Apple has been steadily testing the limits of how far it can push prices this year

As expected, Apple announced new models of iPad tablets and Apple TV 4K multimedia receiver through press releases. The novelties will go on sale at the end of the month and aren’t really worth another event. Even the « new » iPad Pro is a very modest upgrade, while the « basic » iPad is essentially a slightly broken iPad Air, but at a much higher price than its predecessor.

The 10th generation brings a lot of new things to the « entry » iPad, but it probably won’t, because I’m sure the 9th will still be on sale for some time. Apple should have something on hand as much as possible even between tablets. The new price in Western Europe starts at 579 euros and is 150 euros more expensive than its predecessor, with the latter also raised by 50 euros, so the actual increase is up to 200 euros. This is another tangible increase in prices, after the iPhone 14 line rose appreciably by more than one thousand euros, and the Macbook Air by more than one and a half thousand.

The first novelty is the color palette, with silver being the only standard option, as well as (pastel) blue, yellow and pink, with the leading edge always being black. This time the screen is 10.9 inches, like the Air, it’s no longer 10.2 inches, there are a few less bezels around it and the Home button has disappeared, while the fingerprint reader has moved to the top power button or turned off. Despite the improved design, the interface is by no means « full screen » as advertised by Apple. The A14 Bionic processor is a newer generation and a generation or two behind iPhones. There’s also support for wireless networks under the newer, more powerful Wi-Fi 6 standard, and perhaps most importantly, a USB-C connector instead of the previous Lightning, which means faster data transfers and the ability to connect various external devices, such as disks, card readers, and monitors.

Some aspects seem barely acceptable given the price. The entry-level iPad still supports only the first generation of the ‘Pencil’, but fortunately it also works with the more rationally designed Logitech Crayon Pen, without the need for an improper connection to the tablet (or now an additional adapter) for charging, which is now also Available in the new version with USB-C. The initial data storage is still 64 GB, and jumping to 256 GB makes the tablet more expensive by another 200 euros! Support for mobile networks is another 200 euros.

The screen is the same as the Air, with a resolution of 2360 x 1640 and 500 nits of maximum brightness, but calibrated differently or with support for a different color gamut from the factory, and it is also not “fully laminated”, which means that the screen, touch sensor layer and protective glass are not Combine them into one piece, but the glass is glued on top of the other two pieces.

An interesting new addition is the external keyboard assembly – a screen cover that magnetically attaches to the tablet’s longer bottom edge, and additional back protection that includes an adjustable kickstand. Unfortunately, these two devices cost 300 euros, but there is no information on how much the tablet will weigh.

The iPad has everything the average user would need or weighs less than half a kilogram, plus a set that turns it into a casual laptop that, again at first glance, functions like a compact and lightweight laptop. Until we add them all and with 256 GB we come to 1100 euros, and with 5G support up to 1300 euros (in Germany, Slovenian prices will undoubtedly be higher) and we wonder, why not buy a decent laptop. Truth be told, the same goes for Samsung tablets, which have the additional drawback of poor selection of Android apps. The only argument for an iPad versus a laptop is that we only use this thing occasionally for serious work, or more for entertainment, as it performs significantly better, and as a serious computer we have something less portable.

The iPad Pro, which cannot be bought for less than 1049 euros, has only one change. Instead of the already somewhat unnecessary M1 processor, this time they installed a slightly more powerful M2, which is completely unnecessary given the software use of these tablets and works only for marketing. The iPad Pro’s decent set and corresponding external (magnetic) keyboard are priced in the Macbook Air M2 area, which is undoubtedly a more useful device for work.

Meanwhile, in the Apple TV 4K player, they upgraded the processor to the A15 Bionic, added support for HDR10+ format in addition to the already supported Dolby Vision (which is likely via a firmware update), and placed the USB-C port for charging in the controller. remotely, and even slightly lowering the price, to 169 euros for 64 GB and 189 euros for 128 GB (again I rely on German prices, because there are no Slovenian prices yet). But I wonder why Apple, with this hardware design, doesn’t promote this device more aggressively as a game console, also giving an extra dimension to arcade gaming.