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Apple iPad A16 Intro
New year, new iPad!
Earlier this month, Apple unveiled the 11th generation of the base iPad earlier his month, and totally unsurprisingly, it is pretty much identical to its predecessor with just minimal changes scored.
It's been more than two years since the previous iPad 10th gen was launched in the fall of 2022, and that one was quite an overhaul of the previous iPad 9th gen, giving us a modern new design, larger screen, better performance, and great value. If that one was a "tick" update, this one here is a "tock" one, with upgrades that can be counted on a single hand.
Is that necessarily a bad thing, though? Well, no. The base iPad has always been among the best-value Apple products you can get, and the same applies to the new iPad A16. It delivers some welcome performance improvements, gets you double the base storage, while keeping the rest of the package more or less the same, which is just fine!
Let's explore what's new and what has stayed the same.
iPad 11-inch (A16): 6% off at Amazon
$20 off (6%)
The 11th Gen iPad is finally here! You can already buy the recently released 11-inch tablet with 128GB of storage for 6% off at Amazon.
Processor Apple A16 Bionic (4nm) 5-core 4-core GPU
Memory 128GB 256GB 512GB
6GB RAM on all models
Software iPadOS 18 No Apple Intelligence support
Cameras 12MP F1.8 rear camera 12MP F2.4 front camera Center Stage Smart HDR 4
Battery Size 28.93Wh ≥7,606 mAh
Connectivity Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.3 eSIM (No physical SIM support) No Apple C1 modem
Charging Speeds 20W
Prices 128GB Wi-Fi starting from $349 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular starting from $499
iPad (A16) Design and Display
Simple yet effective
The lack of regulatory certifications at the back make this one looks super-clean (Image by PhoneArena)
The new iPad (A16) comes with no design changes in comparison with its predecessor, making this a pretty minor refresh.
We get the same all-aluminum full-screen 3:2 tablet with very uniform but fairly thick bezels on all sides, as well as the now standard all-flat design language that is consistent with the iPhone and iPad Pro/Air lineups. It's a pretty decent design language, a far cry from the outdated relic that was the iPad 9th Gen.
Ergonomics have suffered in comparison with the former model, of course, but that's the price we have to pay for this more industrial and modern design language.
The rest of the exterior layout is the same: the power button with Touch ID at the top frame when you hold the device in portrait mode, while the volume buttons remain positioned on the right-hand size. The FaceTime camera is neatly hidden away in the display bezel, thankfully alleviating the need for employing a display notch, and the speakers are still just two despite the quad speaker grills all around the device.
The perfect balance between screen size and overall dimensions (Image by PhoneArena)
One major change in comparison with last year is that you no longer get the "iPad" and regulatory labels at the back, which definitely makes for a cleaner overall design.
The iPad (A16) strikes the perfect balance between available screen size and overall dimensions. It's big enough for most use cases, but not as enormous and weird as the 13-inch iPad Air or iPad Pro. At the same time, it's sufficiently compact and not very heavy, making it a pretty smart choice for just about any activity you might think of: reading e-books, watching TV shows, and gaming.
The iPad (A16) comes in the same Silver, Blue, Pink, and Yellow color options as its predecessor, so no change on this front. We do love the more colorful and playful nature of the color hues in contrast with the usually more serious and boring selection that the iPad Pro is available in.
Here's what you get inside the iPad (A16) box (Image by PhoneArena)
Inside the iPad (A16) box, we get the following:
the iPad (A16) itself;
a 20W USB-C wall adapter;
a USB-C to USB-C braided cable;
manual and quick-start guide.
What we no longer get here are the classic Apple stickers of old, which have been axed due to environmental reasons.
The display is the weakest aspect of the iPad Air (Image by PhoneArena)
At the front of the iPad (A16), we get the same 10.9-inch screen that debuted with the previous iPad 10th Gen. That one was already outdated in late 2022 and things haven't changed in 2025, where this screen feels even more outdated. It's an IPS LCD Liquid Retina screen with a 2360 x 1640-pixel resolution and a 264ppi sharpness.
Moreover, the display boasts an old-school 60Hz refresh rate and low 500-nit SDR brightness, which is only sufficient for indoor use. There's no XDR brightness support, so HDR content can't be viewed and colors and brightness won't pop up like on an iPhone. The display is extremely reflective, as there's no antireflective coating or nano-texture display glass option like on the more premium iPad Pro units.
