Top 10 tidbits on iPad (A16)

With the release of the 11th generation iPad with the A16 chip, it may be overshadowed by several initial reviews of Apple’s more premium iPad Air (M3). The base iPad may be an underrated product since it didn’t bring too much to the table; however, even the most subtle spec improvements has made this iPad a far better value than ever before. So here are the top tidbits you should know to see how great a value this iPad is:

1. Since this iPad features the A16 chip, this means that it officially comes with 6GB of RAM, which is a 50% more memory than the previous 10th-generation iPad (4GB).
2. The A16 on this iPad is not identical to that of either the iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 because this chip has one less core on both the CPU and GPU sides. Furthermore, this iPad’s USB-C port is capped at USB 2 speeds (up to 480 Mbps). Additionally, this iPad does not support Stage Manager as that feature remains exclusive to both the iPad Air and iPad Pro as those latest models feature M-series chips with more CPU and GPU cores. However, as previously reported by several sources, Apple has started producing Apple Silicon in the United States, and that turned out to be this chip. So this would allow Apple to reduce costs overall while keeping the same starting price as before at $349 (MSRP).
3. Speaking of value, you get double the starting storage of 128GB for the base iPad, so all iPad models (except the Pro) finally start with 128GB of storage. Additionally, there’s now a 512GB storage tier for you to load even more apps, music, TV shows, movies, and other content on the go.
4. Going back to the memory, this iPad does not support Apple Intelligence as that’s still reserved for other iPad models since those have at least 8GB of RAM.
5. However, this iPad now finally supports Final Cut Pro. So you can even try out Apple’s pro app on the most affordable iPad ever. Of course, this iPad supports Logic Pro as well since it’s been using a chip that’s newer than the A12 chip.
6. This iPad continues to work with both the Apple Pencil (1st generation) [requires a separate adapter for pairing/charging] and Apple Pencil (USB-C). Although this iPad doesn’t support Apple Pencil Hover or the Apple Pencil Pro unlike the higher-end models, maintaining support for the former two Pencils would allow educators to continue using their existing Pencils without spending more on extra accessories.
7. Despite marketed as an “11-inch Liquid Retina Display”, this iPad’s display specs is identical to those of the 10th generation display. You get the same display size and resolution, but it still doesn’t get P3 wide color support, and the display still isn’t laminated. It should come as no surprise as the base iPad always comes with a non-laminated display for easier repairs, which is a more friendly option for children and even education markets.
8. As with the other iPads in the lineup, this iPad features Bluetooth 5.3. This is an upgrade from the Bluetooth 5.2 found in the 10th generation iPad, and it will allow for the most optimized Bluetooth connections between other recently updated Apple products, especially for the latest AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.
9. This iPad now lets you check the battery health and history for various details such as the cycle count and manufacture date and first usage of the battery. Additionally, you can now enable the 80% charge limit to expand longevity of the battery even further. These changes are now in line with other iPads that were updated last year as well as iPhone models since the iPhone 15 series.
10. Last, but not least, you can visually tell the difference between the 10th generation and the 11th generation iPad. Although both models feature the identical design, if you look closely on the 11th generation, Apple removed the “iPad” brand name along with the model number and serial number on the back, leaving just the Apple logo on the back for a much cleaner look. This is in line with Apple’s iPhone models since the iPhone 11, and Apple may bring this design change to the next updates for both the iPad Pro and iPad mini in the next few years. Who knows, this may be a step towards rotating the Apple logo in landscape orientation since Apple considered doing so in line with the landscape Center Stage camera.

So those are the top 10 tidbits you should know about the latest base iPad. Although it may be an underwhelming update, the under-the-hood, solid improvements overall make this iPad a far better value for everyday users who just want to do casual iPad tasks. Chances are that they don’t need the bells and whistles that are offered in the higher-end models and they just want to use the iPad as more of a companion device to the Mac as Apple has been marketing for things like Sidecar and Universal Control. The iPad is now available for $349, and you may find sales on this device really soon.