New iPad Expected to Ship With iPadOS 18.3 in Spring 2025

[MacRumors]

Apple plans to release an entry-level iPad 11 in the spring and iPadOS 18.3 will be pre-installed on the shipped devices, according to a source with a proven track record for upcoming Apple software updates.

Several reports in the last few months have suggested Apple is developing an 11th-generation iPad that is scheduled to be released around the same time as a new iPhone SE 4 and iPad Air in the spring.

Today's source adds weight to the evidence. Apple is expected to release iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 in late January or early February, which would be time enough for the company to get the latest software on new devices for shipping around March.

Rumors of new features are thin on the ground, but today's source says his information does not support rumors that the low-cost iPad will include Apple's upcoming custom 5G modem, which is also expected to be introduced in the iPhone SE and iPhone 17 Air in 2025. Apple's modem chip will be capable of theoretical 5G download speeds of up to 4Gb/s, which is slower than Qualcomm's modems in current phones. The chip will not support the fastest mmWave 5G, and will instead be limited to sub-6GHz 5G.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that the device will likely support Apple Intelligence, which suggests the iPad 11 will have a newer A-series chip compared to the iPad 10, and at least 8GB of RAM. Apple released the iPad 10 in October 2022 with the A14 Bionic chip. Gurman has also said Apple is working on a new Magic Keyboard accessory for the low-cost ‌iPad‌ and/or the iPad Air which is expected to come out by the middle of 2025.

Apple has seeded the first betas of iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, but there's no word yet on what's included. What we do know is that Apple is still working to roll out Apple Intelligence features. iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 include Image Playground, Genmoji, and Siri ChatGPT integration, but there are still new ‌Siri‌ functions that are slated for release next year.

We could see updates to ‌Siri‌ with iOS 18.3, and the features Apple has in development include personal context, on-screen awareness, and the ability to do more in and between apps.

Article Link: New iPad Expected to Ship With iPadOS 18.3 in Spring 2025

 

[green_diyos]

2025 iPad A15 or A18 from a 2022 iPad A14 Bionic?

 

[m1mini]

for apple intelligence it needs at least an a16 with 8gbs of ram. I feel like they will release it with the non pro a17 (bottom of the barrel n3b binned a17) with 8 gb of ram.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Would be nice with a facelift/refresh and that they add support for the new pencils and such things.
Face ID for all devices can't cost much to introduce and should be standard all iphones soon has it.

 

[Danilamak]

Hoping for new iPad OS features in 18.3 then 🤞

 

[antonrg]

I doubt they will release an Air in Spring 2025, they don't release Air each year, and it's simply illogical. The regular iPad makes much more sense.

 

[HJM.NL]

for apple intelligence it needs at least an a16 with 8gbs of ram. I feel like they will release it with the non pro a17 (bottom of the barrel n3b binned a17) with 8 gb of ram.

8 Gb RAM will obsolete any future iOS improvements. 12 GB is the absolute minimum for a couple of years to work with 16 Gb as being standard these days. Won’t cost Apple much when making it a standard too. The question is why Timmy doesn’t 💰💰💰

Will iPadOS be able to multitask already or make use of multiple accounts like a Mac? Only single user usage makes it so 2016 🤭

 

[bradman83]

2025 iPad A15 or A18 from a 2022 iPad A14 Bionic?

Given Apple's willingness to keep using N3B-based chips the A17 would be a potential contender, seeing as how it was just used in the refreshed iPad mini. The A18 gets within spitting distance of the M2's performance in the iPad Air, though that may see a bump to M3 in 2025.

 

[iGüey]

Will iPadOS be able to multitask already or make use of multiple accounts like a Mac? Only single user usage makes it so 2016 🤭

Well, you know Apple…. They consider iPad as a personal device, so they look forward to sell as many units as possible. I really don’t think they care about multiple accounts/users at iPad, so I wouldn’t bet to that.

 

[bradman83]

for apple intelligence it needs at least an a16 with 8gbs of ram. I feel like they will release it with the non pro a17 (bottom of the barrel n3b binned a17) with 8 gb of ram.

Apple Intelligence needs 8GB of RAM more than it needs the A16 chip itself. The M1 and M2 use the exact same Neural Engines as the A14 and A15, respectively, and support Apple Intelligence just fine because they have the RAM for it.

 

[PsykX]

2025 iPad A15 or A18 from a 2022 iPad A14 Bionic?

It will likely have the A17 Pro chip if Apple's serious about AI (or any M-series chip).
The A17 Pro is from 2024's iPhone 15 Pro.

Seems like a major upgrade coming up for the iPad.

