iPad Air 10.5” (3 Gen, 2019) vs iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
54
out of 100
VS
60
out of 100
Here we compared two tablets: the 10.5-inch Apple iPad Air 10.5” (3 Gen, 2019) (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on March 18, 2019, against the Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021), which is powered by Apple A13 Bionic and came out 2 years and 6 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad Air 10.5” (3 Gen, 2019)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
- 21% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1087K versus 895K)
- 36% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1792 and 1318 points
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Size | 10.5 inches | 10.2 inches |
| Resolution | 1668 x 2224 pixels | 1620 x 2160 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 | 4:3 |
| PPI | 265 ppi | 265 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 78.3% | 73.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 99.7% | 97.9% |
| PWM | Not detected | 40000 Hz |
| Response time | 40 ms | 27 ms |
| Contrast | 1256:1 | 1014:1 |
Screen space comparison
iPad Air 10.5” (3 Gen, 2019)
10.5″ (4:3 ratio) = 52.9 in2
iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021)
10.2″ (4:3 ratio) = 49.9 in2
~5% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 250.6 mm (9.87 inches) | 250.6 mm (9.87 inches) |
| Width | 174.1 mm (6.85 inches) | 174.1 mm (6.85 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.1 mm (0.24 inches) | 7.5 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 456 g (16.08 oz) | 487 g (17.18 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gold, Gray | Silver, Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
| Area | 436 cm2 (67.6 inches2) | 436 cm2 (67.6 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (115th and 98th place)
iPad Ranking (26th and 25th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A13 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2500 MHz | 2650 MHz |
| CPU cores | 6 (2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Thunder - 2 cores at 2.65 GHz: Lightning |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Neural Engine | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Apple GPU 4-core | Apple GPU 4-core |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1125 MHz | 1230 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~576 GFLOPS | ~629.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Single-core score | 1318 | 1792 |
| Multi-core score | 3134 | 4214 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 309104 | 272419 |
| GPU | 144993 | 317618 |
| Memory | 139578 | 149125 |
| UX | 301952 | 347946 |
| Total score | 895627 | 1087108 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [17 tests] |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | - | 85% |
| Graphics test | - | 10 FPS |
| Section 1 | - | 12 FPS |
| Section 2 | - | 10 FPS |
| Section 3 | - | 7 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 2552 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 87% | 86% |
| Graphics test | 10 FPS | 11 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1689 | 1961 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | NVMe | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | iPadOS 12.1.3 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) | iPadOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iPadOS 26.5) |
Battery
| Capacity | 8134 mAh | 8557 mAh |
| Max charge power | 30 W | 30 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 60 min) | Yes (24% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:28 hr | 2:45 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:37 hr | - |
| Watching video | 11:11 hr | - |
| Gaming | 06:04 hr | - |
| Standby | 184 hr | - |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 120 FPS (720p) |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - | - |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 31 mm | 31 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 7 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3472 x 2063 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 31 mm | - |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | No | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 4.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | - |
| USB type | No | No |
| USB version | - | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2019 | September 2021 |
| Release date | March 2019 | September 2021 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $499 | $329 |
| Successor | - | - Apple iPad 11" (11th Gen, 2025) |
| SAR (body) | 0.99 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Keyboard weight | 297 g | 293 g |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 12 W | Yes, 20 W |
Further details
Notes on iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021):
- Supports 1st generation of Apple Pencil.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPad 10.2" (9th Gen, 2021) is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 37