All You Need To Know About Apple’s New iPads
Apple have taught us to expect the unexpected with their releases, and they’ve certainly continued that with their newest iPad announcements – and not for the usual reasons.
While the premium tech company are known for their innovations and future thinking, they’ve bucked their own trend by revealing that their updated standard iPad (whose last version came out in October 2022) won’t have Apple Intelligence capabilities – so no swish AI available to help with everyday and creative tasks. They also announced an upgraded iPad Air, which will have Apple Intelligence, as well as a few minor upgrades.
So what do each of them offer – and more importantly, what does that mean for those who are thinking of shelling out hard-earned cash for an iPad? Let’s take a closer look.
Apple iPad (A16)
The entry level iPad – now called the iPad (A16) – has been the tablet of choice for those wanting a no-frills start to their iPad journey. While it has upgraded its chip from an A14 to an A16, that won’t provide enough power to support Apple Intelligence – its suite of artificial intelligence capabilities. It’s a curious move, seeing as they seem on a mission to upgrade all their range to be AI-ready (the most recent iPad Mini and iPad Pro are AI-compatible, for example).
What’s the reason behind their decision? We can speculate that it’s to keep the price super low. Or to make the other iPads feel more appealing. We might also wonder if they had an excess of A16 chips that would otherwise be obsolete. In any case, it means this iPad won’t be getting any of the features they’ll be wowing us with when they announce 2025’s AI innovations in June (as they usually do). But for those who want a great quality, value-for-money tablet for simple things like browsing the internet, FaceTiming and writing notes, it’s a fitting choice.
The chip upgrade means the iPad will work considerably faster than its predecessor, and the lowest-priced version will have double the storage it had before, at 128GB. 256GB and 512GB versions are also available. Aside from that, the specs are largely the same, with colours including blue, pink, yellow, and silver, and a slick design that’s fitting of a premium product – Apple Intelligence or not.
Apple iPad Air
Focusing on Apple’s higher-spec iPad, the design and display of the iPad Air is much like its predecessor, which came out in May 2024. Continuing on from last year’s introduction, there’s now a 13” version to match the 11”. It’s gorgeous pastel colours – blue, purple, starlight and space grey – are the same, and storage continues to start at 128GB. Camera wise, it has the 12MP Wide and Centre Stage camera and 4K video that’s standard with iPads.
The major change comes with the chip upgrade. It now has the M3 chip, meaning it’s ready for all the AI capabilities that Apple will send its way in the future – things like a natural language search, photo creator and Chat GPT integration. The new chip will also bring “advanced graphics architecture” to the iPad – which basically means better graphics for gaming. It is also compatible with the newly-released Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, helping to bridge the tablet/laptop gap.
Price and availability
The Apple iPad (A16) costs £329 (for the 11” with wi-fi only) to £479 (for the 13” with cellular connectivity). The Apple iPad Air costs the same as its predecessor, ranging from £599 (for the 11” with wi-fi only) to £949 (for the 13” with cellular connectivity). Both the iPad and iPad Air are available to pre-order, and they go on general release on Wednesday 12 March 2025.
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