popular opinion : With a riotous fleck , more storage and the same low price the iPad 11 sounds like a good upgrade , but withoutApple tidings , it ’s inconceivable to recommend long term . Apple announce the iPad 11th coevals on March 4 with a much faster splintering , double the base storage and for the same blue - ish price .
On the surface , that feels like a effective update for the tablet with a lineage dating all the way back to the original 2010 pad .
But it was also an afterthought , entomb at the bottom of a blog postfrom Apple about the newiPad Air M3model and new Magic Keyboard . It reach me the printing the model that s traditionally been Apple ’s bread and butter when it comes to tablet , might n’t be retentive for this creation .
We ’ve always believe of the stock iPad as thebest iPadfor most people . It has enough power , a good enough screen for casual streaming and gaming , decent battery life and the cost is absolutely correct .
But now there ’s an elephant in the room and it ’s the most important software enterprise when it follow to Apple ’s future . The standard iPad and its A16 chip wo n’t be equal to of support Apple Intelligence features .
consider the attempt Apple has undertaken to get its Gen AI features in front of as many people as possible , this is a surprise . The previously mid - range iPhone SE series , for example , has been pass into theiPhone 16e , with an A18 serial publication processor that opens up all of the Apple Intelligence boast available in iOS 18 .
That includes the Writing Tools , Image Playground , Genmoji , Visual Intelligence , Priority Notifications ( pending ) , ChatGPT integrating , Notifications Summaries with much to come up – like the major Siri revamp set for the summer .
I ’m not aver Apple should have gone as far as admit an M3 chip like the newiPad Air M3 , or an M4 series processor like the iPad Pro .
However , even an M1 would have given received iPad owners an chance to access Apple Intelligence . An A17 Pro from the iPhone 15 Pro or an A18 chip from the iPhone 16e would have too .
Whether Apple consider this or not is unclear . It ’s possible the companionship would n’t have been able to keep the cost down if it offered the superior chip .
However , the idea that Apple would n’t go the extra air mile to supply a central securities industry with Apple Intelligence is a big admission about where it realise the future of this mainstay of the pad range .
Part of the problem may be the deficiency of rivalry . Even this iPad 11 with A16 is “ up to 6x quicker than the best - sell Android tab ” and 30 % quicker than the previous genesis . At this price - head where else are you going to go ? peculiarly if your former iPad has conked out and you ’re in the marketplace to upgrade .
All about the iPad Air M3
It ’s clean now that Apple need its new iPad Air with M3 to be the go - to tablet . This one is actually “ built for Apple Intelligence ” and has a new Magic Keyboard plan specifically for the product .
The trouble is , that flashier design , better screen , more force , better accessories and backing for Apple Pencil Pro , add up at a cost . It starts at $ 599 for the 11 - inch version . $ 250 more expensive than the iPad 11 before you weigh any of the accessories .
Apple has been criticised in recent weeks for abandoning the mid - range in the iPhone market by pricing the iPhone 16e at $ 599 when the last iPhone SE was $ 449 . And , while the ship’s company has n’t abandoned client at the lower end of the grocery store with this newfangled iPad but it has very much drawn a line in the Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin .
grease one’s palms this tablet now , without Apple Intelligence is almost like buying one without annual iOS updates . So many of the OS improvements moving forward are going to be Apple Intelligence based . And , even if you do n’t care about Apple Intelligence now , there ’s a effective fortune you will moving forward – especially when that major Siri update arrives later this year .
Put it this way , would you buy this now if you did n’t think you ’d get iOS 19 this class or iOS 20 next twelvemonth ? I do n’t cerebrate you would .
In my view , it make the iPad 11 impossible to commend for something that ’ll be relevant a year or two years from now . I do n’t think it ’s thebest iPadfor most people any longer . alas , you ’re going to have to pay more for that .
I ’d be on the lookout station for a expert pile on theiPad Air M2with Apple Intelligence features predict for the foreseeable future before considering an iPad 11 purchase .
