iPad iPad 11th-gen (A16) impressions and thoughts!

[FeliApple]

I haven’t seen this iPad discussed by actual users and I wanted to know your impressions now that it’s been a little over a month after launch.

I got it a month ago as an upgrade to my 9.7-inch iPad Pro. I have an iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15, but I wanted to guarantee iOS compatibility and have an updated iPad. I figured it would be a good way to have an updated iPad, at least until iPadOS 19 is released.

I don’t really mind the non-laminated display (my first standard iPad, although I’ve tested a 6th-gen iPad running iOS 12). I don’t even notice the difference unless I compare them side-by-side, frankly.

Battery life is incredible, even better than my Air 5 on iPadOS 15 and almost three times what I get on my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12, about 26-30 hours of SOT.

Even though my Air 5 has been fully compatible for now, I like to be able to download everything and access everything. That’s something that I was noticing with my 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Safari was faltering and some apps had started to require a newer iOS version, so it’s good to have.

I use iPads for content consumption, so I couldn’t be less interested in any M-series processor. While the Quad speakers are in theory good to have, and I like them, I’ve barely used them on my 9.7-inch Pro, so they aren’t something I miss.

Performance has been, as expected from a new device, flawless. I keep devices for a long time, so it’s a good way of staying updated a little longer. No difference with the iPad Air 5 (with an M1).

The full screen is great to have considering it is replacing my 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Crazy to think that the base iPad is full screen now. I recall when the 3rd-gen iPad Pro was current, I really wanted one just because of that beautiful screen. I vowed to upgrade to an iPad Air when the feature “dropped” to the second tier. (As the iPad Air 3 was the current one back then, and it had a 10.5-inch screen with a home button). Like I said, it’s pretty cool to see the base iPad with a full screen now.

iPad 11th-gen users, what are your impressions and thoughts?

 

[baconcat_8964]

I got it a month ago as an upgrade to my 9.7-inch iPad Pro. I have an iPad Air 5 on iPadOS 15, but I wanted to guarantee iOS compatibility and have an updated iPad. I figured it would be a good way to have an updated iPad, at least until iPadOS 19 is released.

Sorry for jumping in. I'm a bit confused on this. I think iPad Air 5 with M1 and 8GB RAM should receive longer support on iOS than iPad A16 with 6GB RAM. Are you intending to keep Air 5 on iPadOS 15?

 

[It’s always something]

I’ve had my iPad 11 for almost two weeks. I handed off my iPad mini 7 to my wife in favor of the larger screen. It’s also nice to have a full-size keyboard case again (I like Zagg’s Messenger 2 folio, although its cutout for TouchID leaves something to be desired). In comparison to the mini 7 in other respects, I’d say that the 11 is just a smidgen less snappy (by which I mean that I barely notice any difference in performance). 6GB of RAM seems to be sufficient for the way that I use the iPad, allowing me to have multiple apps open while avoiding app reloads. I like the 11’s richer blue case better than the much more pale blue of the mini 7.

I like the onscreen keyboard’s tab key and caps lock key on those occasions when I do use the iPad outside the case.

The iPad 11 doesn’t have Apple Intelligence; whether that is a deficit or a bonus is a question I’ll leave to the philosophers 😉

I am very happy with my purchase.

 

[Meedoss]

Picked one up yesterday in blue, $135AUD off here ATM.
Have had 11" M4 and most other ipads.
For the money this ipad is a steal, only got it for couch and bed use.

 

[Gregg2]

I traded in my Gen8 for an 11 about a month ago. Having a bigger screen due to no home button to take up "real estate" is nice. I'm still getting used to the gesture(s)(?) that replace the button. There are probably some that I don't use. What I really like it having more storage. The old one was getting full, and I think a bit sluggish.

 

[JPack]

Sorry for jumping in. I'm a bit confused on this. I think iPad Air 5 with M1 and 8GB RAM should receive longer support on iOS than iPad A16 with 6GB RAM. Are you intending to keep Air 5 on iPadOS 15?

It doesn’t work that way. Apple determines iPadOS support based on device age, not specs.

 

[FeliApple]

Sorry for jumping in. I'm a bit confused on this. I think iPad Air 5 with M1 and 8GB RAM should receive longer support on iOS than iPad A16 with 6GB RAM. Are you intending to keep Air 5 on iPadOS 15?

I do intend to keep it there! The whole point of buying it was so that I wouldn’t be forced to update my Air 5. I don’t buy Apple devices too often so I like to keep them on the iOS versions that were designed for them.

 

[FeliApple]

It doesn’t work that way. Apple determines iPadOS support based on device age, not specs.

Do you think that this will be the case for the M1 chip iPads, too?

 

[JPack]

Do you think that this will be the case for the M1 chip iPads, too?

Yes, probably the typical 6 or 7 year support life. Apple wants people to buy new devices and 6-7 years is the historical support period.

 

[FeliApple]

I traded in my Gen8 for an 11 about a month ago. Having a bigger screen due to no home button to take up "real estate" is nice. I'm still getting used to the gesture(s)(?) that replace the button. There are probably some that I don't use. What I really like it having more storage. The old one was getting full, and I think a bit sluggish.

Yeah, like I said, I have the Air 5, but I got the 11th-gen as an upgrade to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The full-screen design is something I took a while to get (four years after launch), but it is something I really enjoy.

The gestures thing, in my experience, is rather trivial. Once you get used to it there’s no going back, and you’ll like the added screen real estate, in both iPhones and iPads. I’m in contact with both, home button iPhones and iPads and full screen ones and there’s no comparison.

The advantages of the Air or Pro vs the regular iPad is also something I don’t really care about: I got the Air 5 because the regular iPad that was available back then was the 9th-gen iPad, with a home button.

Battery life on the 11th-gen seems slightly better than the Air 5 with both on original iOS versions, but the difference is negligible. Maybe 10%, if that.