What’s New on the iPad 8th-generation
The iPad 8th-generation is the most affordable iPad from Apple. In terms of design, it features the same design language as the iPad 7th-generation, which makes the two pretty much indistinguishable. Towards the front, the device has a 10.2-inch Retina display with a 2160×1620 screen resolution and 500 nits of brightness. The new iPad comes in the same colorways as the 7th-generation: Silver, Space Gray, and Gold.
Under the hood, the iPad 8th-generation runs on the A12 Bionic chip, which first appeared in the iPhone Xs and Xr on the mobile side of things, and iPad Air and iPad Mini on the iPad. Not to mention, the chip comes along with Apple’s Neural Engine processing, which marks the appearance of Neural Engine on an affordable iPad for the first time. Talking in sheer numbers, the new iPad is claimed to offer 40% faster CPU performance and a 2x jump in graphics performance. According to Apple, this processing prowess makes the iPad 8th-generation 2x faster than the top-selling Windows laptop, 3x faster than an Android tablet, and 6x faster than Chromebook.
The new iPad comes with 32GB and 128GB of storage, with both storage options available with the Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi+Cellular model.
In the camera department, the 8th-generation iPad sports an 8MP camera on the rear with an f/2.4 aperture and a 1.2MP FaceTime camera on the front.
Talking about accessories, the iPad 8th-generation offers support for Apple Pencil, along with the Smart keyboard, which can come in handy when taking notes. In addition to the Apple keyboard, the iPad can now also be used with a Logitech combo.
As for other specifications, the new iPad promises 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. Being inspired by the old design, the iPad features a bezel design all around, and utilizing the same, it incorporates TouchID for authentication. On the software front, it runs on iPadOS 14.
iPad 8th-gen vs iPad 7th-gen
As already mentioned, the 8th-generation iPad shares the same design as the 7th-generation iPad, to a point where the two come in the same three colorways and have the same 10.2-inch display. However, it is the internals that the two models appear completely different. The 8th-generation iPad runs on the A12 Bionic chip with Neural Engine processing prowess. On the other hand, the 7th-generation model has the A10 Fusion chip, which was first introduced with the iPhone 7 series and the 6th-generation iPad back in 2016, and is pretty old by today’s standards. Besides these internal changes, both iPad models are exactly the same.
Apple iPad 8th-generation: Pricing and Availability
The all-new 8th-generation iPad comes in two variants: Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular, with two storage options: 32GB and 128GB. The Wi-Fi-only model is priced at $329 and $429, respectively, whereas, the Wi-Fi + Cellular comes in at $459 and $559, respectively. It is up for pre-order in the US starting today and will be available from Friday. As for the India pricing, the iPad starts at Rs 29,990 for the Wi-Fi-only model and Rs 41,990 for the Wi-Fi+Cellular model. And should be available later this month.
