A Contact ID fingerprint reader is embedded within the energy button; the headphone jack is gone; the iPad branding has been faraway from the again; and there is a USB-C port on the underside (one good thing about upgrading for me—the previous iPad Air was the final Lightning system in the home, give or take a Magic Trackpad or Apple TV distant). The design hasn’t modified in any respect, which suggests any accent made for the Tenth-gen A14 iPad ought to match this one with out subject.

This display finally ends up feeling like the most important downgrade from an iPad Air, not due to its dimension or high quality however due to the air hole between the entrance glass and the precise LCD panel. Different iPads have “laminated” screens, which signifies that the LCD panel and the glass are fused. This barely improves shade and distinction on the expense of repairability—with a laminated display, cracked glass means you are changing the display and the glass, not simply the display—however primarily, it makes the tablets really feel extra stable, and once you’re touching and drawing, it helps your fingers and Pencil really feel nearer to what you are interacting with on display. The air hole between the glass and the display makes the iPad really feel hole. Together with the dearth of anti-reflective coating, it is the downgrade you may really feel probably the most.

Apple’s reliance on older and slower inner {hardware} additionally signifies that the Eleventh-gen iPad is lacking a few of the options current on dearer iPads, although I do not at the moment view any of those options as important. One is Stage Supervisor, the up to date (and extensively panned) multitasking expertise launched in iPadOS 16. One part of Stage Supervisor is precise multi-display assist that may run iPad apps on an exterior display; with out Stage Supervisor, the iPad is restricted to the normal “video playback and show mirroring solely” assist.

Apple Intelligence can be lacking right here, despite the fact that it is a characteristic Apple has gone out of its approach to embody on each system it has launched since final fall (together with the iPhone 16e). Once more, none of those options are particularly nice, and a few of them are actually kind of bad, so I do not really feel their absence right here. If something, some folks would possibly contemplate it a plus to not have Apple Intelligence flipping itself again on each time you put in a safety replace. If and when Apple ever releases its delayed Siri replace, perhaps you may be sorry your iPad does not assist Apple Intelligence, however for now, there’s not a lot to overlook.