Wow, seems the base iPad is now getting the same treatment as the iPad Mini updates only every 3 years. Wild that it was on an annual update cycle for 5 generations up until the 10th generation.
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New Entry-Level iPad With Apple Intelligence Likely Coming Late 2025
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Right? The base iPad has a 4 year old chip in it that will be 5 years old by the time it is replaced. Realistically how many years of software support can folks buying a base iPad model realistically expect? It's strange that they didn't upgrade the chip earlier this year, even if it meant no Apple Intelligence support...
5 years + 2 years of extra security updates from the release date. It could be a bit less but generally Apple’s primary criterion for support is the release date, not the hardware specs. Hardware specs can alter the support period but usually not by a huge amount (unless it’s a chip platform transition or something).
If Apple wants to make AI as accessible as possible they’d find some way to add it to iPhone 15s - even a gimped version to convince people to upgrade sooner.
Because they took out the charging block. I’m talking a meaningful discount to reflect age/capabilities
And i’m curious to see how Apple deals with the 2 year old M2 iPad Pro and this years M2 iPad Air. Both tablets have essentially the same specs, though they are two years apart. Will Apple cutoff the M2 iPad Pro first before the M2 Air? It’ll be interesting to see.
Yes, this happens. My 2017 iPad Pro 10.5" with 6-core A10X and 4 GB RAM lost support before my wife's 2019 iPad 7th gen with 4-core A10 and 3 GB RAM. Despite the fact the iPad Pro 10.5" has much better specs than the iPad 7th gen, the iPad Pro 10.5's last OS supported is iPadOS 17, whereas the iPad 7th gen gets iPadOS 18.
I bought and returned a $199 iPad 9th gen earlier this year because I didn't want to be stuck with the Lightning port and also felt the form factor of the 10th gen would be better in the long run. Then I placed an order for the 10th gen at $299, but changed my mind because I was sure the 11th gen would be coming soon, and I don't think Apple will update any of its iOS/macOS products going forward and not put Apple Intelligence in them. 8GB RAM would be a big boost over the current 4GB, so I thought I would wait until this month. But the rumors changed and now it seems clear an 11th gen isn't coming this year. I ended up getting an M1 iPad Air 256GB on clearance for $450. If it has 7 years of support that should be good through 2029.
Probably around same time next year. Will be quite a long time since the current one was announced.
With iPad mini getting an update this year, not expecting to see one next year. Air might get an update early next year. As for iPad Pro, not very sure whether an M5 version will be released next year.
With iPad mini getting an update this year, not expecting to see one next year. Air might get an update early next year. As for iPad Pro, not very sure whether an M5 version will be released next year.
