As the back-to-school season kicks in, Apple plans to update its baseline iPad this fall with a new ninth-generation model tailored towards students, sporting a thinner design and an improved processor, according toBloomberg'sMark Gurman.
In September of last year, Apple updated the baseline iPad with the faster and more powerful A12 Bionic chip starting at $329, or $299 for education customers. The baseline update sits at the lower end of the iPad lineup and is tailored for customers needing an affordable iPad for day-to-day use.
For the 9th generation model, Apple is likely to continue with the current design featuring Touch ID and a Home Button. The updated model will feature a faster processor with improved performance and graphics and a thinner form factor.
The updated iPad joins a busy fall season for Apple, as the company is also expected to be preparing a more significant update to the iPad mini. The new iPad mini is rumored to feature a larger display with smaller bezels, improved performance, and an updated overall design. Apple is also preparing new iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods, and MacBook Pros for launch in the coming months.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports.
iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge.
Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
What's the point of the iPad mini? Phones have ~6" screens, who would then want a tablet with a 7.9" screen?
LOL! ? ?
The iPad Mini's display is roughly TWICE as big! That's a HUGE difference! You can really tell and appreciate the difference when web browsing, book reading, looking at PDFs, using astronomy apps, working with spreadsheets, watching movies, etc.
What matters isn't the 6” vs. the 7.9”, but the AREA of the display — which is a matter of length x height, NOT the diagonal. After all, a 6” pencil has virtually no display area!
Just consider. The iPhone 12 with that 6.1” display is 5.78” x 2.82” in size. Or, 16.3 square inches.
The iPad Mini 5 is 8” x 5.3”. Or, 42.4 sq. inches.
Even if one adjusts the dimensions for the bezels, you're going to end up with close to double the display area for the iPad! That's a big difference.
I think people making this argument either hold their iPhones up to their eyes, don’t do a lot of reading on them, or have never used an iPad mini before.
The Mini is vastly superior in the earlier mentioned uses…
——
Alas, Apple only gives the dimensions of the overall device, not the screen areas. If anyone has the actual screen dimensions, please chime in.
