Apple’s iPad is just about the default tablet. It set the example for what a tablet ought to be, and many devices have tried to follow in its footsteps to varying success. Now, Apple has grown the iPad lineup to be quite an extensive range with big and small, super-charged and surprisingly modest devices all making up part of Apple offerings. With so many devices to choose from, and often multiple generations of the same model to weigh against one another, it gets hard to choose.
TL;DR – These are the best Apple iPad models to buy:
We’ve tested a handful of Apple’s tablets over the years and have a sense of what sets each apart, and there’s quite a bit. You can get advanced displays and powerful M-series chipsets in Apple’s latest iPad Pro models. For portability, Apple has packed quite a lot into its iPad Mini, enough to make it practically a larger iPhone at a price that’s surprisingly lower than its phone counterparts. And when your needs are simple, Apple’s base iPads still provide impressive performance and heaps of value.
Of course, Apple’s not the only tablet maker on the market, and if you’re not locked into Apple’s ecosystem, you may want to look at some alternatives which may be able to give you some quality upgrades for a better price.
Additional contributions by Mark Knapp
1. Apple iPad (10th Gen)
Best Overall
Product Specifications
Screen size
10.9-inch, 2360 x 1640 Liquid Retina display
Processor
Apple A14 Bionic chip 6-core CPU + 4-core GPU
Storage
64GB
Cameras
12MP (rear), 12MP (front)
PROS
Varied colorways
Better display than 9th-gen
CONS
Still using the A14 Bionic, rather than the M1
Apple does a great job making its base-level iPad an exceptional option for most users, and that’s what makes the 10th Gen iPad such an ideal pick for just about anyone shopping for an iPad. For one, its price is much more approachable than most other iPad options, like the Pro models that can see their prices rise up over $1000.
The 10th Gen iPad may not get the most advanced display, but you’re still getting a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display. With 2360 x 1640 resolution across that panel, you’ll be getting visuals that are plenty sharp. It may not get the 120Hz refresh rate of higher-tier models, but higher refresh rates are something you really won’t know you’re missing until you see it. You can also use the first generation Apple Pencil with this iPad model, so you’ve still got options for creative outlets
The 10th Gen model got a refreshed design from the prior version, which sees it shave a bit of thickness and a few grams of weight. Plus updates the bezels for a more modern looks with even borders all around the display. Perhaps a bigger shift is the front-facing camera placement, which goes to the top in landscape (as opposed to portrait) orientation. Combined with Center Stage, the camera effectively tracks you during calls, so you can wander around a bit more while staying framed in video calls and recordings.
Under the hood, the 10th Gen iPad also comes packing an A14 Bionic chip with 4GB of memory. It’s a small but still important upgrade over the 9th Gen model for those who want more performance and longevity out of their hardware. The tablet also charges over USB-C rather than the dated Lightning connector. With USB-C gaining dominance for devices going forward, this provides a bit more future-proofing for the tablet.
2. Apple iPad (9th Gen)
Best Budget iPad
Product Specifications
Screen size
10.2-inch Retina
Processor
A13 Bionic
Storage
64GB, 256GB
Cameras
8-megapixel rear, 12-megapixel front-facing
PROS
The jack-of-all-trades iPad
Reasonable price
CONS
Can lag behind other tablets
Looking for the overall best budget tablet available? Although it was released in 2021, iPad (ninth generation) is our budget pick — thanks to its very solid performance, crisp and clear 10.2-inch Retina (backlit) display, and low starting price of $329. In fact, you can find it for much cheaper because it’s always on sale at Amazon (sometimes it’s as low as $250 during Prime Day or Black Friday).
This iPad is currently running the latest version of iPadOS 16, which optimizes performance and speed — even though its processor is a few years old. While it doesn’t have the same bells and whistles as the iPad Air, iPad Mini, or iPad Pro like a fast processor, thinner bezels, or a more modern design, it’s a budget iPad that gets the same access to the same iPadOS and Apple App Store.
