Base model gets a big upgrade, but that Apple Pencil…

From $449 (Wi–Fi), $599 (Wi–Fi + cellular) From apple.com

The new iPad offers a choice of four stylish colors.

Features 10.9–inch Liquid Retina display with True Tone (2,360 x 1,640 pixels), A14 Bionic chip, 64 or 256GB of storage, Wi–Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, USB–C, 12MP Wide camera (rear), 12MP Landscape Ultra Wide camera (front), works with Apple Pencil (1st gen), 1.05 pounds

THE NEW iPAD finally takes Apple’s base model tablet into the future. Or at least the present. The large bezels, ancient Home button and Lightning port are gone, replaced with a larger 10.9–inch display that nearly goes edge–to–edge, a power button with Touch ID built in and USB–C charging.

Measuring 9.79 x 7.07 x 0.28 inches and weighing 1.05 pounds (1.06 pounds for cellular), the iPad (10th gen) is thinner and lighter than the iPad (9th gen), with a pretty funky color palette to choose from.

Standard storage on the entry price model is just 64GB, as with the previous iPad, which is a bit low these days. For $599 (Wi–Fi model) you can upgrade to 256GB — pricey.

The 10.9–inch display on the new iPad won’t blow you away, but it’s good for the price. Its 500–nit brightness level is decent enough, but you may have a little difficulty in direct sunlight. By comparison, the new iPad Pro (p40) hits a much higher 1,600 nits, but it's much more expensive. In terms of colors, the iPad’s display covered 101.2% of the sRGB color gamut and 71.7% of the more demanding DCI–P3 color space. The iPad Air’s hit a higher 111.8% and 79.2%, respectively.