iPad (7th generation) vs iPad (A16)

iPadOS is the software that runs the iPad: the home screen, the built-in apps, the settings and the security protection. Apple split it off from iOS in 2019. iPads before that ran iOS, the same software as the iPhone.

An iPad on the newest iPadOS gets new features every year and regular security fixes. An iPad stuck on an older version keeps working, but it stops getting new features, and over time apps start requiring a newer version. Banking, payment and school apps are often the first.

Matters most if: Your kids use it for school apps, or you use banking or work apps on it.

The price Apple charged in the US on launch day for the Wi-Fi model with the lowest storage, before tax.

This is not what the iPad costs today. Cellular models, more storage, Apple Pencil and keyboards all cost extra. Older models drop in price over time, so check the used and refurbished links for current prices.

Screen size measured corner to corner, in inches. One inch is 2.54 cm. Newer iPads have rounded corners, so Apple measures them as if they were a plain rectangle; the area you can see is slightly smaller.

A bigger screen fits two apps side by side more comfortably and shows more of a page or a drawing at once. A smaller iPad is lighter to hold in one hand and fits more bags. Going from about 11 to 13 inches makes the screen roughly 40% larger in area.

Apple's name for the screen. Retina means sharp enough that you cannot see the individual dots at a normal distance. Liquid Retina is Apple's name for its rounded-corner LCD screens. Liquid Retina XDR uses mini-LED lighting. Ultra Retina XDR uses OLED.

The name tells you which screen family you get. The XDR screens are much brighter for HDR video and photos, and show deeper blacks than Retina and Liquid Retina screens.

True Tone uses a light sensor to adjust the color of the screen to match the light in the room.

Under warm evening lamps, white pages look like warm paper instead of cold blue-white, which many people find easier on the eyes when reading. It can be turned off in Settings.

Home button: a round button below the screen. All-screen: the screen reaches close to the edges, with no Home button.

All-screen iPads fit a bigger screen into a similar body size. Instead of pressing the Home button, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go home.

How you unlock the iPad. Touch ID reads your fingerprint, either in the Home button or in the top button. Face ID recognizes your face. Passcode only means typing a code every time.

Face ID works just by looking at the iPad, in any orientation on newer models. Touch ID in the top button works the same way as in the Home button, but sits on the edge. Touch ID and Face ID also confirm App Store purchases and fill in passwords.

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How Apple describes the iPad's speakers on its spec page. Built-in speaker means one speaker. Stereo speakers means separate left and right sound. Landscape stereo speakers are placed so left and right work when the iPad is held sideways. Four speaker audio uses a speaker in each corner. Apple's wording varies between models. We show it exactly as Apple lists it.

With four speaker audio, the iPad plays sound from left and right in whichever way you hold it. With landscape stereo speakers, left and right work when you watch a film sideways. With plain stereo speakers, both usually sit along the bottom edge, so held sideways the sound comes from one side. A single speaker plays everything from one spot.

Matters most if: You watch films or play games without headphones.

Weight in grams for the Wi-Fi model. 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces. Cellular models are a few grams heavier.

A difference of 50 to 100 grams is noticeable when you hold the iPad up in one hand to read for a long time. A keyboard case often weighs about as much as the iPad itself.

How thick the iPad is, in millimeters. 1 mm is about 0.04 inch.

A difference under 1 mm is hard to notice in the hand, and a case adds more than that. Thinner iPads feel lighter to hold and slide more easily into a bag.

MP stands for megapixels: one megapixel is one million tiny dots. A 12 MP photo is made of 12 million dots.

More megapixels mean scanned documents and photos stay sharp when you zoom in or crop them. "Not confirmed" here means Apple described the camera without giving a megapixel figure.

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Megapixels of the front camera, the one facing you.

More megapixels make you look sharper in video calls and selfies, and let the iPad crop in to keep you in frame. "Not confirmed" here means Apple described the camera without giving a megapixel figure.

