Apple Updated the Wrong iPad

I was all ready to write a story this week on the entry-level iPad finally getting support for Apple Intelligence. That story never happened because that iPad never happened. The iPad I tend to recommend for people, the one that’s the best purchase for families and kids, the one that’s actually called “iPad,” remains un-updated. Instead, in the past six months, Apple’s been upgrading its already more powerful and more expensive iPads.

The iPad Pro M5, released last fall, took an already fast and expensive iPad and made it even faster. To whose benefit, though? I do very much appreciate the iPad Pro’s wonderful OLED display and its thinner size in a keyboard case, but with a starting price of $999, it’ll cost you as much as or more than a MacBook Air for the privilege.

The new iPad Air, Apple’s Goldilocks-in-the-middle iPad of sorts, just got a new M4 chip and faster wireless internals. It’s a $599 and up proposition, which isn’t awful for its capabilities, but depending on how much storage and how many accessories you get, it’s more like a mitigated-cost pro iPad with a few extras cut out. No OLED screen, for instance.

But what about the basic iPad?

The regular iPad is the iPad that most needs an upgrade. The existing model, which costs $349, only has an A16 chip inside. That’s the same chip Apple debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, three and a half years ago.

That A16 chip is the only one in Apple’s current product lineup that can’t do Apple Intelligence. The iPad is cut off from Apple’s own heavily touted and heavily disappointing AI.

I’d say you won’t miss Apple Intelligence, but that’s right now. Things should change soon. Apple’s new deal with Google is going to knit Gemini into Siri, in ways that haven’t been explained but that should result in better AI on Apple products at last. And, again, as far as history suggests, this entry iPad won’t be able to access it.

The A16 chip is also another year older and comparatively slower. It’s still fine for everyday movie watching and games and basic things, but as an investment, it’s a dicier proposition. The base 128GB of storage is adequate, but Apple’s not doing any favors with storage space there.

Is this a stealth price bump in disguise?

The message seems clear: Apple wants you to spend up for a fancier iPad. And in this economy, that’s tougher than ever. It also makes me angrier that Apple still hasn’t found a way to truly turn iPads into Mac-compatible alternatives, even though iPadOS has gotten better at doing more things, and Apple is about to likely release an even more affordable MacBook. But it’s always made me feel that spending less on an iPad makes more sense, since it’s not a Mac replacement.

So I’m waiting. So are others, I bet. The iPad Air is fine, but it’s not a new everyday iPad. And for those of you who were hoping for a good family deal, I’m sorry: I guess Apple considers the Air the new basic iPad now. With better Pro and Air models, that basic iPad is looking, sadly, worse than ever.