iPad 10, subjected to extreme stress tests. Spoilers: it didn’t survive. VIDEO

The new iPad 10 isn’t quite what Apple tablet fans were expecting. For one thing, it delivers only half of what those who need a basic tablet want. Then, its price has risen sharply from the price of the previous base model, making this model less affordable for those with limited budgets. The switch to a new design does bring up a few questions about the tablet’s endurance, however, and JerryRigEverything tried to answer as many as possible in the video testing how it performs after scratches, burns and bumps.

The new iPad 10 has the same problem as the rest of Apple’s similarly designed tablets

Apple tablets don’t have a very good reputation when it comes to withstanding extreme use cases. Ever since the first model to adopt this new straight-edged design, the 2018 iPad Pro, Apple tablets have bent very easily. Thus, there was little hope that the iPad 10 would survive, but there were a few details that suggested it might offer some extra resilience.

This model doesn’t feature a wireless charger for the Apple Pencil, making room instead for a side-positioned, landscape camera. That way, that area, which was breaking off on the Pro and Air models, would have more strength. It seems, however, that on the opposite side another sore spot has unfortunately appeared: the magnetic Smart Connector contacts. As soon as you apply a little force to the tablet, it breaks, along with the protective glass and LCD screen underneath.

Of course, the whole tablet is constructed of aluminum, so it will withstand scratches and maybe even light bumps, and the glass screen is resistant to “ordinary” scratches, in tune with other tablets and smartphones on the market. However, the iPad 10 is one of the few devices of its kind with a non-laminate screen. This means that the glass and screen are two separate components, so if just the glass, or just the screen, breaks, they can be replaced independently, giving it a plus in terms of repairability.

So the iPad 10 is on the one hand slightly easier to repair than other models, but on the other just as fragile when it comes to bendability. And if you’re wondering what the point of the bend test is? Well, it proves that the tablet won’t survive if you sit on it by mistake, whether you have it positioned on a chair or a sofa, or even in a bag, where other objects will press it halfway down. A case for the iPad 10 seems absolutely necessary to give it more structural strength in such situations.