Apple has refreshed iPad mini last weekwith an A17 Pro chip and support for Apple Intelligence. However, that was the only announcement. There was no refresh at Base model iPad. This was previously expected, but is still a little confusing. the current Basic iPad it’s over two years old, why is apple leaving it out of date?

The basic history of the iPad

Apple introduced what we now refer to as the entry-level iPad in 2017. Despite the fact that the current model is 10th generationthe budget nature of the product line began with the 5th generation. After iPad Air came out in 2013, the iPad 4 was eventually discontinued, creating a large gap between “iPad” refreshes.

With the new iPad (5th generation), Apple set out to create a product that would serve the masses, especially in education. It cut out all the fluff and stuck to the essentials, ignoring the latest chipset, laminated display and Apple Pencil support. It also had a limited amount of storage: only 32 GB. Still, at $329, it was a great deal.

Apple continued to refresh this product annually, adding Apple Pencil support and a newer chip with the 6th generation, a larger display with the 7th generation, a newer chip and fast charging with the 8th generation, and more storage, a faster chip and a 9th generation Center Stage camera.

After that, a year later, I got the biggest refresh in history Base model iPad with 10th generation. It inherited the modern iPad design language, gained some fun colors and switched to USB-C. However, it stuck to the original formula, keeping an old chipset, an unlaminated display, and no support for the Apple Pencil 2. It still had to use the Apple Pencil 1 via a bizarre adapter, since the Apple Pencil 1 used Lightning, while the iPad 10 used USB-C.

Why skip a refresh?

The The current base iPad he is over 2 years old. It currently has an A14 chip, which was about 2 years old when it launched. Apple usually puts a ~2 year old chipset in Basic iPad with each refresh. And I think that may be the reason for the lack of a new one iPad.

Apple probably doesn’t want to ship a new product without Apple Intelligence since they’ve made it such a big part of new product marketing. If history is followed, a current refresh of the iPad 11 would have the A16 chip, which would not be compatible with Apple Intelligence.

Sure, it could pack an A16 chip and 8GB of RAM, but I doubt Apple wants to optimize Apple Intelligence for high-end hardware, especially if it’s just for a single device.

With iPads Currently priced at $349, it’s unlikely that Apple will be able to fit a newer chipset than the A16 into the device. In addition, with iPad mini 7 using the A17 Pro instead of the A18, it seems that Apple doesn’t want to put too much pressure on the second-generation 3nm process, which is likely to have limited capacity. Putting the latest chip in their cheapest product is not viable.

I think, all things considered, a Base model iPad refresh while also supporting Apple Intelligence was probably unlikely to happen this year, which is why Apple failed to update its the most popular iPad for the second consecutive year.

iPad 11 release date

With all this context behind you, you might be wondering: when will they actually refresh base model iPad? We originally expected it for this fall, but it never materialized. Display Analyst Ross Young then stated that panel shipments were underway this month, suggesting a spring release. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also corroborated the same time frame in a recent report:

During the same spring product release cycle, Apple plans to release a refreshed iPhone SE, new iPad Air models, and improved iPad keyboards. In the same window, Apple now aims to release entry-level 11th-generation iPads codenamed J481 and J482, the people said.

So we’re looking at a release next spring. At that point, iPhone 16 production is likely to drop, freeing up the capacity of Apple’s most popular iPad to use the latest generation A18 chip. This would enable Apple Intelligence, although it would be a bit awkward for Basic iPad to have a better chip than that iPad miniso maybe they will refresh them next fall as well.

iPad mini use leftovers A17 Pro chips stored anyway from iPhone 15 Pro production, so they are in limited supply. Chances are they’ll refresh the iPad mini as soon as they need to. Considering the fact that base model iPad has a significantly larger volume than iPad miniI don’t see it following the same strategy as the A17 Pro.

Wrapping

Overall, it seems quite likely that Apple skipped the refresh Basic iPad because not having Apple Intelligence would perhaps be bad for optics. Either way, we won’t get a refresh until sometime next year, which means Apple will be selling a nearly 3-year-old product with a 5-year-old chipset when it finally gets updated.

That’s pretty concerning for long-term software support, but that seems to be our reality. Meanwhile, Apple will be extra happy iPad Air sales from customers who care about the Apple Intelligence feature set but want to stay on a budget.

What do you think about Apple apparently going all-in on Apple Intelligence? Tell us in the comments.

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