The iPad 11 just dropped, and it's already feeling left out
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Apple's new entry-level iPad, the iPad 11, does not support one of the most heavily advertised features recently: smarts. AI smarts, more precisely.
There's now a bunch of new iPads thanks to a very welcome surprise release by Apple. The new iPad Air models are the star of the show but the entry-level model, the iPad 11-th gen, also got announced (basically, just appeared on Apple's product pages). And though the whole industry nowadays seems obsessed with AI and even budget phones now come with it, Apple being Apple, it's not including Apple Intelligence on the newest entry-level iPad.
The base model comes with the A16 chip. This is an upgrade over the previous generation, of course, but the chip seems incapable of running Apple Intelligence, so if you want Apple's smart Siri (when it arrives) to organize your stuff, you may need to look to the new iPad Air models.
Apple detailed that the A16 chip in the entry-level iPad is now 50% faster than the seriously dated A13 chip slapped in the previous iteration. The company does say the new iPad has "powerful and intelligent features", but I guess, not that intelligent.
The A16 chip first made its debut with the iPhone 14 Pro and is also used in the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. It's definitely not a slow chip, per se, but the thing is: it only has 6 gigs of RAM. Apple Intelligence is a RAM guzzler so it needs a minimum of 8GB to run.
The entry-level iPad missing a premium feature isn't unprecedented. However, it's slightly strange given how much Apple is pushing its take on generative AI, supporting it even on its 'mid-range' iPhone 16e.
And the A16 in the iPad is a bit downgraded compared to the same chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and 15. It has a 5-core CPU and a 4-core GPU, while the iPhones have an additional CPU and GPU core. But really, who would take the entry-level iPad to run heavy games on it (arguably where the difference between the cores would show up)?
Apple Intelligence requires an A17 Pro chip, in the iPhone 15 Pro or later, or M1 or later. Luckily for buyers though, the 64GB version of the iPad is a thing of the past (that's where it should've been for years) and the iPad now starts at 128GB of storage. Pre-orders are live and the device will hit the shelves on March 12.
There's now a bunch of new iPads thanks to a very welcome surprise release by Apple. The new iPad Air models are the star of the show but the entry-level model, the iPad 11-th gen, also got announced (basically, just appeared on Apple's product pages). And though the whole industry nowadays seems obsessed with AI and even budget phones now come with it, Apple being Apple, it's not including Apple Intelligence on the newest entry-level iPad.
The base model comes with the A16 chip. This is an upgrade over the previous generation, of course, but the chip seems incapable of running Apple Intelligence, so if you want Apple's smart Siri (when it arrives) to organize your stuff, you may need to look to the new iPad Air models.
Apple detailed that the A16 chip in the entry-level iPad is now 50% faster than the seriously dated A13 chip slapped in the previous iteration. The company does say the new iPad has "powerful and intelligent features", but I guess, not that intelligent.
When you compare all iPad models on Apple's website, you can clearly see the missing feature from the entry-level model. So, if you go for it, you won't be able to use things like Writing Tools, Genmoji, or fancy Siri smartness (the regular Siri is there though, but it's, well, the opposite of Apple Intelligent).
The A16 chip first made its debut with the iPhone 14 Pro and is also used in the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. It's definitely not a slow chip, per se, but the thing is: it only has 6 gigs of RAM. Apple Intelligence is a RAM guzzler so it needs a minimum of 8GB to run.
The entry-level iPad missing a premium feature isn't unprecedented. However, it's slightly strange given how much Apple is pushing its take on generative AI, supporting it even on its 'mid-range' iPhone 16e.
And the A16 in the iPad is a bit downgraded compared to the same chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and 15. It has a 5-core CPU and a 4-core GPU, while the iPhones have an additional CPU and GPU core. But really, who would take the entry-level iPad to run heavy games on it (arguably where the difference between the cores would show up)?
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