The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup.
Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and it would be unusual for Apple to use a current-generation chip in the low-cost iPad due to cost.
Apple's most affordable iPad has not had a current-generation chip since the iPad 4, which is back when Apple was still designing AX chips for its tablet lineup. The iPad 5 that came out in 2017 used the A9 chip that was originally introduced in the 2015 iPhone 6s, and since then, the iPad has been equipped with an A-series chip that's a generation or two behind the chip in the most recently released iPhone.
The current iPad 11 that was released in March 2025 uses the A16 chip that first debuted in the iPhone 14 in 2022, for example. The iPad 10 (October 2022) used the A14 (September 2020), the iPad 9 (September 2021) used the A13 (September 2019), and the iPad 8 (September 2020) used the A12 (September 2018). A 2024 A18 chip for the 2026 iPad would be in line with prior launches.
The model numbers listed in Macworld's report are also unusual. It says that J581 and J588 are the codenames for the upcoming 12th-generation iPad, but codenames are typically sequential. Codenames are how Apple references unreleased devices in its software. In prior code leaks, J581 and J582 appeared to reference the low-cost iPad 12.
Prior leaks have suggested that the iPad mini will use the A19 chip, but the iPad mini was previously referenced in Apple code as J510 and J511. Apple sometimes changes its plans and makes updates to unreleased devices, so the A19 chip for the iPad can't be ruled out entirely.
It is not yet clear if Macworld is correct about the A19 chip for the iPad given previous information, but other parts of the report seem more in line with expectations. Macworld suggests the next-generation iPad Air will use an M4 chip, and that both the upcoming iPad and iPad Air will be equipped with Apple's N1 networking chip.
The iPad Air typically gets an M-series chip that's a generation behind the chip in the iPad Pro, and since it's been updated to the M5, the M4 makes sense for the next iPad Air. Apple has also been adding the new N1 networking chip to newly released devices, starting with this year's iPhones. The N1 chip is an Apple-designed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip that's more energy efficient than chips designed by third-party companies.
Apple is expected to release the new iPad Air and iPad models early in 2026.
