On this episode of The Wrap, we’ll cover price rises coming to tech and services, and check out Apple’s 10th-gen iPad and how it compares to what’s out there. All in five minutes.
Subscribe to The Wrap at Apple Podcasts…Transcript
For the very beginning of November 2022, you’re listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, thanks for listening, and with only two months to go until the year is over, it’s probably not surprising that tech makers are out pushing as much stuff as possible into the market for you to consider.
There is a lot happening, as we head into the holiday season, and in the past month, we’ve already seen quite a bit, including new mice and keyboards from Logitech, new earphones from Sony and Skullcandy to name a few, baby monitors from Owlet, a slightly faster vacuum take from Dyson, new computers from the likes of Microsoft and HP, speakers aplenty Amazon, and so much more.
The last couple of months of 2022 are basically packed with gadgets galore, but one thing you can expect is for technology and its associated services to become more expensive.
Inflation isn’t fun, and we’re all feeling it. Whether you’re affected at the pump with petrol price hikes, at the supermarket with grocery price increases, or paying a mortgage with rate hikes, well, the economy isn’t feeling super friendly to your wallet.
And it may about to be a little more frustrating if you subscribe to services.
Recent research suggests many of us do, with Aussies happy to spend on roughly two to three subscriptions, but it’s very generational, and the younger you are, the more you’re likely to pay.
That could get more interesting as prices change. We’ve seen Apple up its music, Apple TV Plus, and Apple One subscription costs recently, and it’s not alone.
Stan raised its prices in September, and we’re waiting to see what prices will hit Netflix, though we do know a new ads tier is coming.
Netflix’s Basic with Ads will cost 6.99 per month in Australia, and bring a few minutes of ads to every hour of Netflix viewing you have, so it’ll be like free-to-air TV in that it has advertising, but cost money like regular Netflix.
You’ll also miss out on show downloads and only get to watch in 720p HD, but interestingly, there will be no ads on the kids profile, so if you only subscribe to Netflix for Octonauts for the kids, the 7 buck monthly service could be more economical to the 11 buck regular service.
Ads aren’t likely going away, though. There’s a rumour that Disney is working on a variant of Disney Plus with ads, and you can find them in websites and social networking and everywhere, even inside the App Store at the moment.
Yes, if you want to download an app, you may be subjected to ads. Not just in the app if the developer chooses, but also before you download.
Some of those apps may be viewed on new devices, and we’re checkin one out right now, the 10th-generation iPad model, simply called the iPad.
It’s actually one of two regular iPad models you can find, because last year’s excellent 9th-gen model is still there, but in the spirit of price rises, it will now cost fifty bucks more, going from 499 to 549.
No, the new iPad sits alongside, and it’s an increase in cost to 749, a staggering two hundred dollar difference for what amounts to the basic iPad made slightly newer and ever so slightly prettier.
So what’s new?
Mostly the design, because the 10th gen borrows quite a bit from the 10.9 inch iPad Air. The home button with the Touch ID fingerprint sensor is gone from the front, now in the power button on the side, and like the iPhones, the tablet is mostly screen.
You’ll find the same flat metal edged design of the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but it’s an iPad basic, so it’ll get the A14 chip from the iPhone 12, which is a little out of date, but still good, and a slight improvement on the A13 from last time.
The other big change is that it has USB Type C at the bottom, as Apple slowly does away with its Lightning port, adopting what’s now considered the standard format.
Overall, the iPad 10 offers slight improvements, giving you a sleeker design, a bigger screen, and if you want to, a keyboard attachment more like its Air and Pro siblings.
But the value is hard to justify, and there are other things that give us pause.
For instance, it can still use a Pencil, but it only takes the first-gen model, and without the Lightning port at the bottom, it’s a pain to charge. You need a separate converter and there’s still nowhere to hold it, and all in all, it’s as if Apple made the Pencil problem worse on the iPad 10 than it was previously.
The keyboard is also hideously expensive. At $399 in Australia, the Magic Keyboard Folio for the iPad 10 is more than half the price of the iPad itself, and it can quickly become a thousand dollar laptop for what used to be an entry-level option.
And that’s what makes the iPad so confusing. The 9th gen is clearly still the winner for the entry level, beating its sibling on price, and the iPad Air is a better tablet to choose at barely $250 more. The new iPad feels like being forced into an upsell, and while it’s a great device, it’s a touch confusing and difficult to recommend.
For now, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. A new episode can be found regularly at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get podcasts from. For now, have a great week, and we’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Stay safe, stay sane, and take care.
