Home Tablet comparison Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020) and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) - Which is better?

Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020) vs Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

57 out 100
Apple iPad 10.2
VS
68 out 100
Apple iPad Air 10.9
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020) Manufactured in September, 2020, with display 10.2 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic, vs Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020), Manufactured in October, 2020with chipsetApple A14 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
  • Higher battery capacity: 8827mAh vs 7606mAh
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
  • Larger display: 10.9in
  • Lighter design: 458g vs 490g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5 vs 4.2

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 3/32 GB
- 3/128 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020) and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Performance
App & system performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Tablets:
iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
vs
iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Size 10.2 in 10.9 in
Resolution 1620x2160 pixels 1640x2360 pixels
Aspect ratio 4:3 3:2
Pixel density 264 ppi 264 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 500 nits 500 nits
HDR support No No
Screen-to-body ratio 73.8 % 80.1 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
449 nits
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
484 nits
sRGB gamut96.1 %99.3 %
Response time30 ms36 ms
Contrast954:11305:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 250.6 mm (9.87 in) 247.6 mm (9.75 in)
Width 174.1 mm (6.85 in) 178.5 mm (7.03 in)
Thickness 7.5 mm (0.3 in) 6.1 mm (0.24 in)
Weight 490 g (17.28 oz) 458 g (16.16 oz)
Area 436 cm² (67.58 in²) 442 cm² (68.51 in²)
Water resistance No No
Back panel Metal Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray		 - Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Rose Gold
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
73.8 %
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
80.1 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020) and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 3000 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)		 - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 7 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Apple A14 GPU
GPU Cores 256 256
GPU Frequency 1125 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 576 GFLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
1338
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
2161
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
2903
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
5121
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13382161
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)29035121
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
711467
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
1049395
CPU189526314838
GPU175402370516
Memory133008154798
UX213531209243
NanoReview Score7114671049395
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
5476
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
8602
Max Surface Temp.35.9 °C37.6 °C
Stability83 %94 %
Graphics Test32 fps51 fps
Graphics Score54768602
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 3 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity32 GB64 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iPadOS 14 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3) iPadOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3)
OS Size 14 GB n/a

Battery

Volume 8827 mAh 7606 mAh
Max Charging Power 12 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging No Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 4:20 h 2:10 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
30:36
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
27:28
Web Browsing10:52 h09:35 h
Video Playback15:47 h13:46 h
Games06:59 h06:51 h
Standby Mode174 h158 h

Main camera

Matrix 8 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution n/a 4032x3024 pixels
Flash No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Lenses count Standard: 8 MP Standard: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect
Main lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/1.8
Focal length31 mmn/a
Sensor sizen/a1/3.0"
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 7 MP
Matrix n/a 3472x2063 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 31 mm 31 mm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization No Digital
Video resolution 720p at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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 4.2 5
Bluetooth features n/a LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version 2 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
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+​/DC‑HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHzUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPad 10.2" (8th Gen, 2020)
93.1 dB
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
86.3 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced September, 2020 yr September, 2020 yr
Release Date September, 2020 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 329 599
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 10 W Yes 20 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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