 

[m1mini]

8 Gb RAM will obsolete any future iOS improvements. 12 GB is the absolute minimum for a couple of years to work with 16 Gb as being standard these days. Won’t cost Apple much when making it a standard too. The question is why Timmy doesn’t 💰💰💰

Will iPadOS be able to multitask already or make use of multiple accounts like a Mac? Only single user usage makes it so 2016 🤭

I don't think so. This might be the case for macOS but do you really expect apple to drop support for apple intelligence for 8gb ram? You are effectively saying that even the current 16 pro max which only has 8gb will cease to support apple intelligence only after a year.

 

[mdriftmeyer]

The basic iPad is designed obsolescence and a throw away. Give a real mid-tier and stop with this expensive web browser.

 

[taliz]

Been waiting for this for some time. My current iPad 9 is feeling quite sluggish, and the 10 doesn't feel like an upgrade considering the CPU in it is almost 5 years old.

 

[joshwithachance]

I'm VERY curious to see what chip ends up in this, because it wouldn't make sense to cannibalize the mini by putting the A17 Pro in it. But if they want the entire lineup to support AI then it's seemingly going to need that chip at the bare minimum (along with 8GB of RAM)...

The iPad 11 is going to be a very interesting product for sure.

 

[Spock]

They should just get rid of it and drop the price to the Air down to $499 to fill the space.

 

[VaruLV]

I bought 12.9" M1 Pro in summer 2021, hoping that with all that crazy, raw power under the hood Apple are about to introduce either Mac apps in iPad Pro with M1 or bunch of fully featured, aka "pro" apps instead of blown up iPhone apps and the same usability.
To no one's surprise, that didn't happen and, unless Apple can sell iPad Pro for 3000$(starting base price) to recoup potential Mac sale losses due to customers choosing iPad to run their Mac apps, it will never happen.

I'm not buying another Pro iPad nor any other except maybe Mini, it's way overpriced for what it is, it's not a tool, it's more of a luxury accessory to show off how wealthy you are and how little you care for price-performance ratio of your "investment".

I'm just disappointed and done with Apple's greediness and lack of innovation at this point.

 

[TechElliott]

I've heard of an A17 non-pro chip likely for this iPad. It will lose one GPU core compared to the A17

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

The basic iPad is designed obsolescence and a throw away. Give a real mid-tier and stop with this expensive web browser.

Completely disagree.
The basic iPad existing especially when it’s on sale at $249 is the difference between a non-techie family member getting a decent quality product that will get years of updates, versus them opting for a $100 bloat filled ads covered Walmart or Amazon low-end junkware tablet.
And yes, I know low-end Android devices are not all terrible, but a good majority of them are pretty bad. Especially with the bloat, it’s endless.

Even with the quite old at this point iPad 10, for $250 you’re getting Apple’s build quality, a very good LCD display that is super high resolution, the same chip from the iPhone 12 (which literally still can out perform the low end chips of today), and pretty much full access to the entire iPad experience. Even day-to-day the experience of using an iPad 10 really isn’t that different from using an iPad Pro. Absolutely cannot be said about the competitors in this price point, comparing Samsung‘s $150 tablets to their $1000 tablets is a drastic difference in experience.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

They should just get rid of it and drop the price to the Air down to $499 to fill the space.

The iPad Air is already $499 at most third-party retailers here in the US.
The problem is, the iPad 10 is also on sale at $249, literally half the iPad Air.
So… no, they should not.
$250 is low enough that some people might consider an actual iPad over the really really cheap adware tablets that go for absolutely nothing. $250 is still quite a bit more pricey than the crap tablets, but it’s low enough that the upsell for quite a bit more quality is there.
The same cannot be said if you take that price and double it without anything to fill that low-end slot.

 

[joshwithachance]

I've heard of an A17 non-pro chip likely for this iPad. It will lose one GPU core compared to the A17

They already did this with the recent iPad mini "refresh". But instead of calling it an A17 they still refer to it as an A17 Pro.

 

[HJM.NL]

I don't think so. This might be the case for macOS but do you really expect apple to drop support for apple intelligence for 8gb ram? You are effectively saying that even the current 16 pro max which only has 8gb will cease to support apple intelligence only after a year.