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Where the front camera sits. Portrait: on the short edge, at the top when you hold the iPad upright. Landscape: on the long edge, at the top when the iPad lies sideways in a keyboard case.

In video calls with the iPad sideways, a landscape camera looks at you straight on. With a portrait-edge camera, the camera ends up on the left or right side, so you seem to be looking away from the person you are talking to.

Matters most if: You make video calls with the iPad on a stand or in a keyboard case.

Center Stage uses the wide front camera to follow you during video calls.

If you move around the room, the picture pans to keep you in the middle. When someone else joins you, it widens to fit both of you. It works in FaceTime and many other video call apps.

Which Apple Pencil works with this iPad. Shown is the most capable one it supports. The 1st generation charges through a plug, the 2nd generation snaps to the side of the iPad and charges there, the USB-C model charges through a cable, and Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze controls and a feel-back vibration.

Each iPad works only with certain Apple Pencil models, so an Apple Pencil you already own may not work with a new iPad. Apple Pencil (USB-C) does not sense how hard you press, so line thickness does not change with pressure. Check Apple's compatibility list before buying.

Matters most if: You already own an Apple Pencil, or want to draw or take handwritten notes.

The best Apple keyboard case made for this iPad. Smart Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio are thin fabric keyboards without a trackpad. Magic Keyboard Folio and Magic Keyboard add a trackpad; Magic Keyboard holds the iPad above the keys at an adjustable angle.

With a trackpad, you can move a pointer and select text much as on a laptop. Keyboards made for one iPad size and generation usually do not fit others, so an old keyboard may not fit a new iPad.

Matters most if: You plan to type a lot, or want to use the iPad like a laptop.

The socket for the charging cable. The 30-pin dock connector was the original wide plug. Lightning is the smaller Apple-only plug that replaced it. USB-C is the standard plug used by most laptops and Android phones.

With USB-C, one cable can charge your iPad, Mac and many phones, and you can plug in cameras, memory card readers, external drives and displays without special adapters. Old 30-pin and Lightning accessories need an adapter.

How fast files move over a cable. Mb/s is megabits per second, Gb/s is gigabits per second (1 Gb/s = 1,000 Mb/s). USB 3 at 10 Gb/s is about 20 times faster than USB 2 at 480 Mb/s. Thunderbolt goes up to 40 Gb/s.

Only matters when you copy large files, like photo libraries or long videos, to or from a drive or computer with a cable, or connect a large external display. A video that takes several minutes to copy at USB 2 speed takes seconds over Thunderbolt. "Not published by Apple" means Apple's spec page for that model does not state a speed.

Matters most if: You edit photos or video, or connect external drives.

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Cellular models can use mobile data with a SIM or eSIM, like a phone. 3G, 4G LTE and 5G are generations of mobile network, newest last. Wi-Fi models have no mobile data at all.

With cellular, the iPad has internet anywhere your carrier has coverage, without a Wi-Fi hotspot. Cellular models cost more and need a data plan. Many carriers have switched off 3G, so a 3G iPad may get no mobile data today.

Matters most if: You use the iPad on trains, in cars or anywhere without Wi-Fi.

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Wi-Fi generations. Each new one handles more devices at once and higher speeds: Wi-Fi 4 (2009), Wi-Fi 5 (2014), Wi-Fi 6 (2019), Wi-Fi 6E adds a new, less crowded radio band, Wi-Fi 7 is the newest.

You only get the extra speed if your router supports the same generation. With an older router, the difference is small.

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The chip is the iPad's brain. It runs every app, processes photos and video, and handles the AI features.

A newer chip makes the iPad faster, keeps it fast for more years, and decides which new features it can get. Apple Intelligence, for example, needs an M1 chip or later, or the A17 Pro.

Storage is where your apps, photos, videos, books and downloads are kept. 1 TB (terabyte) is about 1,000 GB.

iPads have no memory card slot, so you cannot add storage inside later. Models with USB-C can use external drives in the Files app. Downloaded films and games fill storage fastest.