iPads, GoPros, and Official Nintendo Switch Chargers: New This Week

Apple’s event at Lane Tech High School in Chicago this Tuesday was all about making iPads a better option for the classroom. But the new iPad, with its support for Apple’s Pencil, is available for everyone—not just schools and educators. We haven’t had any hands-on time with the new model, but if you want to get an iPad, no reason to wait for reviewers to weigh in: This is the one to get.

At Wirecutter, we tend to err on the side of caution when talking about new versions of current picks. Last week, I wrote about how the latest Raspberry Pi isn’t worth springing for just yet, and it took us until yesterday to definitely prove to ourselves that the GoPro Hero6 Black is worth $100 more than the GoPro Hero5 Black. (We’re still writing up our notes on that one, and will update the guide soon.) But given Apple’s track record, we have no problem recommending the latest version right away.

There aren’t many changes between the new iPad and the one it’s replacing, but that’s also why we’re confident it should be the pick. The biggest change is that that the new iPad gains support for Apple’s Pencil stylus, which previously worked only with the iPad Pro. The processor has been bumped from a version of the one that ran the iPhone 6S to a version of the one that ran the iPhone 7. This should make it faster in day to day use and help it stay serviceable for at least a year beyond the older iPad. It won’t fully bridge the gap with the iPad Pro (which uses an A10X chip) for power users—especially because there’s still no Smart Keyboard case support. Otherwise, the new iPad is the same size and weight, with the same screen, and the bezels, Touch ID sensor, buttons, cameras, and headphone jack are all the same.

Now that the 2018 iPad has Pencil support, iPad Pro’s biggest advantages over the 2018 iPad are screen-related things—a wider color gamut, more-accurate colors, higher (and variable) refresh rate, an antireflective coating—and some added performance that most people don’t really need. The Pro’s Smart Connecter and better cameras are nice, but they’re nice-to-haves, not essentials. So more people are going to end up happy with this iPad over the 10.5-inch Pro. Dan Frakes, a Wirecutter senior editor who leads our tablet and phone coverage, thinks that we still need to run some tests to figure out exactly who can get this new iPad instead of an iPad Pro. We’ll do those tests next week, and will update our guide by next Friday with our full recommendation.

In the meantime, you may be tempted to jump on a refurb of the previous iPad, but we don’t recommend it. Even if you can get an old iPad for a steep discount, “50 percent better CPU performance, almost twice as much GPU performance, and pencil support is worth paying the full retail price for,” according to Smartphone and Networking editor Andrew Cunningham. This stands in contrast to our current stance on the iPhone 7 being a better value than the iPhone 8, but this is an illusory contradiction. Unlike the older iPad, the iPhone 7 was a flagship with all the latest technology at the time of its announcement—less than a year and a half ago. Meanwhile, the A9 chip powering the iPad debuted over two and a half years ago. Tablets are also replaced much more infrequently than phones so it makes sense to go with something that will last a bit longer.

We do wish that the $50 Crayon stylus and $100 Rugged Combo 2 keyboard case that Apple designed with Logitech were available to our readers, and not only to schools. We’ll keep an eye on if either device becomes available to the general public, or if parents with school-aged kids find a loophole to get their hands on both.

Here are some other things we updated this week:

After a side-by-side test, we’re in the process of rewriting our action camera guide. We plan to make the GoPro Hero6 Black our new top pick and the Hero5 Black our runner-up. We will test GoPro’s budget camera—announced this week—as soon as we can. [Action Cameras]

A recent software update (version 5.0.0) makes the Nintendo Switch incompatible with USB-C chargers and docks not made by Nintendo, so we’ve removed our section with extra dock recommendations. Some users report that these accessories cause the Switch to crash, and others say that they brick the Switch entirely. Though it appears that the Insignia dock we initially recommended has not led to any problems, Nintendo hasn’t said whether a fix is coming, and has told us in a statement that using the official Switch dock is the only way to totally avoid these kinds of problems. If you need a spare dock, you should buy Nintendo’s official model instead. [Nintendo Switch Accessories]

We’ve tested a few new robots, and the Roomba 690 is now our runner-up. [Robot Vacuums]

The Cedar Adjustable Drawer Organizers, a previous also-great pick, has been discontinued. We still think the Dial Dream Drawer Organizers are the best choice. [Closet Organizing Ideas]

Dog & Bone’s Wetsuit Impact passed our water submersion test, so it’s now our top pick for waterproof cases. [iPhone X Cases]

The Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Wallaby Small is finally out of stock for good, so our previous runner-up, the Sea to Summit Travelling Light Hanging Toiletry Bag, is now our pick. [Toiletry Bags]

Our previous budget pick, the Cub Cadet SC100, has been discontinued. We’ve replaced it with the upgraded SC100 HW from the same company, which is nearly identical. [Lawn Mowers]

The pump heads on our runner-up pick, the Lezyne Classic Floor Drive, were changed back to an earlier design. But after additional testing, we still recommend this pump. [Bike Pumps]

We tested a newer version of Anker’s PowerPort Elite 2, and decided that the smaller, sleeker PowerPort 2 is a better option for travelers. [Multiport USB Wall Chargers]

KitchenAid released a new variant of our also-great pick with a pocket handle. We also looked at 11 new models, but still remain confident in the rest of our picks. [Dishwashers]

We added some testing data for Zyxel’s Multy X mesh kit, but we don’t recommend it for home networks right now. [Wi-Fi Mesh Networking Kits]