Pros
- Low price
- 128GB storage included on base model
- Solid front video camera
- Better A16 processor
Cons
- No support for Apple Intelligence
- Won’t work with newer Pencil Pro or Pencil 2 stylus
- Accessories still too expensive
What is an iPad? This isn’t a trick question. To some, it’s just a good big screen for creative use or entertainment, a larger iPhone or a useful, versatile gaming-video-check-messages-and-look-at-photos tablet. The iPad can be more than that, but it doesn’t have to. And if you don’t need the bells and whistles, then Apple’s basic iPad — still called the «iPad» — is your pick. For most people, I think that’s exactly what the iPad should be.
For years, the entry-level iPad as been my top pick, and that’s not because fancier iPads aren’t better. They are better, faster, nicer and have gorgeous displays. But at $349 ( 329, AU$599) for the basic iPad, which now has 128GB of storage and an A16 processor, that sounds just right.
Now, are you considering turning your iPad into a laptop? Adding a keyboard, or picking up a Pencil for art or graphics work? If so, pick a higher-level iPad. Accessories add up fast, and you’re better off going with the new M3-equipped iPad Air.
What do I use an iPad for? Mostly playing Balatro, Catan and Retro Bowl Plus until my eyes fall out. Watching random shows and movies when the TV is taken. Looking at documents. Reading over stuff. Sometimes writing if I have a keyboard case. Looking at photos. Doomscrolling. Video chats with friends and family. Aspirational big creative multitasking things aren’t actually in my personal everyday life. For me, really, a basic iPad is more than enough.
More storage for that entry price, at last
Apple gives you ridiculously little storage on the base models of its gadgets. The 10th-gen iPad, for example, came with only 64GB of storage on the $349 entry-level model, which is still available online. That isn’t enough; you’ll likely run out of room after downloading a handful of movies. I always recommend jumping up to more storage.
It’s a tiny thing, but starting with 128GB this time for $349 is exactly where this thing should have been in the first place. It’s still not enough for power users, but if you’re considering adding more storage, ask yourself: Is it because I’m working with graphics apps, or making art? Then go with the iPad Air, which has better accessories and a more powerful M3 processor. But you’ll pay more (at least $599, likely a lot more).
Faster A16 chip, but not that fast
This new iPad has a minor speed bump to an A16 chip, which is also used in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 15. It’s better than the A14 on the 10th-gen iPad, but it’s hardly a speed demon. Geekbench 6’s multicore test result was 6,186, which is nearly half the speed of the M3 iPad Air’s benchmark score of 11,643. But the single-core speed is 2,589, which is about the score result of an M2-level iPad Pro. This is an iPad you’ll be single-tasking on most of the time, I’d guess.
Do I notice the speed difference when I’m using everyday apps like I do most of the time, streaming videos, playing silly basic games and reading stuff? Absolutely not.
Do I like the higher-end iPads? Absolutely. I love a faster processor, and the better the processor, the more futureproof your iPad, so it can last years and years. But the gains for the M-series chips don’t translate into a ton of everyday uses. The added multitasking modes are on M-series iPad Airs and Pros, but they’re limited to four apps open at once and are still not something I use daily. Apple Intelligence? It’s a mess right now, and not useful at all in my life. But Apple’s going to knit those Apple Intelligence AI features into future versions of iPadOS, most likely. And this 11th-gen iPad, with its A16 chip, is left out of those updates.
I don’t mind that Apple Intelligence isn’t on this basic iPad right now. I’m fine with it. But ask me again in a year, and I might change my mind. I don’t know.
Still love the camera
The camera didn’t change, but that’s fine: Apple fixed it (and the rest of the iPad’s design) last time with the 10th-gen upgrade. This is the 10th-gen model, basically, with more storage and a faster chip. But the landscape-oriented front camera is positioned right to prop up the iPad on a table with a kickstand case and make video calls where everyone in the family will look perfectly centered, clear and crisp.
Why didn’t this basic iPad get what the iPad Mini got?
What’s annoying to me, though, is that Apple did all the right upgrades with the latest iPad Mini. That little 8-inch iPad, released last fall, has an A17 processor that can run Apple Intelligence. And it works with the Pencil Pro stylus, which magnetically snaps right on the side.
The basic iPad, meanwhile, just misses the Apple Intelligence cutoff. And it still only works with the simple USB-C Pencil or the first-gen Pencil (with a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter). These Pencils don’t snap onto the iPad; you’ll have to carry them around some other way or get a case with a Pencil-holding loop. The USB-C Pencil can work with many art apps, but it lacks pressure sensitivity, any of the new hover features or clickable-tappable shortcuts in the stylus itself. Some of those features are gimmicky, and some are useful. I’d rather this iPad work with the Pencil Pro like every other iPad — let people choose level of Pencil features they want — but so be it. And, hey, I barely use the Pencil in my own life. If I were a serious artist, again, I’d get an iPad Air or a Pro.
And this iPad also has a different keyboard case, same as last time. The Magic Keyboard Folio that Apple sells for $249 costs way too much, is bulky, and needs a lot of flat table space compared to the Magic Keyboard on the Air and Pro. There are other keyboard case options that are cheaper.
But that’s life in iPad-land in 2025. At least Apple has kept a great affordable option in the mix for kids and people who just want something straightforward, and by skipping some of those extras, likely kept the price from creeping up. I appreciate that. Next time, though, Apple better stick a better chip onboard and give this Pencil Pro-equivalent support.
