IPad (8th generation)

The iPad (8th generation) (also referred to as the iPad 10.2-inch 2020) is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple as the successor to the 7th-generation iPad. It was announced on September 15, 2020 and released on September 18, 2020.

This iPad retains the 10.2 inch Retina display from its predecessor, the seventh-generation iPad, along with Apple Pencil (1st generation) compatibility and Smart Keyboard compatibility, though it now includes a faster A12 Bionic processor, with a Neural Engine, making it the first entry-level iPad to have a Neural Engine.

The eighth-generation iPad is the last iPad to feature 32 GB of internal storage.

The eighth-generation iPad uses the same design as the seventh-generation iPad, with a 10.2-inch screen with 1620 by 2160 pixels at a pixel density of 264-pixel PPI, Touch ID support, and compatibility with the Smart Connector.

It uses the Apple A12 chip, which Apple claims provides a 40% faster 6-core CPU and a 2x faster 4 core GPU compared to the processor of the previous generation. It is the first model in Apple's entry level iPad lineup to include a Neural Engine, a component introduced with the A11 processor. It is the final iPad tablet available with white bezels on the Silver and Gold models; all iPad (9th generation) tablets come with black bezels.

The eighth-generation iPad is compatible with the first-generation Apple Pencil, the Smart Keyboard and keyboard attachments compatible with the Smart Connector.

It was released running iPadOS 14, with iPadOS 15 unveiled later at WWDC21 and iPadOS 16 announced at WWDC22.

Miles Somerville of 9to5Mac found the tablet to be a good value proposition at its price point. He described it as having a nearly identical appearance to its predecessor, but with improved battery life, enhanced performance owing to the upgrade from the A10 Fusion to the A12 Bionic, and better screen sensitivity for Apple Pencil use, while continuing the poor implementation of Pencil charging on a perpendicular direction from the tablet's Lightning port. He found it sufficient for basic activities, gaming, everyday content consumption, and general multitasking, although not measuring up to the 2020 iPad Pro or the simultaneously released fourth-generation iPad Air, in part due to its display that supports only a 60 Hz refresh rate instead of 120 Hz. He especially faulted Apple's choice of keeping a 1.2-megapixel camera on the front of the tablet, which could be a strong negative factor for an intended audience of students, who might plan to use the device for teleconference classes over platforms such as Zoom.