Follow
TabletsApple

What is the best iPad?

3
Options 
Considered
29
User 
Recs.
Last 
Updated
Related Questions
Activity
Have feedback or ideas?
Discord logoJoin our community
on Discord
Here’s the Deal
Slant is powered by a community that helps you make informed decisions. Tell us what you’re passionate about to get your personalized feed and help others.

The Best 1 of 3 OptionsWhy?

3 Options ConsideredPriceWeightCapacity
Excellent
iPad (2017)
469 g (Wi-Fi version) or 478 g (Wi-Fi + Cellular version)32GB, 128GB
iPad Pro
10.5'' model: 469 g (Wi-Fi model) or 477 g (Wi-Fi + Cellular model); 12.9'' model: 677 g (Wi-Fi model) or 692 g (Wi-Fi + Cellular model)64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
iPad mini 4
299 g / 304 g 16 / 32 / 128 GB
See Full List
Excellent

iPad (2017)

Add Video or Image
Francisco
Top Pro

Excellent value for money

•••
Costing just above $300 in its most basic version (the most expensive one costs $559), this iPad has a very attractive price tag for its features. It has a 9.7″ Retina display and comes with a 64-bit A9 chip that ensures a fluid performance and enough computing power for demanding games and other a...
Francisco
Top Pro

Great power for games and media

•••
This tablet uses a 64-bit A9 chip and 2GB RAM, which ensure fluidity when gaming, watching media, or even doing some light multimedia creation tasks (in GarageBand, for example). Evidently, it doesn’t perform as well as the iPad Pro, but it’s very noticeable that it’s more powerful than the previo...
Francisco
Top Pro

Good for a pleasant media watching experience

•••
The 2048x1536 display, with a 264 ppi pixel density, handles content reproduction quite well. Despite missing some importante features, such as True Tone technology or anti-reflective coating, it’s still a good screen that creates a pleasant experience, creating vivid and rich images. However, it’s...
Francisco
Top Pro

Camera is good enough for modest photography

•••
The iPad 2017’s camera is quite decent. It’s 8 MP sensor and good color reproduction capabilities allow for some good photo-taking. Still, it’s not as good as the iPad Pro’s 12 MP camera.
Francisco
Top Pro

Long battery life

•••
The iPad 2017's battery lasts up to 10 hours (while doing tasks equivalent to regular internet browsing, watching videos or listening to music). It's a lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 8,800 mAh, which represents a great improvement from the iPad Air 2's battery, which only h...
Francisco
Top Con

No accessory connector

•••
There’s no connector for accessories: to connect them to the tablet, Bluetooth is the only possible option.
Francisco
Top Con

Storage options could be better

•••
32GB and 128GB are the only storage options available, with no possibility of expansion (via SD cards, for example). This means there’s a huge gap between the lowest option, which will feel like not enough for lots of people, and the highest one, which has too much space for those same users. A 64...
Francisco
Top Con

Takes too long to charge

•••
This iPad's battery takes around 4 hours to completely charge, which can feel like too long in many situations where you don't have that kind of time to spare.
See 2 more ProsSee 6 more Pros & Cons
We do not take money from sellers trying to improve rankings on Slant. Displaying ads allows us to stay financially independent and improve the site. Contribute your knowledge to get an ad free experience.

2 Other Options Considered

iPad Pro

Add Video or Image
Aubrey
Francisco
Top Pro

Ideal for professional, creative graphical work

•••
The Apple Pen, its big high-resolution display and the computing power (due to the A10X Fusion chip) that makes it all work fluidly and with no hiccups, even when displaying and processing demanding graphics, all combine to make this tablet a serious and reliable professional tool.
Francisco
Top Pro

If used with the Apple Pencil, it's great for tasks such as drawing or handwriting

•••
This iPad can be used with the Apple Pencil (sold separately for $99), a digital stylus that can be used to navigate, hand write or draw. It's a very precise and fast device and extremely convenient for designers or illustrators. It's also pressure sensitive and very comfortable to manipula...
Francisco
Top Con

Expensive

•••
This device is quite expensive, especially the more premium versions, whose price is closer to a laptop price than to a tablet price. Before getting this, users should really consider if it's worth it.
Francisco
Top Con

Not a very manageable tablet

•••
Due to its size, this tablet is not the most manageable, or even portable, tablet. It comes in two sizes: 10.5'' and 12.9''. These can easily feel too big for users who like a tablet for its portability and versatility.
See 2 more Pros & ConsSee 2 more Pros & Cons

iPad mini 4

Add Video or Image
Francisco
Chloe Montanez
Top Pro

Display has great touch responsiveness

•••
This iPad mini's fully laminated display has impressive quality, giving the impression that you can actually touch icons and content. It's a Retina display, with resolutions of 2048 x 1536 at 326 ppi.
Francisco
Top Pro

Battery lasts up to 10 hours

•••
This iPad's battery lasts quite long, especially when compared to previous iPad mini versions. It can sustain up to 10 hours of internet browsing, video watching videos or music listening, due to its 19.1 watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery.
Francisco
Top Pro

Capable of taking very good pictures

•••
This iPad has a very good camera, being perfect for anyone who likes to take pictures with their tablet. It has an 8 MP camera, which is the same that equips its higher-end brother iPad.
Francisco
Top Con

Expensive

•••
This iPad is quite expensive, given that it's a 7.9'' inch tablet and that, due to its size, its not appropriate for certain kinds of tasks.
Francisco
Top Con

Listening to music without headphones leaves much to be desired

•••
This iPad's speakers are not the best to listen to music. They could use some more potency to properly deliver powerful sound.
See 3 more Pros & ConsSee 3 more Pros & Cons

29 Community Recommendations

Francisco
Bryan
Callixtus
BethLM
Lysander
Ryan
Georgia
MomoIshida
Hloja
Mleri
Chipester
+7
Community Icon
Request recommendations from the community
No highlighted recommendations.
I Recommend...
Help millions of people make better decisions.
Each month, over 1.7 million people use Slant to find the best products and share their knowledge. Pick the tags you’re passionate about to get a personalized feed and begin contributing your knowledge.
undefined