Apple Updated the Wrong iPad

I was ready to write a story this week about the entry-level iPad finally getting Apple Intelligence support. This story never happened because this iPad never happened. The iPad I tend to recommend for people, the one that is the best purchase for families and children, the one that is actually called “iPad”, remains not updated. Instead, over the past six months, Apple has been upgrading its already more powerful and more expensive iPads.

THE iPad Pro M5released last fall, took an already fast and expensive iPad and made it even faster. But for whose benefit? I really like the iPad Pro’s gorgeous OLED display and slimmer size in a keyboard case, but with a starting price of $999, it’ll cost you as much or more than a MacBook Air for the privilege.

THE new iPad AirApple’s Goldilocks-in-the-middle iPad, just got a new M4 chip and faster wireless internals. It’s a $599+ proposition, which isn’t great for its capabilities, but depending on how much storage and how many accessories you get, it feels more like a half-price pro iPad with a few extras removed. No OLED screen, for example.

But what about the base iPad?

The standard iPad is the iPad that needs an upgrade the most. The existing model, which costs $349, only contains an A16 chip. This is the same chip that Apple launched in the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, three and a half years ago.

This A16 chip is the only one in Apple’s current product line that cannot do Apple Intelligence. The iPad is cut off from Apple’s much-vaunted and very disappointing AI.

I’d say you won’t miss Apple Intelligence, but that’s for now. Things should change soon. Apple’s new deal with Google will integrate Gemini with Siri, in a way that hasn’t been explained, but which should finally lead to better AI on Apple products. And, again, going by the story, this entry iPad won’t be able to access it.

The A16 chip is also a year older and is comparatively slower. It’s still good for watching movies, games, and everyday basics, but as an investment it’s a tougher proposition. The base 128GB of storage is sufficient, but Apple doesn’t do any favors when it comes to storage space.

Is this a stealth price hike in disguise?

The message seems clear: Apple wants you to spend on a fancier iPad. And in this economy, it’s harder 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 improved in its ability to do more things and Apple is probably about to release a MacBook even more affordable. But it always made me think that spending less on an iPad made more sense, since it’s not a Mac replacement.

So I wait. The others too, I bet. The iPad Air is good, 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 now considers the Air to be the new basic iPad. With better Pro and Air models, this basic iPad unfortunately looks worse than ever.