It can be hard to get excited about the cheapest model in a range. Apple’s standard iPad has for years offered a blend of strong value and respectable specs without creating much of a buzz because the features it offers are either weaker than those on the Air, mini, and Pro models, or arrive several years later.
This latest iPad, however, may change that perception. It does some interesting things, particularly in terms of its position within the range—but not all of those things are good. Being interesting can be a mixed blessing.
DESIGN AND BUILD: BRIGHT, COLORFUL, AND MODERN
From very first impressions, it’s clear that Apple has given the humble iPad a glow-up, particularly if you’ve got one of the bright new colors. I tested the pink model, which is vibrantly gorgeous in the flesh, but from publicity photos, the other colors look just as joyous. This is the first iPad in years to not offer even the choice of a black or dark-gray finish: your options are silver, pink, yellow, or blue—and these are much brighter shades than the comparatively somber blue, pink, and purple offered with the latest iPad Air and mini. (In our iPad Air review, I described its subtle purple hue as a “grown-up color.”)
There’s a temptation to look at these brash, unapologetic colors and compare them to the unloved from 2013, which always seemed garish next to the understated elegance of the iPhone 5s. There’s clearly something to that analogy: Apple evidently thinks that bright colors are a property of budget devices, and that pro users are too sensible to work on a device that’s too flamboyant. All I can say is that I disliked the iPhone 5c’s color options by my pink iPad. These are colors that are both bright tasteful, and it seems a shame that buyers of the other iPad models don’t get them.
