Best iPads for Students to Get in 2022

We all have been through a phase where one piece of technology could solve most of our problems. When it comes to a student’s life, it is the same. Today, where most of the learning is digital and online platforms have overtaken the traditional methods of schooling and teaching in colleges, tablets actually come in very handy.

Tablets are lighter than laptops and, at the same time, have a screen more extensive than that of a phone. This means that it’s easier to watch a lecture, take notes or read an eBook from a tablet due to its large screen. This also means that when students have a good tablet, they do not need to carry their laptops everywhere they go.

[ Related: The M1 iPad Pro 2021 Vs The M1 MacBook Air ]

Also, having a study tablet keeps all the study environments separate, so a student never has to worry about getting distracted easily, as with mobile phones. This is the reason why students basically prefer separate tablets for studies.

Now, the question is, which tablet to go for. In this short and to-the-point article, we will discuss some of the best iPads for students in 2022. To make that choice, we must first investigate certain factors like the purpose and budget, and these two things will define the nature of the choice and possibilities.

What to consider when buying the best iPad for school or college?

If you are a student in a college or studying for a course from your home, you would not need the best processor available out there. Mid-range processors will satisfy all your requirements without giving you any trouble at all. You can read large-sized eBooks, watch high-definition video lectures or animations, and use smart apps to do the bookmarking and note-making for you.

You might also want an Apple pencil to make notes easily, create presentations well, draft hand-drawn graphics, and maybe teach your juniors with stylish whiteboards sometimes.

iPads are primarily efficient and famous for a lot of things. If you’re a pro gamer, you want the best screen, processor, and efficient cooling for the device. There also must be a proper connection mechanism for a headphone or a data cord to stream the gameplay.

Similarly, if you are a graphic designer, you want the best processor to be able to carry out all the graphics-intensive work that you have to do. You also have to be sure to get an Apple Pencil, which is basically the stylus to use with an iPad. You also might want the display to be better in color composition and light intensity so that you don’t miss any colors from the spectrum of your graphics work.

So, let’s check out the best iPad for students in 2022 in contrast to their specific hardware features and price range

Best iPad for students to buy in 2022

• iPad Air 4th Gen – Best Overall iPad for Students and Professionals
• iPad Pro 2021 – Best iPad for Productivity
• iPad Mini 6th Gen – Best Compact iPad for Primary School Students
• iPad 9th Gen – Best Budget iPad for Students

iPad Air 4th Gen – Best overall iPad for students and professionals

This iPad packs the best possible value at the best possible price for a student. It comes with all the goodies that an Apple device features. You can choose between the WiFi and WiFi plus Cellular model, and you get a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina Display. It features a 64-bit A14 Bionic chip with a Neural Engine and a storage capacity of up to 256GB. So yes, all the goodness of Apple and perfect for a student.

It has a great display making it the primary iPad choice for college note taking. This device features a Liquid Retina display 10.9-inch (diagonal). The screen is not the largest out there, but it definitely does the job well. It is an LED-backlit, Multi-Touch IPS display, with a resolution of 2360 x 1640, at 264 PPI and a brightness of 500 nits, which means a well-lit panel. There is also a Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating to ensure the device remains clean and does not require cleaning every time someone touches it. So, the display panel overall serves its purpose well.

Apart from that, the device has a 7MP front camera with cinematic video stabilization and 1080p HD video recording. So, all your facetime and virtual class experience will be above par. For the rear camera, you get a 12MP, decent Wide-angle camera that is capable of 4K video recording at up to 60 fps. So, a decent camera experience.

Along with an impressive battery backup of up to 10 hours and the premium quality build, this device stands out as a premium choice for an everyday student.

Pros:

• Premium look and sound design
• Liquid Retina 10.9-inch display
• Has Touch ID
• Great Performance with A14 bionic chip
• Supports Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard

Cons:

• No Face ID
• No Headphone Jack
• Camera could do better

iPad Pro 2021 – Best iPad for productivity

With the release of the iPad Pro in 2021, Apple forever revolutionized tablet technology by placing the M1 chipset inside it. Due to this important change, Apple set new performance records across various platforms. This powerpack of an iPad stands out in many of its features from its other peers from the Apple environment.

