Apple iPad hands down has been the best tablet device in the market. The Android tablet market is struggling to cope up with the iPads. The reason for this is quite simple – Apple’s reliability and the utility of consumers with the tablets.

Till date, tablets are unable to replace a traditional laptop in terms of functionality. So, tablets solve only selected needs of consumers- Media consumption in a bigger format and scheduling remainders and demonstration of business catalogue and stuff. These tasks can be pretty well done in Android tablets too, but iOS is way more clean in those aspects. So, if you are in the market planning to buy one, do know the variants available:

iPad 2018 9.7 inch
  1. iPad 2018 (Starts at Rs. 28,000) : This is the entry level iPad with 9.7″ LCD Display and support for Apple Pencil 1st gen (Apple pencil has to be charged via the lightening port in the iPad). This comes with a A10 chip (found in iPhone 7) with support for Touch ID. Sound output is through 2 speakers. This is best suited for users whose main usage is to consume media and surf the web.
  2. iPad Mini 5 (Starts at Rs.35,000) : Why does the Mini with the screen size of 7.9″ cost more than the 9.7 incher?. Well for starters, it is a latest product and has the latest A12 Bionic chipset (fastest chip by Apple yet). Storage option is available upto 256GB and still supports only Apple Pencil Gen 1 (why though?). It still follows the same design language of the older Mini (not a bezeless display) and has support for Touch ID. iPad Mini 5 is recommended only if the you require a small tablet. If you don’t mind the bigger footprint go for the iPad 2018 (The chip being old, is still a capable performer).
  3. iPad Air 2019 (Starts at Rs. 45,000) : This is where the confusion starts. Apple has finally updated the iPad Air series. (This comes after the MacBook Air update). But why? It caries the same configuration of the iPad Mini 5 but in a bigger footprint – 10.5 inches. Only difference is that it support the Smart Keyboard by Apple (Apple’s attachable keyboard to be purchased separately for around Rs.10,000). It weighs around 1 pound. I would recommend it only if you need the latest specs and a larger screen. If not, the regular iPad 2018 9.7 inch will do the needful.
iPad Mini 5 along side iPad Air


4. iPad Pro (Starts at Rs. 72,000): This is the flagship tablet offering from Apple and carries a hefty price tag. It comes in two sizes – 11 inch and 12 inch. The main feature that distinguishes this from rest of the tablets is that it has a 120 Hz display (the screen refreshes 120 times per second producing buttery smooth transition and swipes. Regular smartphones has 60 Hz refresh rate). It comes with the A12 X (fusion) chipset which is more powerful than than regular A12. The design language is modern with reduced bezels around the corners and supports Apple Pencil 2nd Gen (Wirelessly charge your Apple pencil with the iPad Pro). Surprisingly, this has a Type-C port for charging and not the proprietary Lightning Port (Good move Apple). I would recommend this only if you are a content creator for use in studios and for using as a secondary display, else iPad 2018 would suffice.

iPad Pro 11 inch and 12 inch