One of the new products that we could see next week is a refreshed version of the low-cost iPad. As with the iPad Air, we’re not expecting major changes, but it is expected to get some meaningful internal upgrades.
Design
The 12th-generation iPad isn’t going to get a design update this year, and we’re expecting it to have the same 11-inch edge-to-edge display with Touch ID Side Button and thick bezels.
Apple last updated the iPad’s design with the 10th-generation model, giving the device a more modern look to better match the designs of the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. It’s still a relatively new design, and Apple doesn’t update the low-cost iPad’s chassis often.
The low-cost iPad is only available in a single screen size, and it is Apple’s thickest tablet at 7mm. It features a Retina LCD display with no ProMotion support, no P3 wide color, and no lamination (display technology that cuts down on glare, provides a more responsive feel, and allows for a thinner size) compared to Apple’s other tablets.
Apple makes the low-cost iPad in several fun colors, and we could see some new shades in 2026. Current colors include blue, pink, silver, and yellow.
No changes are expected for the rear camera, front camera, USB-C port, or compatibility with accessories like the Apple Pencil.
A-Series Processor
The low-cost iPad will likely be equipped with Apple’s A19 chip, which is the chip that Apple used for the iPhone 17. It is built on a 3-nanometer process and it will offer speed and efficiency improvements over the A16 chip that’s in the current model.
The A16 chip that Apple used in 2025 does not support Apple Intelligence, but the A19 does, so that will mark a major update for Apple’s affordable tablet. The 2026 model should be able to support Apple Intelligence features that are unavailable with the 2025 model.
The A19 also offers hardware-accelerated ray tracing for gaming improvements. The 11th-generation iPad has 6GB RAM, but Apple will need to bump that up to 8GB for Apple Intelligence.
N1 Chip
Apple introduced its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, called the N1, in the iPhone 17 models. The N1 was added to the iPad Pro, and it’s possible that Apple plans to add the chip to all future devices coming in 2026 and beyond.
The N1 chip supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread networking technology for smart home devices.
The 11th-generation iPad is limited to Wi-Fi 6, so if the 12th-generation version gets Wi-Fi 7, it will be able to connect to faster 6GHz networks for the first time. Bluetooth 6 would also be an improvement over Bluetooth 5.3. There is a chance that Apple is reserving the N1 chip for its more premium devices, based on leaked internal code. If that’s the case, the iPad won’t include the N1 chip.
Apple Modem
Apple has designed C1 and C1X modem chips that it has used in iPhones and iPads in 2025, and the next-generation version of the iPad could also get an Apple-designed modem chip for cellular models.
Apple’s modem chips are more power efficient than Qualcomm chips while providing similar performance.
Pricing
The 11th-generation iPad is priced starting at $349 for 128GB of storage, and there are so far no indications that pricing is going to change for the 12th-generation model.
Launch Date
Apple will likely launch the low-cost iPad sometime next week, just ahead of the Special Experience planned for March 4.
