to the first major difference compared to last time: the 2022 iPad Air’s cellular model offers 5G connectivity. Whether this is appealing depends on where you live, of course. If you live in the heart of a major city, you’ll likely see faster download speeds and lower latency in many places. If you don’t, the benefits could be negligible.

Like the iPad Pro and the last iPad Air, the 2022 iPad Air has a single USB-C port instead of the Lightning port that was seen in prior iPads. This time, though, it offers twice the data-transfer speeds of 2020 iPad Air’s USB-C port. That won’t matter to most users since wired file transfers are not a common use case for this kind of device, but if it matters to you, it’s there.

USB-C returns from the previous iPad Air, as does the keyboard connector.
Enlarge / USB-C returns from the previous iPad Air, as does the keyboard connector.
Samuel Axon

We talked about the rear camera, which hasn’t changed, but the front camera has. The iPad Air features a new 12 MP (up from 7 MP) ultra-wide front-facing camera that now supports Center Stage, a feature that tracks you as you move around the frame.

Center Stage is a nice feature on tablets mainly because it addresses some of the awkwardness of the side-aligned camera when the tablet is in landscape orientation. It works well much of the time, although it can occasionally get slightly confused or move in a distracting way beyond your control. Most of the time, though, it does exactly what it’s meant to do. It’s not enough on its own to justify an upgrade over another iPad, but it’s a nice addition.

Lastly, the iPad Air includes Apple’s M1 chip, which was previously seen in the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac, and Mac mini. Here, it has an eight-core CPU (four performance, four efficiency), an eight-core GPU, and an eight-core NPU.

We’ll talk about benchmarks in a bit, but here’s a spoiler: it performs almost exactly the same as this very chip did in the iPad Pro, so there aren’t any compromises here. Also, Apple has doubled the RAM from 4GB to 8GB.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1841361




iPad (2020) micro-review: Battle-tested and more than fast enough

Last month, Apple revealed and launched the 8th-generation iPad. You might have forgotten; it was overshadowed by a radically redesigned iPad Air, two new Apple Watches, and other announcements from the company. But nonetheless, this is likely to be one of the most popular iPads, if not the most popular in Apple’s lineup because of one thing: price.

At $329 with 32GB of storage and $429 with 128GB, it’s going to be ubiquitous in environments where cutting-edge features aren’t called for, like point-of-sale, industrial use, and in schools. But it’s also going to be a content consumption device for a wide array of consumers.

All that said, there’s very little different about this year’s iPad compared to the last. In fact, it all comes down to performance. So we’re going to go over just that today, along with a few quick notes on how it compares to the previous model.

Impressions

Specs at a glance: 2020 Apple iPad
Screen 2160×1620 10.2-inch (264PPI) pressure-sensitive touchscreen for the mini
OS iOS 13.1
CPU Apple A12
RAM 3GB
GPU Apple A12
Storage 32GB or 128GB
Networking 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 (LTE optional add-on)
Ports Lightning, 3.5mm headphone jack
Camera 8MP rear camera,1.2MP front camera
Size 9.8″×6.8”×0.29″ (250.6×174.1×7.5mm)
Weight 1.08 pounds (490g) for WiFi model; 1.09 pounds (495g) for cellular
Battery 32.4-watt-hour
Starting price $329
Other perks Apple Pencil support, Smart Keyboard support

So why is this a “micro-review?” Well, because there’s not much to review. In almost every way except the silicon inside, this is last year’s iPad. It has the same dimensions, is made out of the same materials, and has the same rear camera and screen. (The front-facing camera has ƒ/2.4 aperture, while last year’s was ƒ/2.2, according to Apple’s specs pages.)

The same downsides that I talked about last year are largely still present. There are still only two storage options: 32GB and 128GB, neither of which are enough for people downloading lots of high-quality videos and games for a long trip. The bezels are still quite large by modern standards.

The Apple Pencil is a little less nice to use on this display than on the higher-end iPads, and further, it only supports the first-generation Pencil. The cameras are still mediocre, and the speakers only deliver stereo audio when held in portrait orientation—the way you’re least likely to be using when watching a video for which stereo audio would be worthwhile, naturally.

On the other hand, one of my biggest criticisms of 2019’s iPad was performance on the A10—not that it was too slow for current use cases, necessarily, but it didn’t instill confidence in the longevity of the device. The A12 is much faster than the A10, by contrast, and unlike the A10, it has all the major components necessary to drive Apple’s current slate of big iOS features.