Starting off with the fact that Apple went on and placed a laptop processor into a tablet speaks volumes about this beast. The device features an 8 core M1 chip and an 8 core GPU, with a next-generation Neural Engine, which Apple primarily used for their laptop, including MacBook Air. It houses 16GB of RAM and a storage of up to 2TB.

The display panel is a Liquid Retina XDR display which is 12.9-inch (diagonal), with a mini-LED backlit Multi-Touch IPS display. The screen resolution is 2732 x 2048 at 264 PPI, and the screen is typically 600 nits bright. It is awesome for creative work and also works great as a premium iPad for medical students.

[ Related: iPad Pro M1 (2021) vs. iPad Pro (2020) – What’s New? ]

This iPad has a 12MP front camera with cinematic video stabilization, portrait mode (with advanced bokeh and Depth Control), and Center Stage feature, so even if your video feed keeps shaking, you will be at the center of the screen. It can record 1080p HD videos at 60 fps. You get a 12MP, decent Wide-angle camera and a 10MP Ultra-Wide camera for the rear camera. This gives the device the capability of 4K and 1080p video recording at up to 60 fps.

Combined with the fact that it can last up to 10 hours on battery, it is safe to say that this device is a power pack of performance and is designed for extensive professional use.

Pros:

• Excellent Liquid Retina XDR 12.9-inch display
• The power of the M1 processor
• Storage up to 2TB
• Supports Apple Pencil 2 and Magic Keyboard
• Supports 5G

Cons:

• Very Expensive
• No Headphone Jack
• Comes only in two colors

iPad Mini 6th Gen – Best compact iPad for primary school students

If you are looking for an iPad that is not too large and you can carry around like it is a large smartphone, iPad Mini 6^th Gen is just the thing for you. Even though it is small in size and compact in looks, it is just as powerful as an iPad promises to be. It features an A15 Bionic chip with a Neural Engine and storage of up to 256GB.

This iPad comes with a Liquid Retina display which is 8.3-inch (diagonal), with an LED-backlit Multi-Touch IPS display. The screen resolution is 2266 x 1488 at 326 PPI, and the screen is typically 500 nits bright. This makes it an overall great choice for a tablet and as an iPad for primary school students.

So, even though the size is small and there is no home button, this device is no lesser in quality and premium looks.

The device houses a 12MP wide front camera capable of Cinematic video stabilization and video recording of1080p at up to 60 fps. It also features the new Center Stage feature. And for the back camera, the device has a 12MP wide camera capable of 4K and 1080p recording at up to 60 fps. You can also create slo-mo videos of 1080p quality at 120 fps or 240 fps along with Time-lapse video with stabilization.

It can go on for up to 10 hours on battery. The device does not have a face ID, but the Touch ID is supported.

Pros:

• Good design, lightweight, compact, great portability
• The power of the A15 Bionic chip
• Storage up to 2TB
• Supports Apple Pencil 2
• Supports 5G

Cons:

• No Face ID
• No Headphone Jack or Magic Keyboard
• Comes only in two colors

iPad 9th Gen – Best budget iPad for students

Understandably, the budget might not be that great for a student, and in that case, iPad 9^th Gen is just the right thing. With the power of the A13 Bionic Chip, this device pushes good performance and features into a very tight budget.

With a possibility as low as $329, this device is the best budget option for any student or even a tight-budget professional. Hence, it may be the solution you’re looking for, in turn making it a great iPad for high school students.

The device has a 10.2-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Multi-Touch IPS display, with a resolution of 2160 x 1620 at 264 PPI and a brightness of 500 nits. The rear camera is 8MP and capable of video recording of 1080p quality at 30fps. The front camera is 12MP and capable of 1080p recording at up to 60 fps. This iPad also features the new Center Stage feature and Cinematic Video Stabilization.

