Apple Intelligence is just the framework for now, so give it time.
And even if you don't like it, you get 8 GB RAM with it, which is a good thing.
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iPad 11 With A17 Pro Chip and Apple Intelligence Rumor Was Wrong
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And even if you don't like it, you get 8 GB RAM with it, which is a good thing.
My lineup would be simpler, with Apple selling the previous generation iPad at $50 discount:
| Product | Starting Price | Processor | Screen | Storage | Accessories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPad | $449 | A18 (binned) | LCD, non-laminated | 128 to 512 GB | Apple Pencil (Pro and USB-C), Magic Keyboard Folio |
| iPad mini | $449 | A18 | LCD, non-laminated | 128 GB to 1 TB | Apple Pencil (Pro and USB-C) |
| iPad Pro | $999 | M4 | OLED, ProMotion | 256 GB to 2 TB | Apple Pencil (Pro and USB-C), Magic Keyboard |
Disappointing with the lack of Apple Intelligence. Gurman being wrong is not at all surprising. He even said Macbook Air will be available before the iPads are updated.
This was a last minute decision before device went full mass production, what I have heard from industrial talk all this morning. Apple did want entry level iPad to have A17 Pro so transition to have all tablets and phones to have Apple Intelligence be complete, but unfortunately it meant raising the price to around $429. At that price range, it was too close to the iPad mini price point and Apple wanted price to be lower to be an entry level device.
Ultimately Apple wasn’t willing on sacrificing the price like they did with iPhone “essentials” line and downgraded to A16 chip. Apple still wants to bring Apple Intelligence to entry level iPads at some point soon, either through software optimization (they want to try to bring Apple Intelligence to A16 devices) or unfortunately wait till next year with A17 Pro chip having gone done in production cost.
WRONG
Four upcoming new iPads potentially revealed by device identifiers - 9to5Mac
Device identifiers found in backend code could potentially identify four upcoming new iPads, ranging from an 11th-gen iPad with an...
9to5mac.com
Considering that from July Last Year we all knew ( and forgot) that this iPad long before production was going to get the A16
Also a budget iPad will in the future not get a “Pro” branded SoC
Probably not enough binned A17 Pro chips available for the iPad 11. Hopefully that means they only have enough A17 Pro chips to last the iPad mini 7 until next year and we’ll get a OLED iPad mini 8 in 2026.
I think it’s more likely that the iPad 12 will get an A18. It looks like they’re just milking what’s left of the binned A17 Pro supply for the iPad mini 7 until next year when hopefully the OLED iPad mini 8 is released.
It will get the A18. There is no way Apple will put a “Pro” branding regarding the CPU in a budget iPad, the Mini received a Pro Chip to further differentiate it from the budget iPad as a start amongst other things
Honestly, this is what Apple should have done with the iPhone 16e. So many compromises were made to the 16e to get it compatible with Apple Intelligence (especially the price). An iPhone 16e with an A16 or A17 (non pro) for $499 without Apple Intelligence (and maybe even MagSafe) would be far, far more compelling than what we got.
1. There will never be a non pro A17 ( the Mini 7 is a perfect example of this because it’s A17 Pro chip has 5 GPU Cores compared to 6 in the 15 Pros) and yet its A17 is called the A17 Pro
2. Considering the 16e replaces the SE Lineup and all of the 3 SE Models came
With the latest chipsets at their time…. Yeah… um your assumption of A16/A17 ( and saying A17 without Apple intelligence is wrong too).. is wrong. Apple managed to finally have sense with the 16 lineup giving all iPhones in the lineup the same CPU something they should have done with the 14/15’s
If you haven't gotten used to parts-binning to fill out the low end of Apple's product lineups, you probably never will. I wouldn't be surprised if the iPad 11 only lasts a year or so with the A16 in it as Apple waits to exhaust its supply. Then they could switch to the A18 for iPad 12 and allow iPad 11 to fill the bargain bins. I remember reading at the iPhone 15 Pro release that the A17 Pro cost 27% more to produce than the A16. For a low-margin item like the $349 iPad that's nothing to sneeze at.
Point being that we should stop giving so much attention to the guy whose speculations are (hyperbolic) more wrong than anything else.
Nope.
Apple always planned to have entry level iPad to have Apple Intelligence by early 2025. Unfortunately cost of making binned A17 Pro chip was ultimately still too high to maintain the $349 price point.
Apple still plans on adding A17 Pro chip on entry level iPads at some point once costs go down. iPad Mini has “Pro” branded SoC despite being a budget iPad (albeit higher price but still affordable for many compared to iPad Air. Mini could’ve gotten an M series chip but Apple chose the A series chip to keep the price low)