It’s also likely a good investment in terms of long-term support; Apple indicated to app-makers that the A12 would be an important baseline for a while to come at its developer conference this year.

But for me at least, there’s almost something comfortable about this now-older iPad design. The iPad Pro and the new Air are notably different in design and style than this unit, which follows more directly in the footsteps of all the iPads that came before it. No, it won’t turn any heads, but it’s familiar, and as a tablet, it’s far better than anything else in its price range.

The big sacrifice you’re making by going with this iPad instead of the Pro or the new Air is that it supports neither Apple’s trackpad-equipped Magic Keyboard nor its second-generation Pencil. All the other differences are nice-to-haves but not critical.

But this device is positioned as a budget option, and the tablet on its own only costs a little bit more than a Magic Keyboard. I point that out so as to say that it’s unlikely those pricy peripherals you’re missing out on would have been on the table even if this iPad did support them—this is a tablet, not a productivity machine, and it’s about budget, not expensive attachments. As far as its use cases, it is an old-school iPad, through and through.

There’s nothing at all wrong with that. If someone came to me asking what tablet to buy and they told me they’re not looking to use it like a laptop for heavy-duty work, I would have no reservations about recommending it over the competition. That’s partly because of the performance.

Performance

We ran our usual suite of synthetic benchmarks on this iPad, expecting it to perform in line with previously released A12 devices. As you can see below, that’s generally the case.

That’s a big jump in performance over last year’s model—which had the now-four-years-old A10—and it’s mostly in line with last year’s iPad Air, which had the same chip as this unit. (That also means this iPad should generally provide performance comparable to that of the 2019 iPad mini and 2018’s iPhone XS and XR.) In terms of CPU tasks, it’s plenty fast enough for anything you’d use it for.

Graphics, though, are more of a mixed bag—especially compared to the vastly more expensive iPad Pro. This isn’t an ideal tablet for demanding 3D gaming, but it should be fine for other kinds of games, and it’s more than adequate for any kind of video you want to watch.

Verdict

The 2020 iPad is more of the same, and few will complain about that. It combines an older-iPad-Air-like chassis with the A12, a two-year-old chip that Apple has identified as the baseline for its most cutting-edge apps, features, and content.

While the design looks a little dated now, it’s good enough for the price—and it doesn’t hurt that you can use the trackpad-less Smart Keyboard with it, as well as the first-generation Apple Pencil.

That said, there are some big sacrifices compared to the higher-end tablets Apple sells: there’s no edge-to-edge screen, the screen’s design makes the Pencil less fun to use, the speaker system doesn’t work in both orientations, it doesn’t support the Magic Keyboard, and graphics performance is just OK compared to many other Apple gadgets.

This is the ideal iPad for kids and most commercial uses including point-of-sale—but it also delivers all the basics for those who just want a good tablet for content-consumption but aren’t planning to use it as a daily driver for productivity.

Oh, and it still has a headphone jack—which is a good thing for a budget device, since it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect entry-level buyers to spring for pricy wireless headphones. (Tell that to the iPhone SE team too, please.)

Sometimes, the tried remains true.

The good

  • Affordable pricing for a tablet of this quality
  • Very strong performance for this price
  • A12 ensures some degree of longevity of support
  • Still has a headphone jack
  • Smart Keyboard and first-generation Pencil support

The bad

  • The screen is not as good as that on the Pro—or likely the new Air—for Pencil use, among other things
  • Limited storage options
  • Speakers only deliver stereo audio in portrait mode
  • Older design with large-ish bezels

The ugly

  • No support for Magic Keyboard or the second-generation Apple Pencil

Listing image by Samuel Axon

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1710364




It’s modular, it’s cheap, it runs Windows—it’s the $300 Kano tablet PC

Last June, educational software and hardware vendor Kano announced an ambitious new project: a build-your-own computer kit based on x86 hardware and Windows 10. This replaces similar products Kano has offered for years, based on the Raspberry Pi. The finished product, designed in partnership with Microsoft, launched launched today.

The Kano PC, retailing for $299, is an 11.6-inch touchscreen two-in-one design, usable as either tablet or laptop—although it’s a Windows system, it most strongly resembles an extremely chunky Android tablet in a folding case with a built-in keyboard. The case includes a built-in stand to prop the screen up at a landscape viewing angle, as well as the integrated keyboard and touchpad.