Well… the iPhone 15 which is only a year old can’t support Apple Intelligence only the 15 pro can. And Apple is telling everybody they’ve been busy with Apple Intelligence for years now. If true: the iPhone 15 is planned obsolescence. If not true Apple is lying about its AI efforts. Either way: Apple is lying. 🤥

 

[unchecked]

The iPad Air is already $499 at most third-party retailers here in the US.
The problem is, the iPad 10 is also on sale at $249, literally half the iPad Air.
So… no, they should not.
$250 is low enough that some people might consider an actual iPad over the really really cheap adware tablets that go for absolutely nothing. $250 is still quite a bit more pricey than the crap tablets, but it’s low enough that the upsell for quite a bit more quality is there.
The same cannot be said if you take that price and double it without anything to fill that low-end slot.

To a certain point. Apple Intelligence unfortunately gives the game away. They skimped on specs the last few generations and when something substantial that needs the hardware comes around, because things like this aren't upgradable as and when we can, if Apple or the users want that new feature, they're going to need to release and buy a the new bare minimum.

Case in point, they waited so damn long to give the base iPad USB-C. I would have gotten it, but also knowing Apple Intelligence is going to tax the base iPad, I'm just waiting for them bump it up in specs to get it. Whether or not I use the feature is secondary. It's just mitigating buyer's remorse.

 

[kiranmk2]

How is the iPad line still this messed up? If the new iPad comes with an A18 chip then we're in the ridiculous position where the iPad Mini with binned A17Pro chip is undercut in price by this new model. In my mind the iPad Mini was a mini version of the iPad Air, but if the new iPad launches with A18 at $349 (or even $399) why would anyone buy the Mini unless they specifically wanted the smaller size? The extra cash for the mini gets you a laminated/antireflective/higher accuracy screen and maybe Wifi6E (vs Wifi6) and supports a different Apple Pencil. It's almost like apple is tryign to bury the iPad Mini.

I'm guessing that the Mini got the binned A17Pro because it doesn't sell a huge amount of units and Apple had sufficient A17Pro chips left over from iPhone 15 Pros (including the binned versions which the iPhone Pro didn't use). From an inventory perspective it makes sense to not waste the excess / binned A17Pro chips, but it seems like there was no forward planning regarding customer clarity ehrn the 11th gen iPad launched.

To me it seems obvious, that the iPad sells far more units that the Mini so it was unlikely there would be enough A17Pro chips for that. If Apple wants to bring iPad into the Apple Intelligence era the only choices are to use the A18 chip or to spend the money to redesign and produce an A16 with 8 GB RAM or to redesign the A17 chip for the N3E process. In both the latter cases, the iPad would be the only device those chips are used in so personally, I don't think it is worth the cost.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

How is the iPad line still this messed up? If the new iPad comes with an A18 chip then we're in the ridiculous position where the iPad Mini with binned A17Pro chip is undercut in price by this new model. In my mind the iPad Mini was a mini version of the iPad Air, but if the new iPad launches with A18 at $349 (or even $399) why would anyone buy the Mini unless they specifically wanted the smaller size? The extra cash for the mini gets you a laminated/antireflective/higher accuracy screen and maybe Wifi6E (vs Wifi6) and supports a different Apple Pencil. It's almost like apple is tryign to bury the iPad Mini.

I'm guessing that the Mini got the binned A17Pro because it doesn't sell a huge amount of units and Apple had sufficient A17Pro chips left over from iPhone 15 Pros (including the binned versions which the iPhone Pro didn't use). From an inventory perspective it makes sense to not waste the excess / binned A17Pro chips, but it seems like there was no forward planning regarding customer clarity ehrn the 11th gen iPad launched.

To me it seems obvious, that the iPad sells far more units that the Mini so it was unlikely there would be enough A17Pro chips for that. If Apple wants to bring iPad into the Apple Intelligence era the only choices are to use the A18 chip or to spend the money to redesign and produce an A16 with 8 GB RAM or to redesign the A17 chip for the N3E process. In both the latter cases, the iPad would be the only device those chips are used in so personally, I don't think it is worth the cost.

I have recently been wondering if, since there have been rumors about a spring 25 iPad Air, Apple just… slides all of the processors down the line.
The iPad Air gets bumped to M3, and the iPad 11 gets the (now going on three years old) M2.
The mini fits into all of this because Apple could say because of its smaller battery and thermals it can’t handle an M chip.
But consider, the M4 can already be purchased in a Mac mini for $500, clearly the M chips are not necessarily that expensive, especially older ones.
Also consider that the M2 is based off of the A15, which is only one generation newer than the A14 currently in the iPad 10.
They could maybe even put in any leftover M1s in the iPad 11 but that might be pushing it with longevity.
But using a 5NM M chip in the iPad 11 give that Apple Intelligence support, while clearly denoting that it’s much older than the Air or Pro.
The Mini again has a much smaller battery capacity and basically goes for an entire different market.