Apple's base-model iPad provides nearly all of Apple's tablet experience for a fraction of the price. The iPad 11 is expected to be the next-generation low-price tablet, unveiled before the end of 2024. The iPad 10 was a massive update, so there's likely not going to be much to write home about this time around. However, we are expecting a decent processor bump.
Apple recently discontinued the iPad 9, and brought the iPad 10's price down to a much cheaper $349. As such, there's every prospect that Apple's iPad 10 could hang around for a while even after the 11 is released.
So what can we expect from the iPad 11, when is it going to be released, and how much will it cost? Here's everything we know so far.
Apple iPad 11: The headlines
- What is it? Apple's next entry-level iPad
- Release date rumors: Possibly before the end of 2024
- Rumored upgrades: A16 chip
iPad 11: Release date rumors
Apple unveiled a new M4 iPad Pro in May 2024 alongside the new M2 iPad Air. Most recent reports indicate that Apple is working on a new low-end iPad, the iPad 11, alongside the all-new iPad mini 7. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, neither is likely to arrive before the end of 2024 "at the earliest." So we could see one in the fall, or perhaps early next year.
iPad 11: Features and specifications
As mentioned, this refreshed iPad isn't expected to bring anything new to the table in terms of big new features and capabilities, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reporting that it'll be a "cost-reduced version of the 10th generation model." To that end, this will very much be an iterative refresh — if the rumors are true, buyers can expect much of what's already on offer from the iPad 10 but with an upgraded chip inside.
Leaks in July 2024 indicate that Apple could ship the new iPad 11 with the A16 Bionic chip from the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 15. That would mean six cores (two performance, four efficiency), and 6GB of RAM. That might sound paltry, but is bang on for Apple's entry-level offering and still a decent jump on the current A14.
In terms of what you look at, a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display is expected to make a return. It's a great display, albeit one that lacks advanced features like 120Hz ProMotion as you might expect. There's support for the Apple Pencil 1 and Apple Pencil (USB-C) as well, but not the Apple Pencil 2.
iPad 11: What we want to see
Whenever there is a new Apple product there's some hope that a big new feature will blow us all away. But in the case of the iPad, it's the fundamentals that matter. It's there that we'd like improvements.
A cheaper starting price
We got our wish of a cheaper entry start price with the shift to $349 for the budget iPad 10. That means there's now room to offer an iPad 11 at this price while keeping the iPad 10 in the lineup for less. $349 is very reasonable for the entry-level model. However, $329, or even $299 would be better still.
More storage
This is a common theme throughout Apple's tablet lineup, and it's still the situation with the base model iPad.
That base model gets you 64GB of storage which in 2023 is a sorry state of affairs. Even in a tablet that is designed to prop up the rest of Apple's tablet strategy, 64GB just isn't enough for the kind of people this iPad is likely to fall into the hands of — kids. Games aren't getting any smaller, and does Apple really want kids' first experience of an iPad to be a daily struggle, offloading apps left and right?
Sure, there's a 256GB model available to those who want it, but why not 128GB in the current lineup? 256GB is overkill and it almost feels punitive that there's nothing between the two right now. And nobody should spend almost $600 on an entry-level iPad.
Better battery
Bigger batteries are always welcome, although we have to acknowledge that nobody wants a thicker or heavier iPad. The move to a more modern CPU in the A15 may help here, but we'd still like to see Apple squeeze a few more hours out of this thing.
Sure, the iPad still gets you through a day and Apple can claim all-day battery life. But that's if you baby the thing — and again, kids playing games very much don't baby their batteries.
iPad 11: Price
Picking up a 64GB iPad today will set you back $449 unless you can find a deal somewhere. Again, we'd like to see that fall or at the very least, see that money get you more storage.
You can of course spend more on your new iPad — upgrading to 256GB of storage costs you $599 and adding cellular to the 64GB model costs the same.
We've seen precious few rumors about what the new iPad will cost, but it's unlikely to go up given the 2022 price hike. We'd like to see it come down, but we're not sure that's really all that likely, unfortunately.