The Kano PC ships with Windows 10 Home in S Mode and is powered by an Intel Celeron N4000 CPU, 4GB of DDR3L RAM, and 64GB eMMC storage. It also has a microSD card slot for adding storage later. Wi-Fi connectivity is included, but it’s not stellar—the specs describe it as dual-band b/g/n, with Bluetooth 5.0. Resolution on the touchscreen is 1366×768, and video can be pushed to an external display via an HDMI port. The system also offers two USB 3.0 ports, one USB-C port, and three audio jacks (two out, one in).

Kid-friendly

The Kano PC is cheerfully and unashamedly targeted to kids, with bright colors and plastic everywhere. But the best part about the system is likely to be its modular design—the reason it’s so chunky is that the major components snap together somewhat like Legos and can be individually replaced (and, eventually, upgraded).

The back of Kano PC’s case is transparent, so kids can see what’s inside even after it’s assembled, and it should be pretty rugged. Kano says the screen “withstands a steel ball dropped from six feet”—although it doesn’t specify how large that steel ball is.

Kano hopes that the device will compete with Chromebooks to become the primary device for students in classrooms, rather than being relegated to a single oddball device in the corner. Running a full Windows operating system—even if in S mode—does offer more flexibility than ChromeOS, but that flexibility is a dual-edged sword. Students may be able to learn more from devices which aren’t as tightly locked down as a Chromebook, but they also have far more opportunity to render them unusable due to malware or misconfiguration.

It’s hard to say what the Kano PC’s real performance will feel like until we get our hands on one to test—and, yes, we’ve retail-ordered one to review here soon. Kano provided Novabench with results that position the Kano PC well north of a $350 Acer Spin 11—which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since the Spin 11 uses a Celeron N3350 instead of the Kano’s N4000.

Although we aren’t particularly familiar with Novabench, it’s reassuring to see that the Kano PC’s specified CPU score of 225 is slightly higher than the N4000’s average CPU score of 212. This is a strong indicator that we won’t be seeing any EVOO-style underclocking shenanigans keeping the little Celeron from performing to its full potential.

The Kano PC is available today through the company’s store, Best Buy, and the Microsoft Store, with in-store stock expected in Best Buy locations across the United States and Canada soon.

Listing image by Kano

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1691682




iPad Pro teardown basically finds 2018’s iPad Pro with a lidar sensor

As expected, iFixit has published a teardown of the 12.9-inch, 2020 iPad Pro, assessing both what’s new in the device compared to 2018 and how straightforward the device is to open up and repair. It turns out not too much has changed (which we already knew), and the Pro remains quite difficult to service.

In the video (sorry, no blog post this time, it seems), we see the various steps required to replace interior components like the screen or USB-C port that might have failed. Just about every step involves “lots of adhesive” and “precarious prying.” In fact, it’s a conundrum from the very first step, as opening up the casing will leave you trying to figure out how to detach two cables that Apple clearly didn’t intend users to be futzing with.

Unsurprisingly, iFixit gave the 2020 iPad Pro a 3 out of 10 for repairability—the same as it gave the 2018 model. That’s because for these intents and purposes, this is the same tablet as was introduced in 2018.

[embedded content]
iFixit’s iPad Pro teardown.

iFixit found largely the same components before, including a seemingly identical battery. The important new components are, as noted in our review, 6GB of RAM in all configurations, the new lidar sensor, and (sort of) the A12Z. We say “sort of” about the chip because it appears it’s just a slightly tweaked A12X, which fits our experience when we reviewed the device. Interestingly, iFixit found that the lidar sensor projects far fewer points in a space than Face ID does, but that makes sense given that it’s meant for room-scale measurement rather than analyzing the details of someone’s face.

As we wrote in that review, the lidar sensor is fascinating in part because it might tell us something about what Apple’s priorities are and where it is headed as a company. And if you use AR apps regularly, it’s going to make a big difference in making those experiences more pleasant. That said, though, it won’t matter to most users. If you have a 2018 iPad Pro already, there’s not much reason to upgrade unless you are an AR developer or the like. But nevertheless, it’s still the fastest and generally most useful tablet out there—even if most people don’t need its pricy “Pro” features.

Listing image by iFixit

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1664299




iPadOS review: The iPad is dead, long live the iPad

iPadOS.
Enlarge / iPadOS.

When we reviewed the 2018 iPad Pro, we were impressed by the power and potential of the hardware, but iOS 12 wasn’t up to the task of making the iPad a true content creation machine or a daily workhorse. We said it was time for Apple to branch out from iOS 13 with an iPad-specific operating system.

