This is the 2018 iPad,

and at $330, it seems like the one to get.

However, there's always the question,

is it worth it?

Take a look at the box, and it looks like,

well, every other iPad ever.

Flip it over, though, and what you're going to see

is it is called the 6th Generation iPad.

Because, you know, iPad 6 doesn't have the right ring to it?

Really what this is, is this is the lower end iPad

that slots not only below to iPad Mini,

which for some reason is still around,

but also the iPad Pro.

So, Apple actually announced this

at their education event just a couple days ago,

and the main idea with this

is that the iPad, at least on the lower end,

is trying to be a Chromebook competitor.

Now, for schools I get why Chromebooks are so popular,

and there are some advantages to the iPad,

especially the Pencil support

which we'll get into in a few minutes.

However, whether this is actually a good idea

is a little bit more questionable.

Open it up, and we see

it looks exactly like every other iPad ever.

So, if this looks a little bit familiar to you,

that's because they actually really haven't changed

the design on this guy for quite a while.

So, previously they did have a lower end $330 iPad,

and as far as I can tell,

hardware-wise, it is completely identical.

Inside, we're going to be getting our paperwork,

which I'm sure is gonna include stuff

like Apple stickers and other things

that you're never gonna wanna actually use.

We do have the USB to lightning cable

as well as the power adapter.

Which, this guy is going to be 12 Watts,

which is actually still a little bit slow

for something like an iPad.

It's actually going to take a while to charge,

but, I mean.

Sorry, you bought a $300 iPad. (laughs)

I just imagine Tim Cook in his office, like,

"Yeah, sorry.

"If you want it to actually charge in less than three hours,

"you're just gonna have to, you know,

"buy an iPad Pro and a lightning to USB-C cable,

"and MacBook charger,

"because money." (register bell rings)

So, for some context, this is the 2017 iPad,

which is exactly what this is going to be replacing.

Now, this is actually something that we use

pretty much everyday around the office.

So, while we're shooting,

we'll usually put like notes up on this,

or use it to look up specs and that kind of stuff.

If I put this side-by-side with the 2018 iPad,

you're going to see that they look completely identical,

besides, well, the different colors.

One of my main complaints against the 2017 iPad

is that there's actually

a kind of fairly large air gap with the display.

So, it is still going to be 9.7 inch retina display.

It looks fine when you look at it directly head-on.

However, unlike the higher end iPad Pros

which have a laminated display,

which makes it look like it's printed

just right on the glass,

take a look at this at any kind of angle,

and you're going to see that the screen

looks like it's sunken in.

Now, unfortunately, if you take a look at the 2018 iPad,

it has the exact same screen.

Fine when you look at it dead-on,

but if you look at it from the side,

it definitely looks like there's a huge air gap.

One of the big upgrades with the new iPad

is going to be on the inside.

So, whereas the last generation model

used the Apple A9 processor from the iPhone 6S,

this bumps up to the Apple A10 from the iPhone 7.

Still not going to be super cutting edge,

but it's fast on the iPhone 7,

and it's fast here on the iPad.

Take a look at at the Geekbench results,

and it's pretty much identical to the iPhone,

which is, well, a solid thing.

I mean, this is a $300 iPad.

One thing you should keep in mind, though,

is that this still only has two gigs of RAM.

Now, for normal apps that's going to be no problem.

And it does support a lot

of the same multitasking features as the bigger iPads.

However, you cannot actually get three apps up

at the same time like on an iPad Pro.

And of course, to show off the power of the iPad,

we have Fortnite.

So, this runs really well on a wide range of hardware.

And the idea that we do have that Apple A10 processor

actually does make a pretty big difference.

You're not running it quite on the same level

as something like the iPhone X,

but it still looks really nice.

For a lot of apps, you're actually not going to notice

a huge difference with the Apple A10.

It's going to be snappier, for sure,

but it's not like a revolutionary difference.

But, considering that this is going to be a $300 iPad,

every little bit of extra performance

is going to be helpful.

And of course, one of the biggest things to consider

is how long this is going to be having updates,

how long it's actually going to be supported by apps,

and having that newer processor does make a difference,

especially when you're using this

three, four, five years from now.

It's so weird playing this on an iPad.

I mean, it totally works,

but, oh man.

I think with this bigger screen,

I really wish I did have a controller.

Hopefully they actually add

that controller support at some point.

- [Austin Recording] Take one look at Twitch,

and you'll see hundreds of thousands of people wa--

- So, the screen is decent like I was saying earlier.

It doesn't quite match the iPad Pro,

but I mean, come on.

For $300 bucks, I don't think you're really

going to be complaining.

Now, some other areas that it doesn't match the iPad Pro in,

is with audio quality.

So, you do have stereo speakers,

but they're both on the bottom,

so they sound decent, but,

I mean, you can cover them both with one hand.

But it's going to be totally fine

for casual video watching.

Another new feature of the iPad

is going to be Apple Pencil support,

which weirdly, up until now,

has been held back to the iPad Pro.

Now, it works exactly as you'd expect,

so you can use it to navigate the interface,

or you can actually use it to do drawing and typing,

if I can actually hit the correct thing.

So, I want to just write out a simple note here.

It actually is gonna look pretty decent.

So, the only thing this is missing

is the ProMotion display from the iPad Pro.

So, that actually does help cut down latency

by running the screen at 120 Hertz

as opposed to 60.

But for most people, I think this is gonna totally fine

for writing notes and that kind of thing.

Now, alongside the new iPad

were a couple of other accessories,

but they're mostly aimed at the education market,

which I think is kind of the main market

that Apple is sort of aiming for with the iPad.

So, so many schools right now are using Chromebooks.

And I think for most schools,

the Chromebooks make more sense.

I mean, it's a proper laptop.

You have a keyboard.

Whereas with this guy,

you know, if you unplug your (clears throat) Apple Pencil,

what you're gonna find is no smart connector.

So, you can't even use the same keyboards as the iPad Pro.

You're going to have to rely on something

that's either going to be using Bluetooth,

or you're actually gonna have to use something

over lightning, which is just not an elegant solution.

Sure, you can get some typing done

on the actual touchscreen,

but I think for most kids,

you're gonna want an actual keyboard.

Now, software-wise, of course we are running iOS 11.

Now, there are pros and cons here.

I actually do think iOS 11

was a pretty major update to the iPad.

So, you get some things like you actually the dock.

You have the multitasking, which all works well here.

But again, it's fine as an iPad.

As something that's going to replace a computer?

For some people, it's fine,

but for a lot of people, it's not quite there yet.

I actually think the 2018 iPad is worth it.

Now, sure, you can get extra features

and bigger screen sizes with the iPad Pro,

but at around twice the price on some of the SKUs,

I really don't think it's gonna be worth it

for most people.

This is gonna do pretty much everything you need,

even though it might not be

the most exciting update in the world.

Now, of course, the real question

is whether you need an iPad in the first place, though.

And that one's kind of on you.

But I'm curious.

What do you think about the 2018 iPad?

Let me know in the comments below,

and I will catch you in the next one.