Jean Pierrie A. Tech 09.20.2020 05:Sep AM EDT

8th-generation iPad Surprisingly Goes on Sale

Apple's 8th-generation iPad was revealed by Apple along with the latest Apple Watches and the new iPad Air during its "Time Flies" event.

8th-generation iPad quick specs

Apple's latest base iPad has the same design with its previous version. It still has the large bezels around it and that old but reliable Touch ID button smack in the center of tablet's bottom part. The 8th-generation iPad, like its predecessors, is still portable and lightweight. It still features a solid aluminum and glass body. Also, the new iPad still comes with Apple's Lightning port. This isn't a dealbreaker though. The new iPad comes with a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter. This allows faster charging on the 8th-generation iPad when compared to Apple's previous base iPad model. We're still wishing for the day that Cupertino's tech giant will fully shift to using USB-C on all its devices.

However, despite these old design choices, the latest iPad has a newer A12 Bionic chipset. This allows the 8th-generation iPad to be much faster and snappier especially when it comes to multi-tasking when compared to the 7^th-generation version. The A12 chipset promises an increase of 40% in CPU performance and almost twice the graphics speed of the 7^th-generation iPad. The A12 Bionic chip also comes with Apple's Neural Engine. This gives the new iPad the ability to handle machine learning tasks.

The 8th-generation iPad comes with a 10.2-inch Retina Display with a resolution of 2160 x 1620. The screen offers up to 500 nits of brightness. It's available in either 32GB or 128GB storage configuration. At the rear is an 8MP shooter while the front has a 1.2MP camera.

With iPadOS 14, Apple's latest iPad can do much more especially when paired with an optional Apple Pencil. It even features handwriting recognition that really works well. The catch though, is that there's no place to store the Apple Pencil so users better be careful in not losing or misplacing theirs.

If you're up for it, you can spend $159 for the Apple Smart Keyboard. It offers a good typing experience though it's certainly not on par with the Apple Magic Keyboard that's being used for the iPad Air and iPad Pros.

8th-generation iPad pricing and availability

The base iPad sells for $329 but Walmart has 32GB rose gold and space gray Wi-Fi versions that are being sold for a tempting $299.

There isn't any large banner or notice on Walmart's website so we're thinking this discounted sale won't stay long. It's possible too that once stocks have run out, the 8^th-generation iPad will go back to its original pricing. For those who are willing to wait further for possible lower prices, take note that the holiday shopping season hasn't even begun just yet. There's a chance there'll be a much better deal on the new 8^th-generation iPad during the next months to come.