90 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2019
FEATURE REVIEW: 10.2-INCH iPA Denjoying Apple Arcade games or basking
in the visuals from your favorite shows.
I do wish Apple would have been able
to deliver even more display space by
embracing the near edge-to-edge design
of the 2018 iPad Pros, but Apple likely
wouldn’t have managed to keep the price
so low if it had gone that route. Those
models use Face ID and associated True
Depth sensors—which greatly simplifies
unlocking your device and logging into
sites—but currently seems to command a
higher price. For now, with this model,
we’re stuck with Touch ID and the thick-
bezel look of the older iPads. It still works
fine, but it increasingly looks outdated in
this age of razor-thin bezels.
A SMART CONNECTOR
WITHOUT MANY CONNECTIONS
Now that the new iPad has a Smart
Connector, you also also hook up the iPad
Air’s Smart Keyboard (which also works
with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro). The “origami”
design takes a little getting used to and it
only allows for one tilt angle while typing,
but it’s pleasantly thin in a way most
third-party keyboards are not. I also prefer
keys with a little more key travel, but the
chiclet design makes for easy typing and I
admire how the canvas-like coating keeps
crumbs, grains of sand, and similar objects
from working their way under the keys.
Unfortunately, the Smart Connector
isn’t as useful as it could be. Four years on,From left to right: 2018 9.7-inch iPad, 2019 10.2-inch iPad, 2019 iPad Air.