Which iPad Cameras Have A Flash? | Screen Rant
Not every iPad has an LED flash on the back, but many of Apple's tablets offer a nice selfie flash. The iPad has boasted relatively good quality cameras since 2011, and the camera app is quite similar to that of the iPhone, simply formatted for the larger screen. When a flash is available, users can set it to on, off, or auto with a tap of the flash icon, which looks like a lightning bolt symbol.
In a perfect world, a user would only need a flash to achieve special effects, such as freezing fast-moving objects, flattening the shading of an object, or highlighting sparkly elements. Perhaps someday, an iPad camera will be able to photograph a moment exactly as it appears to the human eye. While iPad cameras are getting much closer to that ideal, more improvement is needed to accurately capture the motion, light, and color of a scene. In the meantime, a flash adds the extra light that's necessary sometimes.
While only a few iPad models have dedicated LED flash hardware, most tablets that Apple has made in the last few years can use the front-facing flash. Except for the first generation, every iPad Pro has a True Tone LED flash unit mounted beside the rear cameras. The iPad mini 6 is the only non-Pro model with this hardware. The True Tone flash technology can match the color temperature to that of the ambient lighting. Without this feature, it could be challenging to get a proper white balance, making part of the face have a yellow or blue cast.
Many newer iPad models have a selfie flash. Of course, this is the common trick where the tablet increases display brightness to the maximum brightness and shows a white screen briefly to serve as a 'flash' while snapping the picture. Apple calls this "Retina Flash," and it's available on iPad mini 5 and later, iPad 5 and later, iPad Air 3 and later, as well as every iPad Pro except for the first-generation iPad Pro.
The iPad's front-facing flash isn't as bright as the rear flash, but since the subject is usually the person holding the tablet, it's close enough to provide good light. Apple's "Retina Flash" tints the color of the white that appears on-screen to match the ambient light, just like the True Tone flash of the rear LED. Naturally, the rear-facing LED flash is strong enough to brighten a group of people or larger objects, allowing the iPad Pro and iPad mini 6 to be useful for photography in more circumstances.