Just one year later, that’s exactly what Apple has done with iPadOS, which launched for modern iPads a few days after iOS 13 hit the iPhone and iPod touch. While iPadOS does not actually signify that big of a change under the hood, its new nomenclature is a statement of intent by Apple. This release takes strides toward making the machine more useful for power users who want to do more than just browse the Web, play games, watch videos, and write an email or two.

So as we’ve tinkered with iPadOS recently and analyzed the changes Apple made, we revisited the question we answered with a negative last year: is the iPad ready to replace your laptop?

One quick editor’s note beforehand: know this isn’t a full or standalone review—rather, it’s an addendum to our previously published iOS 13 review. Many of the interesting features of iPadOS are also iOS 13 features. So in most cases, if we discussed something particular in iOS 13, we either omit it here or link back to that review. The focus here is on iPad-specific features that aren’t part of the iOS 13 package for iPhone.

And to experience those, it helps to have one of the iPads that is compatible with iPadOS, which launched at version 13.1.

Table of Contents

Compatibility

As with iOS 13 on iPhones, Apple has ended support for all devices that have less than 2GB of RAM. After iOS 12 continued to support all devices that iOS 11 supported, iOS 13/iPadOS 13 represents a somewhat significant cut, which notably includes the popular first run of the iPad Air.

Supported iPad models in iPadOS 13 include:

  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro
  • 11-inch iPad Pro
  • 10.5-inch iPad Pro
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro
  • iPad (5th generation)
  • iPad (6th generation)
  • iPad (7th generation)
  • iPad mini (5th generation)
  • iPad mini 4
  • iPad Air (3rd generation)
  • iPad Air 2

Whereas Apple has sometimes in the past continued to support older iPads while simply limiting certain advanced features only to newer iPads, in this case all software features of iPadOS 13 work on all supported hardware models.

Devices used for this review

This review was written based on two weeks using the iPadOS public 13.1 and 13.1.2 releases. We used iPadOS on two iPad models, both quite recent: the 2019 iPad Air and the 2019 iPad. We also published a separate article focused on performance testing on the iPad Air 2 from 2014—the oldest iPad supported by iPadOS.

Why Apple branched out from iOS

Before digging deep on individual changes and features, let’s first take a bird’s-eye view at iPadOS—why did Apple do this? Why isn’t this iOS 13? What does this change mean, and is it actually that different?

To be clear, not much has changed under the hood in the transition from iOS 13 to iPadOS. You could argue that this is “just a branding change.” Or, maybe more accurately, you could describe this as a branding change that reflects changes that started a while ago when the iPad began getting major multitasking features that were unique to the tablet. Apple is formalizing what we already knew: the iPad serves different use cases than the iPhone, therefore it needs a different design philosophy.

iPadOS works from an assumption that while iPhone users are often using the iPhone in brief spurts while doing other things in the real world, iPad users are more focused on the screen in front of them. iPad users are capable of and want to perform more complex tasks.

The new OS takes that assumption and also the greatly increased screen real estate of the tablet to introduce more sophisticated ways of running multiple applications at the same time. In iPadOS, Apple has given users the ability to organize those applications in customizable ways. A lot of this, perhaps unsurprisingly, draws design inspiration from macOS.

Apple is communicating its intentions with this branding—not just for this year’s update, but for upcoming years’ releases as well.

There’s still work to be done, though. iPadOS is not a radical remaking of the iPad user experience. It is in most cases simply another iterative step forward for Apple’s existing ideas about how to make the iPad more powerful as a workhorse.

While Android tablets have largely stalled, Apple faces a great deal of competition from Chromebooks and Microsoft’s Surface devices. Both represent two very different philosophies, and both have arguably been more powerful as multitasking workstations.

Whether “iPadOS” is just a name, this year’s operating system update brings iPads closer to parity with those two platforms that have their roots in the desktop.

Apple’s strategy for this hinges on changes to the home screen, long-press context menus both within and outside of apps, a much more robust file management system and Files app, showing desktop websites by default in Safari, and new keyboard shortcuts. But multitasking heralds the most significant changes.

Multitasking

While the iPhone does (and should) have multitasking functionality, the situations in which you’d need it are different.

