Repair site iFixit seems to have solved one of the biggest mysteries about the 10th generation iPad in its latest teardown video.
When Apple announced the new iPad in October, critics were baffled and frustrated by Apple’s decision to support the first-generation Apple Pencil (since 2015) instead of the superior second-generation model released in 2018. This was a particularly odd choice. because the iPad itself switched from Lightning to USB-C, which meant you needed to use a dongle to charge or pair the Stylus.
There has been a lot of speculation as to why Apple chose this strategy, including the rumor that a more proper third-generation Apple Pencil was originally supposed to be released at the same time. But most people assumed the decision had something to do with the new position of the iPad’s front-facing camera, which now sits on the same edge where the second-generation Apple Pencil would magnetically attach when load
Opening up the tablet’s chassis and revealing the positions of the magnets and camera unit, iFixit’s teardown seems to confirm this theory.
“The claim is that Apple couldn’t fit the wireless charging kit for the Gen 2 Pencil here because that’s where the landscape camera is now, and from what we can see, it appears to be the case,” explains the presenter “As it stands, the Apple Pencil Gen 2 magnets don’t quite line up with the iPad 10 magnets.
“Yes [the wireless charging coil] if it moved down, you could theoretically have a stylus that could plug in here, but then the wireless charging coil would interfere with the placement of the magnet. It’s a bit of a Catch 22 and it’s something that Apple engineers are certainly working to figure out.”
Elsewhere, iFixit gives a mixed verdict on the latest iPad’s interior design. The site reserves its strongest criticism for the repairability of the USB-C ribbon, which “is soldered to the logic board, which is a major design flaw. Components exposed to high mechanical wear must always be modular”.
iFixit notes that this isn’t a new failure with Apple tablets, but it’s still disappointed that Apple hasn’t made things better.