Apple went big on iPads in 2024, announcing new iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini tablets. But one model missed out: the standard, basic iPad which hadn’t been updated since 2022 (other than getting even cheaper (it got an aggressive price cut to $349/£329 in 2024).
As the only iPad not to support Apple Intelligence, the iPad was long overdue an update. That update is here now, but, unfathomably, Apple has decided Apple Intelligence isn’t important enough to add a chip powerful enough to support it.
2025 iPad A16 release date
- Pre-order the M3 iPad Air from Wednesday, March 4
- On sale from Wednesday, March 12
On March 3 Tim Cook tweeted a message that “this week” something is “in the Air”, suggesting a new product will launch soon. The iPad – and an new iPad Air – launched the next day, with Apple issuing a press release about the iPad Air.
The new iPad is available to pre-order and will go on sale on March 12.
2025 iPad A16 price: How much does the new iPad cost?
The only good thing about the new iPad is the fact that Apple is no longer selling a 64GB model, which wasn’t enough storage for most people, even if they paid for additional iCloud storage. Previously the 64GB iPad cost $349/£329, now you pay the same for the 128GB model.
| iPad model | U.S. | U.K. | Canada | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128GB | $349 | £329 | $799 | $999 |
| 256GB | $449 | £429 | $949 | $1,199 |
| 512GB | $649 | £629 | $1,229 | $1,549 |
2025 iPad A16 features: New iPad specs
- Only an A16 chip, no Apple Intelligence here
Logically the new iPad was expected to get an A17 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM, like the iPad mini, which would have brought support for Apple Intelligence. Illogically the new iPad doesn’t support Apple Intelligence.
Apple’s strategy here has to either suggest that Apple Intelligence support isn’t as important as it has been making out, or that the company doesn’t really want to sell the iPad and would prefer to upsell customers to the iPad Air or iPad mini.
The only improvement as far as specs are concerned is the move from the A15 to the A16 chip and double the storage.
2025 iPad A16 Design
The 10th-gen iPad delivered a major redesign, so we didn’t expect too much to change externally.
The iPad still comes in blue, pink, yellow or silver finishes.
Author: Karen Haslam, Managing Editor, Macworld
Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple's PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well as product recommendations and buying advice.
