iPad 9th Gen With Box

Design and Build

The iPad 9th Gen (2021) is housed in an aluminum material body with rounded edges, it comes with the size of 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.29 inches (250.6 x 174.1 x 7.5 mm) and a weight of 1.07 pounds (487g Wi-Fi, 498g Cellular). This device is available in Space Gray and Silver color variants, is equipped with a Home button carrying Touch ID, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and is compatible with 1st-gen Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. Since it is not IP rated, the user cannot expect the device to be waterproof or dustproof. The Lightning port and thick bezels are two characteristics that seem to be out of fashion especially when contrasted with the 10th Gen which has USB-C and a more modern design. Among the various features, the layout is something users like but the appearance is what needs considerable changes.

• Aluminum chassis, rounded edges
• Home button with Touch ID
• Lightning port, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Supports 1st-gen Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard
• No water/dust resistance

iPad 9th Gen Display

The iPad 9th Gen uses a 10.2-inch True Tone Retina IPS LCD with a resolution of 2160 x 1620 (264 PPI), supporting sRGB color (no P3). It can attain a brightness level of 500 nits, meaning indoor usage is acceptable, but the sunlight will limit the visibility. The refresh rate is 60Hz, and the display is not laminated, causing a slight parallax issue, leading to a minor loss of stylus exactness. Besides the 1st-gen Apple Pencil, the display still has a visible air gap due to the thickness of the Air 5 model. The display is still enough to meet the media demands, but it is not up to the modern standards of screen quality. The 2021 LCD screen is still on par with a good full HD TV screen, although considering the changing trends, it's a bit out of fashion, several users say.

• 10.2-inch Retina IPS LCD
• 2160 x 1620 resolution, 264 PPI
• 500 nits brightness
• True Tone, sRGB color
• 60Hz refresh rate
• Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating

Performance and Software

The iPad 9th Gen is equipped with the Apple A13 Bionic processor (6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, 8-core Neural Engine), 3GB RAM, and storage options of 64GB ($329) or 256GB ($479) (not expandable). Being powered by iPadOS 15 (officially upgradable to iPadOS 18), it has no Apple Intelligence feature, and it can be expected to run for around 2026. It is good for such basic operations as handling simple tasks, not bad for gaming, and sometimes even the most performance-consuming task takes a shorter time than expected,d but when it is related to multitasking it might need a little more time than the 10th Gen. However, users comment favorably on its value and performance limitations.

• Apple A13 Bionic chip, 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU
• 3GB RAM
• Storage: 64GB, 256GB
• iPadOS 15 (up to iPadOS 18)
• No Apple Intelligence support

The A13 Bionic is capable for budget users, but 3GB RAM and limited AI features make it less versatile than the 10th Gen. It’s ideal for students and casual use.

Camera System

The iPad 9th Gen is equipped with an 8MP main camera (f/2.4, 5x digital zoom) which has no flash and a 12MP extremely wide-angle selfie camera (f/2.4, 122° FOV) with Center Stage. It is capable of recording 1080p at 30 fps (rear camera) and 1080p at 60 fps (front camera). The camera performance is very basic and gets worse when shooting in low-light conditions.

• Rear: 8MP (f/2.4, 5x digital zoom)
• Front: 12MP Ultra-wide (f/2.4, 122° FOV)
• Video: 1080p 30fps (rear), 1080p 60fps (front)
• Features: Center Stage, HDR

Battery and Charging

TThe iPad 9th Gen comes with an 8557mAh battery that guarantees approximately 10 hours of video playback or 8–10 hours of use in real life. It takes charge at the rate of 20W through the Lightning port (50% in ~60 minutes), and the device comes with a 20W charger. The product does not have wireless charging. The battery life of the iPad is generally stable, but it is not as long-lasting as that of the 10th generation which gives you around 11 hours. Users are verbal about the good performance of it in daily tasks.

• 8557mAh battery
• ~10 hours video playback, 8–10 hours real-world
• 20W wired charging (50% in ~60 min)
• No wireless charging
• 20W Lightning charger included

Connectivity

The iPad 9th Gen is compatible with Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 4.2, and for cellular models, it comes with an option of 4G LTE ($459+). The device is equipped with a nano-SIM and eSIM and it has a GPS (A-GPS, GLONASS in cellular). However, 5G disuse as well as non-compatibility of Wi-Fi 6 leads to non-future-proofing of the product. As a result, the device’s connectivity is not fast enough, but it is sufficient for most users.

• Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 4G LTE (cellular models)
• Nano-SIM, eSIM
• GPS: A-GPS, GLONASS (cellular)
• No 5G or Wi-Fi 6