iPad 6 is almost identical to iPad 5. Both are hybrids of iPad Air and iPad Air 2. They’re both 9.4 inches (240 mm) tall, 6.6 inches (169.5 mm) wide, 0.29 inches (7.5 mm) “thin”, and weighs in at 1.03 pounds (469 grams) for the Wi-Fi version and 1.05 pounds (478 grams) for the cellular version. That’s the same “thinness” and weight as the original iPad Air, and 0.05 inches (1.4 mm) thicker and 0.07 pounds (9 grams) heavier than the iPad Air 2 or 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

What it means, though, is that all of your accessories going all the way back to the original iPad Air will fit iPad 6 — including many iPad Air 2 accessories.

It’s also got the same two speaker system on the bottom. Same lack of a mute switch / rotation-lock switch. Same lack of a camera bump. Same big, plastic window on the top back of the LTE version.

It’s the design language that started with iPod Touch, moved to iPad mini and iPad Air, and settled on iPad Pro. And if something new is coming — something more iPhone X like — it won’t start with this iPad. It’ll start with the next Pro.

The camera optics are the same as well, still in line with the Air Pad Air, original 12.9-inch iPad Pro, or iPhone 6. That means 8 megapixels, 1080p video out back and 1.2 megapixels, 720p video up front. It’s not modern, and it’s certainly not great.

It’ll probably be fine for occasional, casual use, including use in classrooms. That includes taking everyday photos in well-lit environments, scanning documents to digitize, and capturing image and videos for family or school projects. Also, taking and making FaceTime video calls. But it’s not for anyone who takes photography seriously. Yes, even on an iPad.

Touch ID on the front is also the same, first generation sensor as last year, not the faster second-generation sensor found on the iPads Pro and modern iPhones.

iPad 6 The Different

There are a few minor differences between this year’s iPad and last. Where the 2017 model came in a champagne gold similar to the one Apple’s been using since iPhone 5s, the 2018 gold is much closer to iPhone 8 — not rose so much as blushing copper. I like it. A lot. Even if it does make it tough to color-match multiple Apple products across the line… The LTE networking, if you choose that option, is also twice as fast as before. Up to 300 Mbps now.

There are also two serious differences. The first is speed. The Apple A10 Fusion system-on-a-chip (SoC) in the 2018 iPad is about 1.5x as fast as the Apple A9 in the 2017 iPad.

A10 Fusion came about because Apple was pushing it’s high-performance silicon so far, so fast, it was starting to leave a gap underneath. So, beneath the two high-performance cores, Apple slid in two high-efficiency cores. All of that is managed internally by a custom controller so the system only ever sees one set of cores at a time. Behind the scenes, though, it assigns to right cores to the right job.

Combined with a hex-core graphics processor, it provides plenty of power for launching apps, crunching music, photos, and movies, and powering augmented reality (AR) experiences. And, behind the A10X in iPad Pro and new A11 Bionic in iPhone 8 and iPhone X, it remains one of the most efficient and performant processors on the market. (Just beating the original iPads Pro and approaching the power in a MacBook Air or even 2013 MacBook Pro…)