On an iPhone, you just need to move between apps or share information between them, and it just needs to be quick and easy, because you might be walking down the street while talking to someone and trying to catch a train. The iPhone augments your moment-to-moment activities without expecting your full, continuous focus, and that has implications for the optimal user experience.

As stated before, Apple sees the iPad as a device that you focus your attention on for more prolonged periods of time—or at least, it’s more often going to be that. Multitasking on an iPad needs to be much more robust. You’re not just thinking about individual quick actions of multitasking; you’re thinking about users who are actively using three or four or more apps at a time and constantly working between them over a longer period of time.

In iOS 9, Apple started down this road with Split View, Picture in Picture, and Slide Over. The company has iterated on that initial push since, and iOS 13 marks a particularly aggressive reworking of how those and other aspects of multitasking work.

Apple has built upon previously existing concepts about spaces and app windows, and the biggest development is arguably the ability to open multiple windows from the same app, across multiple spaces, in various configurations.

A rethink of app windows

The crux of much of what Apple has done with multitasking in iPadOS is centered around the management of windows. These windows then live in spaces, either alone in fullscreen or next to other windows via the existing Slide Over or Split View.

It’s important to clarify that there is still no desktop as there is on a Mac, though. You can’t freely resize and stack as many windows as you want.

You can have up to three windows in view at once, however: two in Split View and one in either Slide Over or Picture-in-Picture. You could even have three windows from the same app in view at once by this method. There’s not enough screen real estate to make that practical in most cases, however, so you’ll often stick to two windows. But the two-window views work nicely, just as they did in the previous version of iOS. And the fact that you can hide and re-surface Slide Over windows makes a sort of half-measure to three windows possible.

That was possible before, though. What’s new in iPadOS is the ability to open multiple windows from the same app. There are also some big changes to the way the app switcher displays information about open windows, and a new feature called app Exposé.

Opening a new window

There are several ways to open additional instances of an app in a new window, which can either open full screen or share a space with another application—again, even with another window from the same application.

You can pull up the dock with a swipe gesture and drag an icon from the dock to create a new window, and this works whether it’s an already-open app or an unopened app. In many apps, dragging an item like a link in Safari, an email in Mail, a single note in Notes, or whatever else you might expect to one of the standardized create-a-new-window locations will create another window from that. And in some cases, you can drag notifications to turn them into windows, or you can open windows through context menus on certain UI elements and icons.

You can drag these icons or content items to the left or right edge of the screen to place the window, and iPadOS will create it in Split View with the currently open app. Alternatively, you can drag content to some areas in the middle of the screen to put it in Slide Over, or to the top edge of the screen to create a new space with that app window in fullscreen mode.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell whether what you’re dragging can turn into a window unless you do it. In practice, you might sometimes be surprised by exactly what you get when this feature does work.

I criticized this issue across iOS 13 as well: far too often with both iOS 13 and this release of iPadOS, you just have to take shots in the dark to learn what’s possible and what’s not. It’s a UX problem that Apple is going to have to address as soon as possible if it wants to keep claiming that the iPad is as easy to use (or easier to use) as a laptop running Windows or macOS.

Part of the potential confusion stems from the fact that there seem to be two kinds of windows: full-function windows that are complete instances of an app, and then more focused windows that are oriented around a specific task or view (like a draft of a single email).

In these focused windows, you can’t do anything but the task the app developer had in mind for you when you opened the window. This can cause some frustration, because you can’t really tell when a new window is going to do the task-specialized window or when it’s going to open a new instance of the full-fledged app until you try it.

But that frustration aside, you can do some crazy useful stuff with all this. You can make one piece of content—say, a PDF file view—persistent across all your spaces, all from the same app. You can have a different space for every one of your currently relevant emails. You can have one Note open in one half of your screen while you browse all your notes in another window right next to it in Split View. This option really opens up some possibilities.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1582717




Microsoft announces dual-screen Surface Neo PC, coming holiday 2020

Today at an event in New York, Microsoft announced a bunch of new Surface devices, including a new dual-screen PC—but you won’t get your hands on it until next year. The new Microsoft Surface Neo is a PC made of two 9-inch screens held together by a “360-degree” hinge and running a new version of Windows 10, dubbed Windows 10X.

What appeared to be a prototype was shown on stage today; the finished product won’t be available until “next holiday.” Microsoft didn’t give away too many details about the device, but you can get the gist by reading the few specs listed above. Two 9-inch displays open up like a book thanks to the hinge that holds them together.