If you’re only planning on using it for consuming media, catching up on the news, playing iOS games, or reading e-books, the iPad (ninth generation) will just get the job done at an affordable price. It also makes for a great iPad for kids since it’s so inexpensive. Just wrap a durable iPad case around it to avoid damage.
Best Premium iPad
Product Specifications
Screen size
11-inch, 12.9-inch
Processor
Apple M4
Storage
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
Cameras
12MP wide camera (rear), Landscape 12MP ultra-wide camera (front)
PROS
Awesome for artists and video editors
FaceID works wonders
An actually decent camera
CONS
You'll need to buy a lot of accessories to make it a true workstation
The iPad Pro has always been a beautiful piece of tech, but Apple took the tried-and-true design and thinned it down, making it the thinnest iPad ever, beating even the iPad Air. But even though the chassis got some thickness cut off from it, Apple stuffed it with the Apple M4 chip, making it more powerful than the most recent MacBook Air. This makes an already-great iPad for creative professionals and makes it even better.
The 7th-generation iPad Pro also introduces a new OLED display, another first for an iPad, and it is absolutely gorgeous. It has quickly become my favorite device to watch any kind of content on, whether that's The Acolyte on Disney+ or, well, the Star Wars: High Republic comics that show is based on. Colors are bright, and contrast nicely with darker elements of any scene, adding vibrancy to pretty much anything displayed on the tablet.
The M4 makes sure the beautiful display is put to good use, too. With the 8-core GPU, the iPad Pro makes easy work of any game run natively on the device, and I could see this becoming the de-facto gaming tablet (at least if you're not counting the best handheld gaming PCs). The processor also makes it excel at the creative workloads the tablet is designed for. With the new Apple Pencil Pro, which you will have to pay extra for, the powerful hardware and gorgeous display combine to make this an excellent choice for artists and photo editors that need a touch screen to get their job done.
If you want this to become your default little workstation, though, you're going to have to fork over a ton of cash to make it happen. For the official model, the Magic Keyboard costs nearly $300 on its own, and the Apple Pencil is going to add an extra $129, too. There are Apple Pencil alternatives, and you can pair it with basically any keyboard, but it's something to be aware of going in.
Read the full review: Apple iPad Pro (7th-Generation)
4. Apple iPad Mini (6th Gen)
Best for Reading and Portability
Product Specifications
Screen size
8.3-inch Liquid Retina
Processor
A15 Bionic
Storage
64GB, 256GB
Cameras
8-megapixel rear, 12-megapixel front-facing
PROS
Easy to carry around
Beautiful display, even for its size
CONS
Easily the worst camera in an iPad
If you want an iPad for reading e-books, comic books, magazines, or web articles, then the iPad Mini (sixth generation) is the one to pick. With the Apple App Store, the mini-tablet can download a wide range of reading apps, such as Apple Books, Amazon Kindle, comiXology, Libby, Scribd, and more. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and compact design make it a handheld option, which makes reading with one hand a joy — especially at just over half a pound in weight.
It’s also a zippy little iPad for other online activities, like watching YouTube or TikTok, while it’s compact enough to carry in a jacket pocket or in a purse. Meanwhile, the iPad Mini — which starts at $499 — is compatible with the Apple Pencil (second generation) for taking notes and sketching.
Apple also recently unveiled the iPad mini with an A17 Pro processor. That new chip brings a boost in performance and support for Apple Intelligence.
5. OnePlus Pad 2
Best iPad Alternative
Product Specifications
Screen size
12.1-inch, IPS, 2120 x 3000
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Storage
128GB
Cameras
13-megapixel rear, 8-megapixel front-facing
PROS
Large, smooth display
Solid performance
CONS
Shorter-term OS support than Apple
Samsung isn’t the only brand making great Android tablets. The OnePlus Pad 2 launched with quite a smash. It may not get much mainstream attention, but it absolutely deserves it. It started at $549 but has since seen discounts to $449, and that’s a solid deal for a tablet doing as much as this.
