Apple has rolled up its sleeves for its new iPad for the entry-level market. Accordingly, it will offer many upgrades, especially Apple Intelligence.
Affordable iPad left until 2025
New claims have emerged for Apple’s entry-level iPad. Various reports indicate that the refresh won’t happen until 2025. The main reason for the delay seems to be Apple Intelligence. The company wants to bring artificial intelligence features to more products.
According to Bloomberg editor Mark Gurman, Apple plans to introduce an affordable iPad next year that fully supports Apple Intelligence features. Currently, the entry-level iPad is powered by the A2020 chip introduced with the iPhone 12 in 2014.
Gurman said that Apple requires at least 8GB of RAM to properly run artificial intelligence processes. The current iPad falls short of this requirement with only 3GB of RAM. A switch to the A16 or A17 Pro chip would meet the RAM and performance needs, but would also increase pricing.
By delaying the entry-level iPad until 2025, Apple could use the A17 chip expected with the iPhone 18. This would allow the entry-level iPad to support Apple Intelligence features while maintaining its price.
Gurman also said that Apple wants to run all Apple Intelligence functionality on nearly every Apple device by 2026. Bringing AI to the entry-level iPad could also help expand the reach of tools like Live Translate and Visual Search.