Odd new iPad gets a faster chip and more storage, but not Apple Intelligence

On Tuesday Apple unveiled a new version of the standard iPad, but sprung a surprise by not including what everyone assumed was the highest-priority upgrade. The new tablet isn’t compatible with Apple Intelligence, the company’s AI platform.

Why is this a surprise? Because AI is a massive focus for Apple at the moment, to the extent that it appears to be influencing broad hardware strategy.

When it discontinued the low-priced iPhone SE last month, for example, the company replaced it with something far more powerful (and therefore far more expensive) because it wanted as many people as possible to use Apple Intelligence, so even the cheapest iPhone needed to have hardware capable of running it. Instead of starting at $429, Apple’s phone range now starts at $599, a risky shift in priorities. AI did that.

Perhaps the requirements of Apple Intelligence–8GB of RAM and an A18 or better processor–were simply too big a jump for the base iPad, which had an A14 in the last generation. (The iPhone 16e jumped from an A15 to an A18, a slightly smaller gulf to bridge.) Or perhaps Apple feels that the tablet market is dominated by customers who just want something to watch Netflix on the sofa and refuse to pay extra for a speedy processor, whether or not that means they get Apple Intelligence.

Whatever the reasoning, the 11th-gen iPad comes with an A16 chip, an unknown amount of RAM (the last model had 4GB and there’s no reason to assume that’s gone up), and an inability to run Apple Intelligence. It does however get more storage than in the previous generation: the baseline is now 128GB instead of 64GB, and it goes all the way up to 512GB if you’re prepared to pay extra. That’s a worthwhile and pleasing upgrade.

Other than that we have to look hard for upgrades. Smart HDR has gone up from version 3 to version 4, so camera performance in difficult lighting conditions should be a little better. Bluetooth has been upgraded from version 5.2 to 5.3. And that’s… it.

If you’ve taken a look at the comparison page on Apple’s website, by the way, don’t be fooled by the apparent increase in screen size. This will show 10.9 inches for the 10th-gen iPad and 11 inches for the new iPad, but in reality, they have the same exact screen. Like the iPad Air, this is just Apple’s new way of calculating screen sizes that really ought to be applied equally but is not. In the small print, Apple admits that both are 10.86 inches when measured diagonally as a rectangle, and that actual viewable area is less because of the rounded corners.

The iPad (A16) starts at $349/£329 and is available in the same (stunning, in my opinion) four colors as the previous generation: silver, blue, yellow, and a truly wonderful pink. Preorders are available now, and units will start to ship on March 12.