The OnePlus Pad 2 is like an iPad Pro of the Android tablet market. It features a 12.1-inch display that’s quite something. It’s an IPS panel, but it offers 10-bit color depth, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and a 900-nit peak brightness. It also runs at a buttery 144Hz refresh rate, making it all the smoother while gaming, scrolling web pages, or inking up your artwork with the optional stylus. The tablet supports the OnePlus Stylo 2, which is pressure-sensitive, has haptic feedback, and can charge over a magnetic connection to the tablet. The display is also surrounded by not two, not four, but six speakers for impressive spatial audio.
Inside, the OnePlus Pad 2 is powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip that powered many of 2024’s flagship Android smartphones, and that gives it plenty of juice to run the latest apps and games. With a default of 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, it’s also got plenty of room for big games and multiple apps running at the same time.
In our testing, we also found that the OnePlus Pad 2 had incredible battery life. It has a 9,510mAh battery tucked away inside, and that proved up to the task of providing about 12 hours of heavy use — plenty for even incredible long flights. And when it comes to charge, it supports 80-watt charging, faster than a lot of laptops, to juice back up completely in a little over an hour.
OnePlus doesn’t plan on leaving this tablet behind any time soon either. It launched with Android 14, and the company promised three years of OS updates and four years of security updates.
Read the full review: OnePlus Pad 2
Upcoming iPad Models
If you're on the edge of your seat waiting for a brand-new Apple tablet to salivate over, you're in luck. At Apple's May 7 event, the tech giant launched two new tablets: The iPad Air and iPad Pro. The rest of Apple's iPads were unaffected, but it did lead to a pretty massive price cut for the 10th-generation iPad, down to $329. As for when we're going to see the 11th-gen model, it's anyone's guess, but the 10th-gen model's been out for a while, so we should see it relatively soon. We also got an update to the iPad mini, as the compact tablet now features an A17 Pro processor.
Then, at WWDC 2024, Apple unveiled iPadOS 18, which brought some new quality-of-life improvements, including a floating island in official apps that'll let you more easily navigate without fussing with menus that were made for phones. Plus, Apple unveiled the official calculator app (finally), which you can download right now. This calculator app is more than just a calculator, too: It features a 'Math Notes' feature, which is going to be a godsend for anyone that needs to solve complex math problems for physics or calculus.
At the show, Apple also doubled down on its commitment to bring more games to iPad, with Assassin's Creed Shadows now confirmed for Apple tablets.
Which Apple iPad is Right For Me?
Ever since it was introduced in 2010, the iPad originally served to fill in a digital gap. For some people, that in-between mobile device that’s more portable than a laptop, but more powerful than a smartphone, while for others, it can actually serve as a laptop replacement altogether.
If you’re looking to buy your first iPad, or you’re looking to upgrade from an older model, then we put this useful buyer’s guide on what to look for in an iPad in 2024, below:
Tablet Sizes Explained
Currently, there are six iPad models with five different screen sizes for various uses. The smallest in the family is the iPad Mini with a 8.3-inch Liquid Retina (LCD) display, which is ideal for reading e-books, magazines, comic books, web articles, and more. It’s also very portable, super lightweight at just 10 ounces (or 293 grams), and best for one-handed casual use.
For something bigger, both baseline iPad models, ninth and tenth generations, feature a 10.2-inch Retina (backlit) and a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina displays, respectively. Meanwhile, the iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display too, but it’s more powerful with the Apple M1 chip than both standard models — which feature the A13 and A14 Bionic chips, respectively.
In fact, under 11 inches in size is considered the “sweet spot” for iPad models because it's large enough to consume media, but compact enough for portability. These models are best for most people who want to watch videos, play games, and browse the web, while taking on lite-productivity tasks.
The largest iPad you can pick up is the iPad Pro, which comes in two models: The smaller 11-inch Liquid Retina display and the granddaddy 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR (miniLED Extreme Dynamic Range) display. Both Pro models feature the same Apple M2 processor, but the larger one has the sharper display for better and more colorful picture quality. The iPad Pro is best for creatives and professionals, who might want a laptop replacement.
