Apple delayed updating their cheapest iPad this year (and last year), leaving it with the over-four-year-old A14 chipset. They did reduce the price earlier this year from $449 to $349, but we should finally see an actual redesign next spring. Here is what to expect.
Apple Intelligence
The next-generation entry-level iPad will most certainly enable Apple Intelligence, while it is uncertain which chipset will be used. Given the high cost of the first-generation 3nm technology, the A18 chip is most likely the choice. Apple is most likely just employing the A17 Pro chip in the new iPad mini because there were readily available binned chips left over from the iPhone 15 Pro manufacturing process.
That means you’ll be able to use features like notification summaries, Image Playground, Genmoji, the all-new Siri, ChatGPT, and more on the new iPad. If it releases next spring, Apple should have released all of the Apple Intelligence capabilities by then.
Other upgrades:
iPad 11 is likely to support newer connectivity standards such as Wi-Fi 6E (possibly Wi-Fi 7) and Bluetooth 5.3. This would be an improvement over Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 on the present entry-level iPad, allowing for decreased latency and so on.
Apple is also working on a new lower-end Magic Keyboard for iPads, which the iPad 11 may enable. This would be a more traditional keyboard design than the folio form that the iPad 10 now features.
We may also see compatibility with Apple Pencil Pro. There are no rumours to imply this, although Apple may alter the magnet arrangement to support Pencil Pro. When Apple released the iPad 10 in 2022, the Apple Pencil 2 did not operate with the landscape front camera.
However, it may result in a cost increase because Apple would also need to install the wireless charging coil. We will see.
Date of Release
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to deliver the iPad 11 next spring, alongside the iPhone SE, iPad Air, and more:
It will have roughly the same design as the current version from 2022, while getting a speed boost. This model is scheduled to be released around the same time as the new iPhone SE and iPad Air in the spring.
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