The Apple iPad is one of the best tablets available in the market right now and there is literally not much competition from other brands. The entry-level iPad from Apple is still the 10.2″ iPad which is currently available in the 9th Generation variant. But the last year’s 8th Gen iPad still holds good and not much has changed in the new generation.
So today I am going to talk about how good of purchase the iPad 8th Gen is and should you buy it or not in 2022.
Also Read: Best Apple iPad To Buy in 2022
iPad 8th Generation Specs Recap
| Dimensions And Weight | 250.6 x 174.1 x 7.5 mm, 490 g |
| Display | 10.2 inches, 1620 x 2160p (Quad HD+), Retina IPS LCD |
| Processor | Apple A12 Bionic, hexa-core 2.5 GHz |
| Memory | 3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 3 GB RAM, 128 GB |
| Software | iPadOS 15 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS |
| Camera | Single 8 MP f/2.41.2 MP f/2.2 front camera |
| Battery | 32.4 Wh |
| Additional Features | Optional LTE, Apple Pencil support |
iPad 8th Generation Performance
The A12 Bionic processor on Apple’s 2018 iPad 8th generation is powerful enough for most casual tasks. It’s an excellent pick for anyone looking for a general-purpose tablet for watching movies, browsing the web, and reading the news, and it can even handle light gaming and photo/video editing.
The iPad 8th Gen offers a complete balance between performance and price, and the tab can do almost everything that the more expensive iPad Pro models can do. With the chipset the same as the iPhone Xs, the performance is not an issue with the iPad 8th Gen.
In terms of gaming, I tried Mortal Kombat and a few more graphic-intensive games, and the gameplay was impressive. There were no frame drops and the game ran perfectly fine. And in terms of benchmarks, the Geekbench 5 measured a score of 2,721 which is a huge improvement over the 7th Gen iPad; and the scores are way ahead of Samsung Galaxy Tab S7.
Also Read: 8 Best iPad Pen Styluses For A Smoother iPad Experience
iPad 8th Gen is Great for students
The iPad 8th Gen is a good tool for students and can help them in their daily studies and projects. It’s a great tool accompanied by an addon keyboard folio case and an Apple Pencil to jot down the notes quickly.
Apart from this, it’s also a great tool for content creators. When I was editing photos in the Pixelmator app, the iPad 2020 performed admirably, responding quickly to my changes in brightness, contrast, and saturation. I also had a lot of fun using the new iPad to apply effects like Warp to photos; once again, the iPad allowed me to make modifications on the fly.
The hardware on the iPad 8th Gen is sufficient to allow you to edit images with Lightroom or edit videos with Premiere Pro. On apps like Canva, PhotoGrid, Photoshop Express Photo Editor, and others, the A12 Bionic chipset is quick enough to provide you with graphics performance.
Also Read: How Can You Edit TextEdit Files On iPad?
iPad 8th Gen vs iPad Air 4th Gen
Obviously, we can expect the iPad 8th Gen to be slower than the iPad Air, which is powered by Apple’s newest A14 Bionic chip. The iPad Air was able to process changes to an image in Pixelmator Photo, which utilizes machine learning to boost the photo’s resolution, twice as quickly as the 8th Gen iPad.
On the iPad Air, games like Asphalt 9 and the first-person shooter Shadowgun Legends ran more smoothly. When playing Shadowgun Legends on the iPad Air, for example, activities like moving the camera and sprinting to the next part of the stage felt lighter and faster.
That isn’t to imply the iPad 8th Gen can’t handle these apps. It absolutely can, but the iPad Air just outperforms the iPad in several areas. But considering the price for both the products, the iPad Air is about 75% more expensive than the iPad 8th Gen. So with the price at which the iPad 8th Gen comes it is a complete value for money tablet.
Comparison with Samsung Tab S7 FE
The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a mid-range tablet from Samsung and offers a modern design with a premium build quality. Samsung has really pushed the edges in terms of design with a robust metal shell, flat corners, and a big display, similar to other premium Android tablets.
While the iPad has thick borders and a Touch ID below the 10.2-inch display. The Tab S7 FE features minimal bezels and an almost edge-to-edge display. While the iPad 8th Gen features a 10.2-inches Retina display, the Tab S7 FE features a 12.4-inch LCD display.
In terms of performance, this is where Samsung has cut corners. The Tab S7 FE has a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G CPU with 4GB or 6GB of RAM. These specifications are powerful enough for everyday chores and basic multitasking, although it did show some limitations during gaming compared to the iPad 8th Gen.
The A12 Bionic chip provides the iPad 8th Gen has an edge here. Despite being a chip from 2018 the chip is perfect for all of your day-to-day tasks without any hiccups. The iPad offers the right blend of both performance and affordability.
Comparison with Xiaomi Mi Pad 5
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 features a 10.95-inch LCD screen with WQHD+ (1,600 x 2,560 pixels) resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and Dolby Vision support is included. We get a 120Hz refresh rate display, which Apple saves for its ‘Pro’ iPad series, for a smooth scrolling experience. A quad-speaker system with plenty of bass and volume will further enhance your entertainment experience. All your Netflix and Amazon Prime Video shows will look very crisp and vibrant.
The Xiaomi Pad 5 features a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 860 SoC with 6GB of RAM and either 128 or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, making it the most powerful tab in its class.
Comparing the Mi Pad 5 with iPad 8th Gen, you will definitely see some lag in performance. But with Mi Pad 5 even the most demanding games, such as BGMI, may be played on the highest settings. The Snapdragon 860 offers a super-smooth experience on the Xiaomi Pad 5 for common tasks like reading, browsing the web, multitasking by running many programs at the same time, and streaming.
iPad 8th Gen Price and Availability
Apart from a few shortcomings, the 8th Gen iPad is a very capable device and the best choice of all the iPads that Apple has to offer. For all the Apple fans it makes a great choice as it is affordable and delivers the performance that you may be looking for from an Apple device.
If you want to buy the device it is available on e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart with a starting price of Rs. 30,990. As the device is a few years old you might have to wait for it to come back in stock.
