iPad 8 vs iPad 7: Should you upgrade?

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iPad eight vs iPad vii: Should you upgrade?

(Epitome credit: Future)

When Apple rolled out the iPad 8, many iPad seven owners were probably wondering if this new model is worth upgrading to. While the eighth and 7th Generation iPads await identical, nosotros plant some interesting results by looking under the hood with this iPad 8 vs iPad seven face-off, to come across how the new king of our best tablet list compares to its predecessor.

Of course, both run iPadOS fourteen, and so no matter which tablet y'all get, yous'll get some seriously cool new perks, similar Scribble and widgets. But did our tests from our iPad 2020 review evidence that this slate good enough to convince u.s. to plunk down another $329?

• The all-time tablets to purchase at present
• iPadOS xiv hands-on preview: testing out Apple'southward new iPad software

In order to answer this question, we've put these tablets upward against each other in an 8-round face up-off to encounter how far the iPad's gone in the year since Apple terminal updated it. Hither'due south how the iPad 8 and iPad seven stack up.

iPad 8 vs. iPad 7 specs

	iPad 8	iPad vii
Starting price	$329	$329
Screen size (resolution)	ten.2 inches (2160 x 1620)	10.two inches (2160 x 1620)
CPU	A12 Bionic	A10 Fusion
Storage	32GB, 128GB	32GB, 128GB
Rear camera	8MP (f/ii.4)	8MP (f/2.iv)
Front camera	ane.2MP (f/ii.4)	1.2MP (f/2.iv)
Battery life	12:57	11:58
Size	nine.8 x vi.viii 10 0.29 inches	9.viii x six.8 x 0.29 inches
Weight	1.08 pounds (Wi-Fi), 1.09 pounds (cellular)	1.07 pounds (Wi-Fi), 1.09 pounds (cellular)
Colors	Silver, gold, space gray	Silver, aureate, space grayness

iPad 8 vs iPad vii: Price and value

Both the iPad 8 and iPad seven currently start at $329, with the former sold at Apple and all other retailers and the latter only available from stores similar Amazon. The iPad 7th Gen will likely get more frequent discounts equally sellers endeavour and clear out stock, such as the $299 Silver iPad (32GB/Wi-Fi merely) available right now on Amazon.

That being said, the iPad 8 is just as likely to get auction pricing on Amazon Prime Day 2020, Black Fri and Cyber Mon, as  the iPad 7 got big discounts during the holiday shopping flavor terminal year.

The iPad eight costs $459 with cellular connectivity, and you tin upgrade its standard 32GB of storage to 128GB for an extra $100.

Both tablets provide solid value for what they are, but we're notwithstanding hoping Apple finds a way to release a tablet that'due south under $300 (though the iPad eight is $299 with the education discount).

iPad 8 vs iPad 7: Design

There's non much difference between the new iPad and 7th-generation iPad it's replacing. Both take a x.two-inch Retina display, a 9.8 x six.8 x 0.29-inch trunk and are sold in the standard 3 Apple device colors: silverish, gold and space gray. The design is slowly aging, just Apple has the iPad Air 4 if you want thinner bezels without spending iPad Pro prices.

The iPad 7 (above) looks just like the iPad viii (Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

Both too share the aforementioned home push button with Touch on ID and Lightning port. The lock button and volume buttons also remain. We'd love to run across the iPad add Face ID or USB-C, though.

iPad 8 vs iPad seven: Display

Again, Apple tree's new iPad is a lot similar its former i. Both the iPad 8 and iPad seven have the same 10.2-inch Retina display measuring 2160 x 1620 pixels.

In terms of colour reproduction, we really noticed a teeny-tiny reduction: the iPad 8, according to our Klein K10-A colorimeter, produces 97% of the sRGB spectrum, which is inside spitting distance of the 105% rating nosotros recorded from the iPad vii last twelvemonth.

The iPad 8'southward screen is expert, but quite like to the iPad vii's. (Image credit: Future)

The iPad 8 is a footling brighter, though. Our colorimeter rated its screen every bit maxing out at 484 nits, while the iPad 7 produced upwards to 450 nits. Just overall, y'all should expect a similar experience on both tablets when watching movies and shows.

iPad 8 vs iPad seven: Performance

Now that we've gone past the shell, nosotros detect the real changes in the iPad 8 nether the hood. Replacing the A10 Fusion CPU has long been overdue (the chip came out in September 2016), and so Apple tree obliged with the A12 Bionic chip (which is half as old, coming out in September 2018).

While Apple rates the A12 chip as enabling the iPad 8 to offering 40% faster CPU performance and 2x faster graphics than the iPad 7, benchmarks say Apple tree's being modest.

Speed is where the iPad 8 separates itself (Image credit: Future)

On the Geekbench 5 multi-core full general performance benchmark, the iPad 8 pulled in a two,685, which almost doubles the iPad seven's 1,429.

