After renewing its iPad Pro, iPad Air and iPad mini in 2024, Apple is preparing to launch an entry-level iPad 11 next spring, with the latest iPadOS 18.3 preinstalled on the devices, according to a source. MacRumors.
Evidence of the new iPad
As you know, reports have been growing recently around a future 11th generation iPad, which is expected to hit the market alongside the new iPhone SE 4 and a refreshed iPad Air next spring.
The rumor is gaining even more depth with today’s information. Apple is expected to roll out the iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates, currently in beta, between late January and early February, leaving just enough time to equip the new iPads for a March release.
Although details on what’s new on the tablet are very rare to date, Apple’s future cheap iPad will integrate the company’s next custom 5G modem. This modem, also expected in the iPhone SE 4 and iPhone 17 Air in 2025, promises 5G download speeds of up to 4 Gb/s, although it does not reach the speed of Qualcomm’s modems in due to its limitation to 5G below 6 GHz and the lack of support for 5G mmWave. A point which will not be noticeable in France, as millimeter wave 5G is still absent.
On the other hand, we know that this iPad could support Apple Intelligence, suggesting an A17 Pro chip like the iPad mini 7, as well as 8 GB of RAM. Additionally, Apple is working on a new Magic Keyboard for this iPad and/or the iPad Air, which would boost its appeal.
For iOS 18.3, we do not yet have the list of new features. The first beta didn’t reveal anything, while iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 introduced features like Image Playground, Genmoji, and Siri integration with ChatGPT. We are still awaiting improvements to Siri, including better understanding of personal context, as well as better on-screen recognition. Maybe Apple is hiding all this so as not to leak anything about its next iPad. In the meantime, the iPad 10 is only €359.
