Apple to Launch New Low-Cost 11-Inch iPad in the Spring

Apple will launch a new 12th generation entry-level iPad in the spring of next year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

11th gen ipad blue
Apple is said to have two versions of the entry-level 11-inch iPad in development, codenamed J581 and J582. These could refer to different storage capacities – in which case, Apple may be planning to drop the existing lowest capacity option. The current iPad 11 is available in 128, 256, and 512GB capacities.

Based on the report, the next-generation low-end iPad model will look like the current version but include a faster chip, but there is no word yet on which chip it will use. The iPad 11 features an A16 processor.

Apple is reportedly aiming to launch the new devices in March or April 2026, suggesting a fast turnaround. The current editions, which start at $349, went on sale last March.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Neutral)
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Top Rated Comments

Sanmi Avatar
21 weeks ago
Make it stop please
Think of the earth
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rafagon Avatar
21 weeks ago
I can see it already. About a month from now, "New Low-Cost 11-inch iPad May Not Launch in the Spring After All."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiranmk2 Avatar
21 weeks ago
Really don't understand the decision to launch the recent iPad with an A16 chip rather than an A18. The only possible reason I can think if it that the US foundry churning out A16 chips that need to go somewhere, but if that model is going to be replaced with an AI-capable A18 model a year later, would it not have been better to launch the A18 model this year and leave it in place for 2 years and be able to say with the launch of the iPhone 17 that all Macs, iPads & iPhones were now capable of running Apple Intelligence?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
21 weeks ago

Make it stop please
Think of the earth
If you're looking for a little good news:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/46-billion-years-on-the-sun-is-having-a-moment


...people are now putting up a gigawatt’s worth of solar panels, the rough equivalent of the power generated by one coal-fired plant, every fifteen hours.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechRunner Avatar
21 weeks ago
What about a base 12.9" for $449? That would slot into the lineup pretty nicely.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unregistered 4U Avatar
21 weeks ago
And, in another few weeks “They may NOT!” :)

In the future, things will happen. I don’t know what things will happen, but, as my livelihood depends on you coming back to view my content, watch my ads OR subscribing to my newsletter, you will find that I type and post stuff CONSTANTLY based on a spreadsheet I have here that gives me a formula of what to type about and when to drive the most engagement.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)