New Entry-Level iPad With Apple Intelligence Likely Coming Late 2025

[MacRumors]

Apple's most affordable iPad model will receive an update with Apple Intelligence capabilities in late 2025, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has suggested.

Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that the iPhone SE is expected to gain Apple Intelligence features in March 2025, with the entry-level iPad following "later in the year." Gurman went on to suggest that nearly every Apple device with a screen will support Apple Intelligence by 2026.

The timeline indicates a significant gap since the last refresh of the entry-level iPad, which occurred in October 2022. The delayed update could be attributed to the technical requirements of implementing AI capabilities in a budget-friendly $349 device.

The current 10th-generation ‌iPad‌ has an A14 chip that was first used in the iPhone 12 lineup, and it's getting outdated. The logical choice for the next ‌iPad‌ is the A16 that was used in the iPhone 15 models, but if Apple wants to make Apple Intelligence as accessible as possible, an A17 Pro chip or A18 chip would likely be necessary.

Notably, Apple last week announced the latest iPad mini with Apple Intelligence support via a standalone press release. The company also lowered the price of the existing iPad 10 and stopped including a charger with the device in Europe. It's highly unlikely that Apple would have changed its iPad lineup in this way if an iPad 11 was imminent.

It is unclear if Apple is still planning to host a Mac-focused event in October, but it seems that an iPad 11 will not be announced this month either way.

Article Link: New Entry-Level iPad With Apple Intelligence Likely Coming Late 2025

 

[FridgeToaster]

So the original iPad series has turned into an almost abandoned low-end product line. Sad.

 

[abatabia]

It just doesn’t seem to me like they know what to do with the iPad. Either overpower them with subpar software or let them languish on the vine for years only to get minor spec bumps like the mini.

 

[Kylo83]

I would have thought it would be upgraded when the mini did, so the whole range can get AI

 

[Heat_Fan89]

So the original iPad series has turned into an almost abandoned low-end product line. Sad.

Noooo, it just means that tablets have long ago reached peak innovation. We are now in the era of milking a product and offering a product for every type of buyer. Big, big difference. The iPhone has been heading in that direction as well for quite some time as well.

 

[AlexJaye]

All that marketing of the M4 Pro’s with AI and the Pro got iPadOS 18 later than everyone and STILL doesn’t have AI… and now this? Lol way to dump on several product lines at once, Apple

 

[tubular]

A three-year gap between models seems pretty long. I hope the extra RAM needed for AI doesn't drive up the price.

Also, no, it's getting too late in October to announce a Mac event.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

I hope they bring back the Lightning connector. These new devices with USB-C are as bad as Androids!

 

[EugW]

That’s too bad. I was hoping for spring / early summer 2025. Oh well, what’s a few more months? 🤷‍♀️ My kid will have suffer along with the iPad Air 2 another year I guess. However, if the AI rumours are true, I’m thinking the base RAM will be 8 GB which is twice the current 4 GB, well worth the wait. Here’s hoping it’s also base 128 GB storage.

 

[vegetassj4]

Just in time for it to come to iOS ....wooohooo

 

[pksv]

Noooo, it just means that tablets have long ago reached peak innovation. We are now in the era of milking a product and offering a product for every type of buyer. Big, big difference. The iPhone has been heading in that direction as well for quite some time as well.

Exactly, that's spot on.
Both tablet and smartphone slab form factors have peaked. There's practically nothing that manufacturers could do within this form factor that would change the user experience and make people say "wow". Even if Apple managed to create a tablet with a two-day battery that is 1mm thick, how does that change anything?

That's why Apple is still clinging to 60Hz displays because it knows that the other differences are marginal. Look how good the regular iPhone is this year or the iPad Air 11 M2 which is basically an iPad Pro 11 M2 with a 60Hz display.

 

[boak]

I think the iPad 11 and iPhone SE will get an A17 chip at this point, unless the iPad Air receives a relatively quick update to M3.

 

[profets]

I would have thought it would be upgraded when the mini did, so the whole range can get AI

I had the same thought - that they were both going to get updated this fall with the A18 for AI. Figured the A18 would be the new baseline SOC for all mobile devices / TV / etc going forward. But the mini release last week with A17 Pro makes me think that a few things: 1) mini is low volume enough & they have enough surplus / binned A17 Pro chips that it could satisfy a mini update for AI and 2) A18 ramp up maybe needs more time and its challenging for them to get enough volume to be using it everywhere right after an iPhone launch (and cost too I'm sure).

 

[taliz]

Noooo, it just means that tablets have long ago reached peak innovation. We are now in the era of milking a product and offering a product for every type of buyer. Big, big difference. The iPhone has been heading in that direction as well for quite some time as well.

