Apple's affordable iPad set for major speed boost and Apple Intelligence

Last year was busy for Apple, not just in terms of the number of products it announced but we also saw the launch of the company's artificial intelligence solution – Apple Intelligence.

Pretty much all of Apple's newest devices support Apple Intelligence, and a few older products too, including the iPhone 15 Pro models and any iPads and Macs that are running M-series chips.

But, there is one standout device in Apple's current portfolio that doesn't support Apple Intelligence – the base level iPad.

Despite the iPad mini seeing a refresh in 2024, the iPad 10th generation didn't, and with it currently running on the A14 Bionic, it's not powerful enough to support features like Writing Tools or the Priority Notifications that come with Apple Intelligence.

What can we expect for the iPad (11th generation)?

It looks like things could could be about to change for the humble entry level iPad though. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter that the iPad (11th generation) will run on the A17 Pro chip, like the iPad mini. He also believes it'll see a jump to 8GB of RAM and gain support for Apple Intelligence.

According to Gurman: "The new entry-level iPads – J481 and J482 – will get faster processors and Apple Intelligence.

"Look for the new versions to have the A17 Pro chip, matching the iPad mini, and a bump to 8 gigabytes of memory. That’s the minimum needed to support the new AI platform."

The A17 Pro chip was first seen in the iPhone 15 Pro models, though 9to5Mac reports that Apple used a "binned version with a 5-core GPU" for the iPad mini 7, suggesting the same could be the case for the iPad (11th generation).

Of course, nothing is officially confirmed for now, though it is thought Apple will announce the iPad (11th generation) alongside a new iPhone SE, new iPad Air models and new Magic Keyboards in the first half of this year.