The budget iPad, one of Apple’s most popular tablets, now comes with a faster A16 processor, and the base model packs twice the storage capacity. However, for the most part, the iPad 11 — which Apple quietly released Tuesday — stays the same as its predecessor. While Apple made incremental changes to the iPad lineup, there is growing anticipation around MacBook Air rumors, suggesting a significant update is on the horizon.
And, in a surprise move, the tablet did not join the club of devices that support Apple Intelligence.
iPad 11 builds on a strong foundation
While lacking some advanced features of the iPad Pro and iPad Air, the entry-level iPad always delivers an excellent experience for anybody looking to stream video, listen to music, read email or surf the web without breaking the bank. The iPad 10, the last new version of Apple’s basic tablet, came out in 2022, with a larger, 10.9-inch screen, USB-C and other enhancements. It also eliminated the Home button.
The new iPad 11 keeps that same design. Although Apple now says the screen is 11 inches, the actual display size did not changed. The new iPad comes with the same Ultra Wide 12MP front camera with support for Center Stage, as well as a 12MP rear camera.
For those looking for a stylus, the iPad 11 supports Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the original Apple Pencil.
Jumps from A14 to A16 processor
Despite the dearth of external changes in the iPad 11, Apple made some internal ones.
”iPad delivers a big jump in performance with the superfast A16 chip,” said Apple. “An advanced Neural Engine and machine learning capabilities help you do more, effortlessly, like edit 4K video or interact with content in photos or videos using Live Text.”
In addition, the base model now comes with 128GB of storage. That’s twice the starting capacity of the iPad 10. Alternatively, customers can configure the iPad 11 with 256GB or 512GB. Apple did not yet reveal the amount of RAM in the new tablet.
No Apple Intelligence
Perhaps the most surprising omission? The iPad 11 does not support Apple Intelligence. All the other new computers coming out of Cupertino recently, including the just-launched iPhone 16e, support Apple’s suite of AI tools that tweak users’ grammar and images and generate cutesy pictures based on user prompts.
The iPad 11 stands out as a notable exception. Apple Intelligence support requires an A17 processor or newer, but the latest version of the budget tablet runs on an A16. Perhaps this explains why the product received such a muted launch. It just quietly appeared on Apple’s website Tuesday, without even an accompanying press release.
Preorder iPad 11
While iPad 11 holds onto many of the features of its predecessor, the price tag isn’t one of them. And that’s a good thing. While iPad 10 launched at $449, the new version starts at $349. Like its predecessor, it comes in blue, pink, yellow and silver.
Preorder from: Apple
You can preorder the tablet now. It will hit store shelves, and reach customers who preorder, on March 12.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
