Apple’s most affordable iPad is gearing up for a meaningful refresh in a few months. This time, it looks like the changes run deeper than a simple silicon upgrade.
According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company has been on track since last year to launch a refreshed entry-level iPad in the first half of 2026, within the iOS 26.4 release timeframe, which runs until May 2026.
Baseline iPad will get Apple Intelligence support with the A18 chip
The purported entry-level iPad moves away from Apple’s A16 chip to the newer and more powerful A18 chip. It means that the device won’t just run faster, but, more importantly, it will support Apple Intelligence.
Until now, Apple’s suite of AI-powered features has been available only on the more expensive iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad Pro models.
This has kept millions of budget-conscious iPad buyers away from AI features such as Writing Tools, Smart Reply, Image Playground, Image Wand, Genmoji, Clean Up, and Math Notes. While some of them aren’t as useful, such as Image Playground and Image Wand, others, like Writing Tools and Math Notes, could be used daily.
Why did it take this long?
While the company planned to launch the new entry-level iPad alongside the M4 iPad Air, that couldn’t happen. The reasons, as mentioned in the report, include chip shortages, insufficient inventory depletion, or intentional marketing changes.
Despite the delay, Gurman claims the 12th-generation iPad is “ready to go” and will arrive this year. With the A18 chip, the iPad would feel faster, support all the available Apple Intelligence features (and the new Siri that might arrive later this year), and provide even more value for buyers’ money.
Bringing Apple Intelligence to the base iPad substantially widens the addressable market for Apple’s AI ecosystem.
