Review: 9.7-inch $329 iPad (2017) - Should you buy it? By 9to5Mac

Hands-On with the $329 2017 iPad how's it going, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. This is Jeff Benjamin with nine-to-five Mac I have in my hands right here: the 2017 iPad I'm, going to unbox it right now and also answer. The question that everyone wants to know is a three hundred and twenty-nine dollar iPad worth it. So, let's crack open the knife and do some plastic surgery peel off the wrapper, flip it around and take the top off, and here we go folks. This is the 2017 iPad if you've ever unboxed an iPad before you know exactly what to expect. Of course, the iPad is on top in its plastic wrapping and then below that you have the usual suspects.

So you have the information packet here says on the front designed by Apple in California. So inside that you have a welcomed that iPad card you have some safety and regulatory information and there you go folks. This is what you've been waiting for the Apple stickers. Alright. So let's talk about the other items inside the box, including the lightning cable which is right here, so you have a USB to lightning cable.

This allows you to connect to the power adapter or to your computer for syncing via iTunes, set that aside for now, and you have the 12 watt power adapter included inside. So this little guy will allow you to charge your iPad at full speed. Alright. So now, let's get to the exciting part, shall we? This is the fifth generation 2017, iPad and I, say fifth generation, because Apple doesn't seem to consider the iPad Air series as a part of the natural iPad line. So this is the fifth edition you had the original iPad.

You had the iPad 2, you have the iPad 3 the 4, and this right here folks, is what Apple considers to be the iPad 5 or the fifth generation iPad. They don't actually call it that impress materials, but if you look at the fine print they refer to it as the fifth generation on their website. So nine point seven inches, Retina display. Of course, it comes in three colors. You have silver space, gray and gold starts off at three hundred and twenty-nine dollars for thirty, two gigabytes of storage.

Now, let's talk about features, you have a 1.2, megapixel, FaceTime camera that shoots 720p. Next to the ambient light sensor. You have the first-generation touch ID sensor, embedded into the home button, which is awesome. You have volume up and down buttons, no dedicated mute or rotation, lock switch, you have a sleep button up top, and you have the 8 megapixel iSight camera that shoots 1080p at 30 frames per. Second, you have a pair of microphones, one on the back and one up top along with a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, and you have a pair of stereo speakers that blink the left and the right side of the lightning connector which is used for charging on the rear of the iPad. You have the Apple logo, of course, that is reflective and below that you have the iPad text, along with FCC information in the serial number.

So I gave you the grand Hardware toward now, let's fire up the iPad and see how it actually performs an action now. I do understand that you may have some lingering hardware questions like how fast is the processor or how much memory is in this thing. We're going to discuss all that here right now, so let's fire up Geek bench and get started. So here are the Geek bench results for the 2017 iPad, and it's pretty impressive. You get 2 gigabytes of RAM 2381 for the single core score 4103 for the multi-core score that 2381 best the a8x chip inside the iPad Air 2, and it comes with in as you can see, striking distance of the iPad Pro 12 point 9 inches, yes, so that dual-core a 9 chip inside the 2017 iPad, is no slouch.

It's serious. In fact, I can edit and scrub the timeline on a 4k video smoothly with an iMovie on this 329 dollar tablet, but not just that. I can actually export this video in full 4k resolution. Speed-Wise you're going to see that it goes toe-to-toe with the twelve point. Nine-inch iPad Pro, so I'm going to choose 40 here, and I'm going to speed up this export just to get through it, but you can see they're, both neck-and-neck and the twelve point.

Nine-inch iPad Pro finishes, like literally one second before the 2017 iPad, so I'm impressed now handy features like split view, which allows you to run two apps side by side at the same time and control each one independently runs buttery smooth on the 20:17 iPad. Now that iSight camera gives you full 1080p 30 frames per second video capabilities, and it looks pretty good I have to say here's some still photos with that.8 megapixels, iSight, camera I wouldn't use this as my primary camera, but it does well in a pinch. I'll tell you that now the FaceTime camera leaves a lot to be desired. It's 1.2, megapixel 720p max, not very impressive at all, but no surprise there. You do have touch ID in toe.

This is the first generation touch ID, so it's not as fast as what you'll find on the iPhone 7, but it's comparable to other iPads. Now the new iPad is heavier at four hundred and 69 grams versus four hundred and thirty-seven grams of the iPad Air 2. So there is a difference, not a huge difference, but a difference. Nonetheless, the chassis is basically comparable to the original iPad Air, but if you're coming from an iPad, 2, or you're coming from an iPad Air, it's not gonna, be a big deal and if you've never had an iPad, you're, not gonna, know the difference either way. So the main people that won't like that are the people that already use the newer devices and that's not who Apple is targeting with this iPad.

Now that said, the thickness difference, maybe a little more discerning. Oh, you have 7.5 millimeters thick for this new iPad vs.6.1 millimeters for the iPad Air 2, and I did notice that immediately, but I could live with the size differences. The biggest downside about this iPad, in my opinion, is the lack of a fully laminated display because it lacks that fully laminated display. There is a noticeable air gap between the content on screen and the glass, so it doesn't feel like you're. Actually touching the icons like it does on the iPad Air 2 or the iPad Mini 4, or the iPad Pro series for that matter, it's hard to really appreciate it without seeing it for yourself side by side, but trust me.

It makes the Retina displays seem a little less premium without that fully laminated property. Now these shots a little weird I have the Sun coming in on the iPads here. I have the iPad Pro on the left and the new iPad on the right and I wanted to show you the difference between the displays. The 2017 iPad lacks the anti-reflective coating as well. So not only does it lack that fully laminated display, but it lacks that anti-reflective coating, which makes it more difficult to see and bright conditions as you, as you can see here, the same brightness settings here, but notice how it's a little more washed out on the 2017 iPad, so I actually have to crank up the brightness, which could have a negative effect on battery life overall, because you have to make it brighter in order to see in bright conditions.

Now, speaking of battery life, it's fascinating. The iPad Air 2 has a 27 point.3 watt hour battery the iPad Pro 27.5 white hour battery both are rated for 10 hours. Approximately the new iPad 32 point for white hour battery, yet still rated at 10 hours. So you have to wonder: does the screen brightness come into play there or is Apple just being really conservative we're going to test it out and let you know in the coming days a few reminders: the new iPad is not compatible with the Apple Pencil and neither is it compatible with the smart connector for the time being, these remain iPad Pro exclusive features. So folks, here's my verdict at only 329 dollars.

This is a great option for those upgrading from an iPad, 2 or an iPad Air, and if you've never had an iPad before this is the best time to get in the game. I think this will appeal a lot to new customers as well. This is a great first tablet that doesn't pull any punches when it comes to power. It has the power it has the RAM. It has the storage space, 32, gigabytes, entry-level, and it also has must have features like touch ID.

But of course, if you desire the latest and greatest, are you really in the photography or videography, or you just like the pro features like the Apple Pencil or the smart Keyboard, then obviously, you want to look towards the iPad Pro now, because that's the line where all the forward-thinking features are going to dwell. So, ladies and gentlemen, tell me what you think. Would you consider buying the new iPad, or would you recommend it? Let me know down below in the comment section. This is Jeff with nine-to-five Mack.

Source : 9to5Mac