The biggest offense here is the fact that the display is still non-laminated. This means that there's a slight air gap between the screen glass and the display panel itself. As a result, the display feels "hollow" and interacting with it is surprisingly noisier in comparison with fully laminated iPads, especially if you use an Apple Pencil. We don't really like non-laminated displays, but it's true that they are cheaper to repair and this is a base iPad after all.
Essentially, the only change with the iPad (A16) display are the semantics: Apple has rounded up the screen size and calls it an 11-inch one, albeit it still being 10.9 inches across. Classic Apple.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
In terms of screen properties, the iPad (A16) fares rather similar to its predecessor in our in-house display tests, achieving similar maximum brightness, color temperature, and color accuracy.
Touch ID button (Image by PhoneArena)
The tablet is one of the last Apple devices that still comes with Touch ID, which is embedded right into the top-positioned power button. Earlier this year, Apple removed Touch ID from the iPhone lineup by employing Face ID on the new Phone 16e, making this here iPad A16 and the iPad mini (A17 Pro) the last of the Touch ID Mohicans.
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For all intents and purposes, Touch ID here functions flawlessly, of course with the added drawback that you have to physically touch the power button. In our opinion, Face ID is more convenient, despite what Touch ID's fiery fan base might claim.
iPad (A16) Keyboard and Stylus
The magnetic port that lets you attach the Magic Folio Keyboard (Image by PhoneArena)
You can use the Magic Keyboard Folio with the iPad (A16). This accessory was introduced with the previous iPad 10th gen and consists of two separate elements: a back case that protects the tablet and doubles as a kick stand and a separate full-sized keyboard. Both attach to the tablet magnetically and feel very sturdy.
The keyboard keys feature some pretty decent key travel, making typing on this accessory convenient. The full 14-key function row at the top of the keyboard makes interaction with core features like volume and brightness selection pretty convenient and straightforward. The trackpad is also very convenient, greatly improving the versatility of the tablet.
The iPad (A16) also supports the first generation Apple Pencil and Apple Pencil with USB-C. The Hover feature is not supported here (it requires a 2nd gen Apple Pencil or later).
iPad (A16) Camera
A familiar affair
One camera to rule them all (Image by PhoneArena)
Apple's latest value tablet comes with an unchanged camera setup in comparison with the iPad 10th gen (what a surprise!). We get the same 12MP F1.8 rear camera with phase-detection autofocus, Center Stage, a maximum of 5X digital zoom, and support for 4K@60fps video-recording.
Up front, we have a 12MP FaceTime camera with F2.4 aperture and Center Stage support for intelligently keeping subjects in the frame.
The main change here is the move from Smart HDR 3 to Smart HDR 4. This should improve your and videos, with slightly improved dynamic range. However, don't expect to spot a noticeable difference between the iPad (A16) and its predecessor––photos and videos look the same.
Video Quality
Videos taken with the front camera of the tablet are good, with decent detail and dynamics, perfect for FaceTiming and the occasional work-related video call. There's the useful Center Stage feature here, keeping you focused in the frame at all times.
The rear camera is perfectly fine, too. Detail is acceptable, the dynamics leave something to be desired, but on the odd occasion you'd be forced to take a video with the rear camera, it will do just fine.
The front camera is very adequate in all lighting conditions. Decent detail and good subject exposure is the highlight here, a typical and fairly safe Apple camera quality.
iPad A16 rear camera
The rear camera is fine as well. Good sharpness, okay dynamics, and decent overall quality is what you will usually get here.
iPad (A16) Performance & Benchmarks
A slightly hampered A16 bionic chip on deck
The new A16 chip delivers ample performance (Image by PhoneArena)
The iPad (A16), as it name suggests, comes with the 4nm Apple A16 chipset, which is mostly similar but not identical to the Apple A16 Bionic chip that clicked and ticked inside the iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, and iPhone 15 Plus.
The difference is in the available cores: the A16 chip in the new iPad comes with five CPU (two performance + three efficiency) and four GPU cores. iPhones outfitted with the Apple A16 Bionic chip had six-core CPUs (two performance + four efficiency) and five-core GPUs.
Feature
iPad with A16 chip
iPhone with A16 Bionic chip
CPU Cores
5 (2 performance + 3 efficiency)
6 (2 performance + 4 efficiency)
GPU Cores
4
5
Process Technology
4nm
4nm
Devices
iPad (A16)
iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus
Performance
Slightly lower CPU and GPU performance
Full A16 performance
The difference shouldn't be noticeable in everyday usage, and you might only notice that something is "wrong" with this new A16 chip if you compare the synthetic benchmark results with these older iPhones. In real life, the iPad (A16) is a joy to use and has ample reserves of performance.
