iPad 10 will get a design closer to that of the Air and Pro models. Ditch the headphone jack

Plans for Apple’s tenth generation of the flagship iPad tablet have surfaced online, and they suggest we’re finally getting a new design for the tablet. The current model, the iPad 9, comes in the same form factor since the 7th generation, which was only slightly different from previous generations. Unfortunately, even if the overall shape of the tablet changes to be more in tune with the higher variants, Apple still won’t offer a very large screen in the base version, or an extremely modern design.

iPad 10 will be similar in size to other top models, but won’t give up some design elements

According to plans that have hit the internet, Apple is set to release a new iPad 10 model that will adopt the general shape of the iPad Air and iPad Pro. Despite the fact that it will adopt the same straight edges and will most likely be compatible with the same accessories, such as the Magic Keyboard or Apple Pencil 2, the new iPad won’t get a screen with thin edges all around. From the front, the tablet looks almost unchanged, still based on a 10.2″ screen with an unchanged resolution of 2,160 x 1,620. The iPad Air and iPad Pro models use 10.9″ and 11″ screens respectively in a similar body.

So the Home button stays in place, complete with TouchID, which means it won’t get a fingerprint sensor in the power button like the iPad Air and iPad Mini. Like those tablets though, Apple is also removing the headphone jack from the base iPad model, even though with devices like this, interior space isn’t exactly an issue. In fact, even inside high-performance iPads with M1 processors, there’s plenty of empty space.

Unfortunately, the move to a similar design with more expensive tablets suggests that the price of accessories will also be higher. The Apple Pencil 2 is more expensive than the Pencil 1, while the Magic Keyboard costs around €300, whereas an iPad 9 costs around €400. Most likely, however, the iPad 10 will also come with an increase in price over the current model.

On the performance front, the adoption of Apple’s A14 chipset, the same one we’ve seen in the iPhone 12 and iPad Air 4, is expected. The iPad 10 is expected to launch sometime in October, probably around the same time that iPadOS 16, the new version of the operating system, will be released, which could be delayed from the iOS 16 launch in September.