Storage Capacity Differences
When it comes to on-board storage space, most iPad models start at 64GB and go all the way up to a whopping 2TB with the iPad Pro. For most people 64GB is plenty of space for apps, games, video downloads, and more.
However, if you plan on taking a lot of high-resolution photos and videos, then you might want to consider getting a higher capacity iPad. For creatives and professionals, it’s best to pick up a model with at least 1TB of storage — especially for photographers or video editors. Additionally, if you want more than 2TB of storage, then you have to connect an external hard drive to the iPad via its USB-C port.
Peripherals to Consider
Speaking of which, all iPad models (except the ninth generation iPad, which still uses the old fashioned Lightning port) have a USB-C at the bottom for charging and peripherals, including external hard drives. However, it’s best to connect solid-state hard drives since they don’t require much power from the iPad itself to operate. Since iPadOS has the Files app built-in, you can easily access files from within the iPad or an external hard drive.
Meanwhile, Bluetooth is still the best way to connect the many of the best iPad accessories — like the Apple Pencil, Apple Smart Keyboard Folio, Apple Magic Keyboard, Apple AirPods, even an Xbox or PS5 gaming controller, and more — to the iPad wirelessly. Just make sure the peripheral you’d like to connect is compatible with the iPad. One of IGN's experts recently reviewed the Apple AirPods 4 with ANC, giving the headphones high praise and an 8/10 rating. These earbuds work seamlessy with iPads and cost less than the AirPods Pro 2 while delivering similar performance in several catagories.
For example: The ninth and tenth generations of the iPad are only compatible with the first generation Apple Pencil, while all other iPad models are compatible with the second generation Apple Pencil. But, you’ll need a $9-USB-C-to-Apple Pencil Adapter to charge and pair with the tenth generation iPad since it uses USB-C instead of a Lightning port.
Connectivity
There are two versions for each iPad model: Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + cellular. The first version can only connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, so it’s best to use at home, at the office, or just about anywhere with a steady Wi-Fi connection like a coffee shop or airport.
The second can connect to Wi-Fi, but it can also connect via 4G LTE mobile data like an Apple iPhone. This means you’ll have to get a mobile data plan from a cellular carrier like T-Mobile or AT&T, if you want to connect to the internet without a Wi-Fi connection. These models also have GPS, so they’re ideal to use as an entertainment display in a car.
Of course, Wi-Fi + cellular versions are more expensive than Wi-Fi-only iPad models because there are more antennas and sensors inside.
Price Comparison
As for price, the iPad starts at $329 for the ninth generation model. In fact, you can pick up this model for as low as $250 during big shopping events like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. This model is the more-bang-for-the-buck pick, if you want an iPad for just consuming media and lite-mobile gaming.
At the high end, a maxed out iPad Pro can go for upwards of $2,399. This is an iPad Pro with all the bells and whistles, such as a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, 2TB of storage space, and Wi-Fi + cellular connectivity. If you want the best of the best, this iPad Pro is for you.
Overall, the iPad is one of the best and most useful Apple devices. It’s made for all sorts of people who are looking for ways to consume media and get some work done on-the-go without a cumbersome laptop. For most people, the iPad Air is the best choice — thanks to its clean design, fast processor, lightweight build, and sleek display. However, the second runner-up is the iPad (ninth generation). It’s the budget pick that doesn’t skimp on speed and picture clarity at an affordable price.
Which iPad is Best for Kids and Teens in 2024?
Our top pick right now for kids and younger family members is the iPad Air (5th Generation), as found in our top iPads for kids list. If you're heading off to school, we've also included a comprehensive guide to the best iPads for students.
Rudie Obias is a tech freelance writer and editor who is also interested in cinema, pop culture, music, the NBA, and science fiction. His work can be found at Fandom, TV Guide, Metacritic, Yahoo!, Mashable, Mental Floss, and of course, IGN. Follow him @RudieObias on Twitter & IG.