They offer no product for me.
It used to be that you got the latest chip even in the budget iPhone and iPad. Then it was last years chip. Now you get many years old chips.
I'm not buying something new that feels old from the start and will only last a couple of years.
I currently have an iPhone XR and iPad 9, both had recent chips when bought.
Now there's nothing for me to upgrade to.
But hoping for the new SE and iPad 11 next year. Although I suspect both will get A17 which is then 2 years old...

 

[whateverest]

Propably iPad Air / Pro sale numbers are so bad, that a new baseline iPad would lower these even stronger. Simple as that.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

They offer no product for me.
It used to be that you got the latest chip even in the budget iPhone and iPad. Then it was last years chip. Now you get many years old chips.
I'm not buying something new that feels old from the start and will only last a couple of years.
I currently have an iPhone XR and iPad 9, both had recent chips when bought.
Now there's nothing for me to upgrade to.
But hoping for the new SE and iPad 11 next year. Although I suspect both will get A17 which is then 2 years old...

Because we are at peak tablet innovation. Apple is now performing a juggling act with their lineup, again because there's virtually no innovation from their mobile devices and instead choose to do incremental changes to its devices in hopes that their audience will see it as something new, when it is not. Look no further than the iPad mini 7 with an A17 Pro SoC.

Judging from comments made on this website and from early YT videos, the most exciting thing about the yearly release of the iPhone are the new colors.

 

[ItWasNotMe]

I'm still waiting for Apple to offer something that has GPS without cellular...

 

[EugW]

I would have thought it would be upgraded when the mini did, so the whole range can get AI

I had the same thought - that they were both going to get updated this fall with the A18 for AI.

I guess you are optimistic. I had predicted spring/summer 2025. I guess that makes me a bit of an optimist too then, if they are saying it's actually going to be even later, around late 2025.

 

[UltimaKilo]

This is what I figured.

 

[EugW]

I guess you are optimistic. I had predicted spring/summer 2025. I guess that makes me a bit of an optimist too then, if they are saying it's actually going to be even later, around late 2025.

Hmmm... It turns out that MacRumors' title for the article is misleading. It doesn't specifically say later 2025. It says later than March 2025, which the article itself reported in the text (despite the misleading title). This is what Gurman says:

"When Apple announced its AI features in June, the software was only compatible with two iPhone models and a couple of iPads, as well as Macs with its in-house silicon. Now, the four newest iPhones, almost every iPad and all the Macs can support it. By 2026, nearly every Apple device with a screen will run it: The iPhone SE will gain the features in March, and the entry-level iPad will probably get updated later in the year."

That can mean anything from spring to fall 2025.

 

[quietstormSD]

lol "Apple Insider" Mark Gurman claimed just a few weeks ago that a new entry-level iPad would be introduced at an event in October (this month) among other new devices. And now he says it's next year? Why MacRumors continues to regurgitate what this guy says is beyond me. His newsletters should be called "Power Off" not "Power On".

Still waiting for that October event.

 

[MysteriousStain]

The limited life the iPad 10 has and yet Apple won’t lower the price until the 11 comes out. How many years of OS updates will an A14 get? In the article about Cook’s interview, he says they do things “best”

 

[EugW]

The limited life the iPad 10 has and yet Apple won’t lower the price until the 11 comes out. How many years of OS updates will an A14 get? In the article about Cook’s interview, he says they do things “best”

Interestingly, Apple indeed just lowered iPad 10 pricing last week in some countries.

 

[macduke]

I would have thought it would be upgraded when the mini did, so the whole range can get AI

I think it's not because putting an A17 Pro or M1 in the base iPad is a bridge too far for Apple. When they update it, they want it to have Apple Intelligence. By doing this, they can bump more sales towards the Air for the people who care. The base iPad is probably heading towards a longer refresh cycle, and maybe they will alternate years with the iPad mini so they can always have an additional product towards the bottom for the autumn. This will also give more time for the lower end Apple Intelligence chip, or maybe the A18 from this year's iPhone. I think Apple wants to keep the M-series above the base iPad tier, and putting a chip with the "Pro" name in the base iPad would be weird.

 

[EugW]

I think it's not because putting an A17 Pro or M1 in the base iPad is a bridge too far for Apple. When they update it, they want it to have Apple Intelligence. By doing this, they can bump more sales towards the Air for the people who care. The base iPad is probably heading towards a longer refresh cycle, and maybe they will alternate years with the iPad mini so they can always have an additional product towards the bottom for the autumn. This will also give more time for the lower end Apple Intelligence chip, or maybe the A18 from this year's iPhone. I think Apple wants to keep the M-series above the base iPad tier, and putting a chip with the "Pro" name in the base iPad would be weird.

I think they will put the A17 Pro in the iPad, but just two years later. It’s not an M class chip after all, and it came out in 2023 (not 2024).