When we tested the iPad viii, we noted that the Mortal Kombat and Sayonara Wild Hearts games ran snappily, and — just as impressively — Pixelmator enabled speedy prototype editing. But when I reviewed the iPad 7, I noted that "information technology could be a chip speedier."

iPad 8 vs iPad 7: Cameras

The iPad 8 features the aforementioned photographic camera set as the iPad vii, starting with the rear 8MP wide camera (with an ƒ/2.four aperture) that supports Live Photos and HDR photos. On the front, both take a 1.2MP FaceTime Hard disk camera.

The iPad 7'due south cameras have the aforementioned specs, but no Neural Engine backing them upwards. (Image credit: Futurity)

There is a difference, though, thanks to the epitome processing help from the A12 Bionic chip and its Neural Engine — the first fourth dimension the regular iPad'south had the former component. In our testing, we saw the iPad 8 handle natural low-cal without result, for fifty-fifty exposures and tons of detail of flowers.

That being said, don't expect a world of divergence in Zoom calls or Hangouts.

iPad eight vs iPad vii: Apple Pencil and Keyboard

The iPad 8 and iPad 7 support the same Apple accessories: the original Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard Page. And while the Apple Pencil continues to offer silky smooth input for your notes and drawings, information technology's an inartful solution at best. Y'all pair the Apple Pencil to the iPad by taking off the tiny cap at the base of operations of the stylus and plug that into the lesser of the iPad, in its Lightning port. This is also how you accuse the Pencil, and the process does not feel that reliable when you lot plug the Pencil into the iPad.

(Image credit: Future)

I recommend you have some sort of cup to shop the Pencil's cap in at your desk, because this thing is small-scale and easily lost, thanks to having generally rounded edges. Nosotros wish Apple had found a way to make the 2d Gen Apple Pencil work with the iPad, as it neatly snaps onto the side of the iPad Air 4 and iPad Pro, thanks to magnets for pairing and charging. Just neither entry-level iPad gets that perk.

Equally for the Apple Smart Keyboard, it'south solid for writing, but its keys again pale to those of the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro and iPad Air 4, which accept a lot more than vertical travel.

iPad eight vs iPad 7: iPadOS' Special Features

Both the iPad 8 and iPad 7 get a really cool new trick in iPadOS xiv: Scribble. Provided y'all bought the Apple Pencil, y'all can now hand write with that stylus in any text field, and watch as the iPad translates your chicken scratch to typed letters, numbers and characters.

Also, iPadOS fourteen brings widgets and default mail and browser apps to the iPad, finally. And since iPadOS 14 is supported past both the iPad 8 and 7, you don't need to upgrade for these overdue perks.

iPad 8 vs iPad 7: Battery life

Apple has a very good runway record of under promising and over delivering when it comes to the bombardment life of its tablets. The iPad 8 continues this trend, lasting 12 hours and 57 minutes on our Wi-Fi-based battery test, chirapsia Apple's bourgeois estimation of 10 hours.

The iPad 8 (above) lasts near an hour longer than the iPad vii. (Image credit: Future)

The iPad 7, besides rated for x hours by Apple tree, lasted eleven:58 on the same test. If your iPad's a yr old, this actress hour probably won't make the hugest difference, but it'southward not bad to see Apple deliver a longer lasting tablet. Anything to cutting down on the chances of picking upwards a tablet that needs to be plugged back in.

iPad 8 vs iPad 7: Scorecard

	iPad eight	iPad 7
Price and value (10 points)	6	half dozen
Design (10 points)	half-dozen	six
Display (twenty points)	17	17
Operation (twenty points)	18	12
Cameras (10 points)	8	6
Apple tree Pencil and Keyboard (5 points)	three	three
iPadOS Special Features (5 points)	iv	4
Bombardment Life (20 points)	19	17
Full Score	81	72

iPad 8 vs iPad vii: Should you upgrade?

Apple's iPad 8 is very similar to the iPad vii, almost to the point that makes u.s.a. wish there were more new features. That existence said, as the iPad's productivity tricks grow as iPadOS evolves, the significant performance heave of the iPad is the kind of upgrade that will probably drive sales for those who desire better speed but don't desire to spend the money on the iPad Air 4 or iPad Pro.

(Paradigm credit: Time to come)

Simply if you but apply the iPad for streaming Netflix, casual consumption of music or keeping upward with email, you don't actually demand the iPad 8 if you lot have the iPad vii or tin can find it at a large discount. Hopefully, the iPad 9 shakes things up with a new blueprint, but that's a chat for next yr.

Henry is a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past six-plus years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's too covered the wild globe of professional person wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/ipad-8-vs-ipad-7-should-you-upgrade

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