iPad 10.2 review: cheap, productive, and not the one you should buy

The laptop replacement

The iPads have been inching towards being “laptop replacements” for some years now, as Apple introduced things like Slide Over and Split Screen, a file browser, and even (gasp) USB Type-C with external file support for the iPad Pros last year.

But guess what – you don’t need to shell out for an iPad Pro to get that “laptop replacement” experience. The iPad 2019 adds support for the Smart Keyboard cases with its own triple-dot Smart Connector on its side. 

It gets the full suite of iPadOS with no corners cut — this means the improved multitasking, where you can slide apps in and out of a split screen scene with ease, USB flash storage (via Lightning-to-USB adapter), improved text editing with a cursor that is much easier to move from place to place, more icons on the home screen, the persistent Today View, the floating dock, and more. It even supports the new Sidecar feature — if you have a Mac or MacBook on MacOS Catalina, you can connect to your iPad via Wi-Fi or USB and use the tablet as a second screen for your computer.



Even when in Sidecar mode, the tablet still allows you to use apps in Slide Over or use your Apple Pencil (Gen 1) to draw on the screen. So, despite being the cheapest tablet in the Apple Store, it does not skimp on giving you the full iPad experience.

As a multimedia machine

Tablets are usually your portable multimedia machine. Easy to move around with you while doing chores in the house or to bring along on a trip so you can catch up on TV shows, movies, play a few games, or read some books. As such, the iPad 2019 does a decent enough job.



As mentioned, the screen is not the best, but it’s passable — you can still watch a show without thinking to yourself “Wow, this screen looks amazing!”. The speakers are stuck on just one side of the tablet and that tends to be annoying. They do sound good, with a decent amount of volume, good clarity, and pronounced bass. They can be a bit tinny at times, depending on the type of media, but are generally the better type of speaker you can find on a mobile device. They can definitely do the job if you want to watch a movie and have nothing else to connect to the tablet, but grabbing headphones (or a good Bluetooth speaker, placed properly) is the only thing that will get you balanced stereo.

Conclusion and buying advice

The new entry-level iPad is a pretty solid machine. It offers the baseline iPad experience for not a lot of money. But is it worth to take the compromises that it makes just so you can save some 100 bucks?


First of all, let’s ponder who this tablet is for. The iPad (2018) was marketed as a device for students and schools. But, with its 9.7-inch screen, it was already kind of big. The iPad (2019) is even bigger so and I am having a tough time seeing it as a kid’s tablet. Then, it could be for those that are only looking for a base iPad experience and don’t want to spend a lot of cash. Or those that have never tried the Apple tablet and want to dip their toes in, possibly upgrade it to something better down the line? Well, both of these groups may be better off buying a different model.

Let’s talk about media consumption. The screen – while not the worst thing in the world – is definitely sub-par compared to other iPads that are not that much more expensive. The 32 GB storage option is extremely limiting, so you won’t be able to load it up with a lot of games or movies (although Apple would love for you to stream those). It can do well for book-reading, but — again — it’s not the best the iPad family has to offer.

And the productivity people? Well, you can use it to dabble in the iPad experience with a Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, but you will find the base 32 GB storage option to be useless. So, you’ll have to go up to $430 for the 128 GB variant. And even then, you get a 3-year-old processor with an expiration date that’s visible on the horizon.

Now… what else can $430 get you? Well, according to Ebay and Amazon, you can still find some old stock (open box status) iPad Pro 10.5 models for about $400 (give or take). These are powered by the Apple A10X Fusion (same generation as the A10, but slightly upgraded) and their storage options start at 64 GB. They have superior displays and quad-speaker stereo setups that are vastly superior to the iPad (2019). Of course, if you go for one of those, you may or may not forfeit Apple Care or an official warranty of any sort, depending on item condition and where you buy from.


If you absolutely need to go “New and from the Apple Store”, $500 will get you an iPad Air (2019) that is thinner, lighter, has a better screen, and starts off with 64 GB of storage, which is much more acceptable than 32 GB.

And here’s a tip: if you absolutely must get the iPad (2019) and are planning to outfit it with a Smart Keyboard — every Smart Keyboard is compatible with it. For the purposes of this review, I attached it to an old Smart Keyboard made for the iPad Pro 9.7-inch. And while it looked a bit funky, with a keyboard smaller than the actual tablet, it still worked. Do with this information as you will.