9.7-inch iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Should you upgrade to Apple’s new tablet ?

Apple’s new iPad will be available in India from next month at a starting price of ₹28,000.

A guest draws the bones of the hand on Apple's new 9.7-inch iPad during an event held to introduce the device at Lane Tech College Prep High School on March 27, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (AFP)

Apple on Tuesday announced a new low-cost iPad that will be supporting Apple Pencil. Aimed at the educational market, the new iPad comes with Augmented Reality features and apps like Classroom and Schoolwork. The new iPad aka 9.7-inch iPad (2018) will be available in India at a base price of ₹28,000 from next month.

The latest generation 9.7-inch iPad comes with a slew of new features and improvements over the last year's iteration. Let's compare the two generations of iPad in terms of their price, specifications and features.

iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Price

Apple's 9.7-inch iPad 2018 will be available in India starting next month. The 32GB with Wi-Fi model will be available in India for ₹28,000. The 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model will be priced at ₹38,600. The 128GB models of the iPad are priced at ₹35,700 and ₹46,300 respectively.

Apple Pencil will be available for purchase separately for ₹7,600. Smart Covers for iPad are available at a starting price of ₹3,400.

Apple's older generation iPad is available in India at a similar price. The 32GB with Wi-Fi model is available online for ₹29,000 approximately whereas the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model can be purchased for ₹39,000.

iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Display

First up is Apple's latest iPad. It features a 9.7-inch Retina Display with 2048×1536 pixels resolution. The last year's iPad also has a 9.7-inch Retina display with 2048×1536 pixels resolution sans touch sensors that enable Apple Pencil support. Both the devices come with oleophobic coating.

iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Camera

The latest generation 9.7-inch iPad comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture. It can shoot full HD videos and slow motion videos at 120fps. On the front it has a 1.2-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture and Retina Flash.

The 9.7-inch iPad 2017 also has an 8-megapixel rear camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture and full HD video recording support. On the front it has a 1.2-megapixel camera with f/2.2 aperture.

iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Performance, connectivity, battery

As per the tradition, Apple doesn't reveal RAM size of its devices. The latest generation iPad is powered by A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture with M10 coprocessor. Surprisingly, Apple hasn't used its latest A11 Bionic chip which is said to be much faster and efficient than A10 Fusion chip. That said, the latest generation iPad is a big upgrade over the last year's which ran on A9 processor.

In terms of connectivity, the latest iPad doesn't bring anything new to the table. Both have Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 technology, Wi-Fi calling support and GPS among others. Both Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + Cellular models come in 32GB and 128GB variants.

Apple's new 9.7-inch iPad is said to deliver up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music (on Wi-Fi model). It comes with a 32.4-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. The last year's iPad had 32.9 watt-hour battery.

iPad 2018 vs iPad 2017: Other differences

While the two iPads don't differ much in terms of specifications, the biggest difference is the support for Apple Pencil. Another big highlight is support for Augmented Reality applications. There's also support for the third-party accessories such as stylus and keyboards.