Apple recently took the wraps off the new iPad mini (2024), which packs an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and is powered by Apple's in-house A17 Pro processor. There was no launch event for the device and it was announced via a newsroom post. It is notably the most affordable Apple product to support Apple Intelligence.
In his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple could introduce an entry-level iPad that will support Apple Intelligence capabilities. Notably, he also mentioned that Apple could launch the iPhone SE 4 in March next year, which will support Apple Intelligence features out of the box. The entry-level iPad will follow suit and will be announced "later in the year."
Gurman went on to suggest that nearly every Apple device with a screen will support Apple Intelligence by 2026. For now, Apple is yet to roll out iOS 18.1, which will introduce Apple Intelligence features to the current set of support iPhone and iPad devices.
Speaking of the entry-level iPad debuting in 2025, the timeline indicates a significant gap between the previous-generation iPad. The last refresh to the entry-level iPad occurred in 2022. The delay in refreshing the model could be because of the technical hardware requirements for running Apple Intelligence features.
For context, the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models don't support Apple Intelligence features, and you need an iPhone 15 Pro or above to experience Apple's AI features. Apple also revealed that at least 8GB of RAM is required for running Apple Intelligence features.
The current generation entry-level iPad packs the A14 chip introduced with the iPhone 12. If Apple Intelligence wasn't a thing, Apple would have introduced a new iPad with an A16 processor, which was used in the iPhone 15. But if Apple wants more people to use its suite of AI features, then an A17 Pro or A18 chip appears necessary.
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