In our Geekbench 6 single and multicore tests, the new iPad fares significantly better, achieving much better results. Thanks to this, the new iPad is a much more future-proof device.
Graphics-wise, the new iPad (A16) achieves much better graphics performance in the 3DMark Extreme graphics test, beating both of its predecessor and the Google Pixel Tablet.
There are 6GB of RAM on the iPad (A16), which isn't a lot, but kind of expected given the lack of Apple Intelligence support. Devices that arrive with Apple's AI suite need at least 8GB of RAM.
What's important in the hardware is the storage variants that the base iPad model is now available in. The device now starts with 128GB of storage, twice as much as the iPad 10th Gen, which came with the paltry 64GB of storage. The iPad (A16) also comes in 256GB, and for the first time in the range, a spacious 512GB version.
Connectivity-wise, we get the tablet with either Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and cellular. However, unlike the iPad 10th Gen, it's worth mentioning that you can't use a physical SIM card with the cellular version of the iPad (A16), you can only use an eSIM.
It also doesn't come with the new Apple C1 5G modem that debuted with the iPhone 16e a couple of weeks ago.
iPad (A16) Software
The iPad (A16) doesn't support Apple Intelligence. With all the delays and questionable benefit of the Apple Intelligence suite, currently this isn't a major loss.
The tablet comes with iPadOS 18. That's one is a fairly major software update for Apple's tablet-centric OS.
It introduces many improvements, like a fully customizable home screen that lets you freely position app icon positions, flip the icon appearance between light and dark modes, and even tint icons with a color of your choice (which more often than not leads to tasteless results).
iPadOS 18 also lets you lock and hide apps from prying eyes, personalize the layout of the Control Center and fine-tune it to your unique requirements, and more.
Some core apps have also been overhauled. The Photos app has been completely redesigned to mixed reception, while the Messages app scored many new text formatting options.
There's also a new app coming with iPadOS 18, Passwords, which houses all your passwords and passkeys.
iPad (A16) Battery
The iPad (A16) comes along with a 28.93Wh, marginally larger than the 28.6Wh one found on the iPad 10th Gen. This means the new tablet has a battery that's either 7,606mAh in size or just ever-so-slightly larger.
The battery size is largely irrelevant though, as we have battery test results, which reveal… no change in comparison with the previous iPad generation. Both devices perform largely the same in our custom battery tests with the screen set at 200 nits of brightness. The new iPad performs slightly better in the gaming test, but loses a bit in the web browsing and video tests. It all evens out, though, so you get the same total battery life.
Apple hasn't introduced any upgrades in terms of charging speeds. You still get 20W wired charging and no wireless charging. That's not ideal, as a full charge takes quite a while––it takes around two hours.
USB-C is now standard across the range (Image by PhoneArena)
iPad (A16) Audio Quality
The dual stereo speakers on board the iPad (A16) produce pretty decent audio quality that's mostly on par with the previous iPad 10th Gen. We get little to no distortion at high-volume levels, with a fairly wide sound stage, and a good hint of bass depth.
The sound is a bit tinnier in comparison with, say, the new iPad Air, but overall, we are satisfied with how the iPad (A16) sounds. If anything, it won't disappoint, that's for certain.
Should you buy it?
The default buying choice for the Apple ecosystem (Image by PhoneArena)
Starting at $349 and now with 128GB of base storage, the iPad (A16) is a great deal, no two ways about that. It's the perfect tablet for most people, especially those who are in the Apple ecosystem and aren't really concerned with the premium features found on the iPad Air or iPad Pro lineups. With decent performance and good battery life, it's the no-nonsense tablet for those who just need an extra screen without too much extra fanfare.
Then again, you need to be aware of its limitations as well. The screen is probably the weakest part of the equation here: it's just not good. Dim, non-laminated IPS LCD screens are terribly outdated as per the 2025 standards, that's a fact. On the other hand, we're talking about a $349 device here, so it's hard for any criticism to stick strongly.
A device with a better screen in the same ecosystem is the iPad Air, but it's much, much more expensive, starting at $599. That's nearly double the price of the base iPad, but also gets you desktop-grade performance with the Apple M3 chip on deck.
Another alternative is the Google Pixel Tablet is priced at $50 more ($399), and it also comes with a similarly sized 11-inch LCD screen and boasts slightly less impressive performance. This essentially makes the base iPad a deal that's challenging to pass up if you want to get a modern iPad on a tight budget.
Pros
Decent performance improvements despite the binned chip
Double the storage in the base variant (128 vs 64GB)
Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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