There are always compromises with a lower price, and iPad 9^th Gen is no exception to that. The rear camera is only 8MP, the storage for the least expensive model will be only 64GB, and the processor is not the latest and state-of-the-art. But you can still have cloud storage to compensate for the storage issue, and the 12MP front camera also relieves a part of the losing out feeling.

So, if you are a student and are on a tight budget but still want an iPad, a larger screen to work with, or just to ease your study or work, the iPad 9^th Gen is the answer to all your questions.

Pros:

• Most affordable price
• 10.2-inch Retina IPS display
• Supports Apple Pencil 1
• Supports 5G

Cons:

• It uses an older A13 Bionic chip
• No Face ID
• Bezel heavy design
• No 5G support

Bonus: Buy an older generation iPad

There is always some kind of FOMO that comes with the decision of buying anything from an older generation. Everyone wants their gadgets to be the latest and state-of-the-art technology. However, we fail to realize that it might not always be monumentally better than its predecessor, even though it is an upgraded version. When going for an iPad, one has to be extremely diligent about the fact that sometimes Apple upgrades might just not be something that would alter your experience of using an iPad to another level. And when it comes to performance, software and hardware performance are basically the same things.

So, it would help if you always considered going for an older version. A year ago, iPad could be hundreds of dollars cheaper and might still include almost all the best features from the latest model. For example, the iPad Pro 2020 vs. the iPad 8^th Gen, even though the price difference is gigantic, the features?

Well, not so much. Of course, there have to be a lot of differences in features when you focus on the prices, but the difference in these features might not always be that great for you. Both of these iPads have a lot in common, and you can almost do everything on an iPad 8^th Gen that you can do on an iPad Pro 2020.

You get the same software, same apps, and same functionality in both of these iPads, with iPad pro being slightly more premium when it comes to displaying, refresh rate, design, and data transfer. So, should you spend twice as much on an iPad pro or get an iPad 8^th Gen?

Well, definitely not if you are on a limited budget. For daily tasks that a student or an everyday professional has to perform, almost in all the cases, going for an older generation iPad saves money and performs almost the same, with a little bit of compromise over features that one might even miss, if we do not compare the two side by side.

However, there is also the option for getting an Apple Certified Refurbished or just a refurbished iPad. These iPads are much more affordable and can save you around 10% to 50% on your purchase. A refurbished iPad is basically a malfunctioning or damaged iPad that has been repaired. These iPads are repaired by the official Apple-certified retailers or any third-party service center.

Hence, making refurbished iPads a great choice for people that want to save some money or for students on a tight budget.

Final words

In this article, we talked about the best iPads with respect to different preferences and budgets and also about the best choice that a student can make when going for an iPad. After reading this article, we hope we made your choice a bit clearer, and we shed light on some important facts to consider before buying an iPad.

FAQs

Which is the best iPad for a student?

The best choice for a student is the iPad 9^th generation, which serves the best possible features at an affordable price. Since students do not have processing-intensive work and are generally on a tight budget, this iPad provides the best value.

Which iPad is best for graphic design and software testing?

IPad Pro 2021, which flaunts the M1 chip, is the best choice for processing-intensive work or graphic processing-intensive work. It is a performance beast, and it will never disappoint you at power.

Should I prefer a new generation iPad or an older generation cheaper one?

This is a subjective question, and it depends on the budget. If you are tight on budget and choose to get a cheaper iPad of the older generation, but there is a new generation available, weigh your choices. Getting an older generation one is probably better if you can compromise with some astute setbacks. But if you have money to spare, you should definitely prefer the latest generation over the others.

Is iPad pro a good investment for Ph.D. students?

Yes, the iPad Pro is a powerful tablet with pro tools and features that would be essential for most students. So, it is a great iPad for PhD students, and you can also attach a keyboard so that you can get assignments and projects done comfortably.