Microsoft’s Panos Panay boasted the hinge’s design, which includes micro-gears, a torque system, and components thinner than strands of hair. It essentially makes the device a tiny two-in-one, flexing into laptop, tablet, and other use modes. The device is 5.6mm thick and weighs just 655 grams. In many ways, it looks similar to Lenovo’s Yoga Book, but with two LCD panels instead of a hybrid LCD and E-Ink pairing.

A Bluetooth keyboard magnetically attaches to the Neo, either on top of one of the screens or separated entirely. The keyboard doesn’t fully cover the screen when it’s sitting on top of it, so the exposed display space can still be used. Microsoft called this space the “wonder bar,” and it changes depending on where the keyboard is placed. If the keyboard sits on the bottom edge of the display (closer to the user), the rest of the display shows apps, quick-access tools, and more. When the keyboard sits along the top edge, the display turns in part into a trackpad. The Neo also supports inking and can be used with Microsoft’s new Surface Pen.

The Surface Neo runs Windows 10X, an operating system Microsoft designed specifically for dual-screen devices. The brief on-stage demo shows that it looks like a hybrid of standard desktop- and tablet-Windows 10 with added controls and automations for dual-screen use. One side of the Neo showed a menu screen with recently used apps and programs, and tapping on one opened the app on the opposite screen. Users can choose to run two apps at once, one on either screen, or “span” the app across both screens.

Inside the Surface Neo is a new Intel chipset, called Lakefield, that Microsoft describes as a hybrid CPU with an 11th-gen graphics engine specifically designed for dual-screen devices. Intel designed this chipset with a reduced silicone footprint, which is one of the reasons the Neo is so thin.

But those are all the details we got about the internals of the Neo (and for the Neo overall), and we likely won’t learn more until closer to its launch date. Microsoft says the Surface Neo will be available for the 2020 holiday season.

Listing image by Microsoft

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1578425




Apple iPad 2019 hands-on: A 6th-generation iPad in a 2019 iPad Air’s body

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple’s iPad lineup has been in considerable flux of late. Just in the past year, Apple totally overhauled both iPad Pro sizes, introduced a new iPad Air based on the chassis of the prior iPad Pro, and relaunched the iPad mini (albeit without much in the way of modern hardware to recommend it).

Today, the company’s representatives took the stage to announce new iPhones, but they also revealed a major update to the entry-level iPad.

The biggest news here is that the screen is bigger, at 10.2 inches. That’s thanks to a significant bezel reduction, among other tweaks. The other major change is the addition of Smart Keyboard support, using the same Smart Keyboard connector as the 2019 iPad Air. Of course, since this iPad starts at $329 and the Smart Keyboard costs $159, you’re looking at spending almost half the cost of your tablet just to get a keyboard for it.

I tried the keyboard and, well, it’s identical to the one people are using with the iPad Air right now. So there’s not much new to say. It’s good for a tablet keyboard, but it won’t hold a candle to a good desktop or laptop keyboard.

The new iPad feels almost exactly the same in your hands as the 2019 iPad Air; it’s only slightly different in a couple of minor ways. This iPad has a 10.2-inch display, whereas the iPad Air comes in at 10.5 inches; the difference is the bezels. There are the same number of pixels-per-inch as you see in the iPad Air display; it’s just a little less display.

The iPad Air is slightly thinner—just 0.05 inches less. Perhaps most importantly, the Air has an A12 chip, whereas this iPad has the A10 from a couple of years ago. There’s a dramatic performance difference between those two CPUs/GPUs, especially for augmented reality applications and games. But the A10 is still fast enough for most light browsing and content-consumption activities.

It’s the same chip as was in last year’s entry-level iPad, though, so don’t expect improved performance if you do a one-year upgrade here. And it still just supports the first-generation Apple Pencil.

If you look at Apple’s website promoting the seventh-generation iPad, you’ll find that most of the pitch is about iPadOS, a new tablet-specific branch of Apple’s iOS mobile operating system due at the end of this month. It changes the home screen, adds a bunch of new multitasking features, attempts to make working with text less nightmarish, and more. We’ll review that later this year, and we wrote about it when it was first unveiled this summer.

But the very, very short version is that it’s more powerful and useful for sure. But the device is still not going to replace a laptop for anyone looking to get serious work done.

The new iPad comes in 32GB and 128GB variants and ships starting September 30. You can pre-order it now, and it starts at $329 for most people or $299 for education customers.

Listing image by Samuel Axon

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1566945