Apple recently announced the new iPad mini (2024) with an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display and powered by Apple’s in-house A17 Pro processor. There was no launch event for this device, it was announced through a newsroom post. Notably, it’s the most affordable Apple product that supports Apple Intelligence.
Bloomberg’s Mark Garman revealed in the Power On newsletter that Apple may launch an entry-level iPad with support for Apple Intelligence features. In particular, he also said that Apple may release the iPhone SE 4 with full support for Apple Intelligence features in March next year. An entry-level iPad will follow suit, expected to be announced “later this year.”
Gurman went on to suggest that by 2026, nearly every Apple device with a screen will support Apple Intelligence. As of now, Apple has not rolled out iOS 18.1 yet. This will bring Apple Intelligence capabilities to currently supported iPhone and iPad devices.
When it comes to the entry-level iPad debuting in 2025, the schedule shows a big gap between it and the previous generation iPad. The entry-level iPad was last updated in 2022. Delays in model updates may be due to technical hardware requirements to run Apple Intelligence features.
By the way, standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models do not support Apple Intelligence features, and you need an iPhone 15 Pro or newer to experience Apple’s AI features. Apple also revealed that at least 8GB of RAM is required to run Apple Intelligence features.
The current generation of entry-level iPads are powered by the A14 chip introduced in the iPhone 12. If Apple Intelligence didn’t exist, Apple would introduce a new iPad with the A16 processor used in the iPhone 15. But if Apple wants to, more people will likely need an A17 Pro or A18 chip to use its suite of AI features.
