ZDNET's key takeaways The 11th-generation iPad 11th Generation normally retails for $349.
The upgraded iPad has double the base storage as the previous generation, more RAM, and an upgraded processor in the A16 Bionic chip.
However, it still isn't compatible with Apple Intelligence and doesn't support the Apple Pencil Pro. $299 at Amazon $349 at Apple $299 at Best Buy more buying choices
It's not every day that a tech giant offers a new, improved product for an equal or lesser price than its previous model. This is even more true now, with looming tariff hikes causing uncertainty in the tech world.
Also: 8 reasons why I replaced my Kindle with an iPad Mini for reading ebooks
Yet Apple did this very thing with the launch of the latest iPad, which is the 11th generation of the iPad base model. This iPad replaces the three-year-old 10th-generation model but has better features for a $100 lower list price (though discounts and deals impact this).
Let me break down the year-over-year spec upgrades first. The latest iPad has double the base storage of the previous generation, with options ranging from 128GB up to 512GB. The new generation also has 6GB of RAM, compared to 4GB on the previous model.
Another notable improvement to the iPad is the newer A16 Bionic chip, an Apple silicon processor that is said to be 30% faster than the A14 chip. On GPU performance, Apple says the new iPad is 50% better at graphics rendering than the previous version.
But much remains the same in the 11th-generation iPad compared to the 10th-gen. The Liquid Retina display has the exact resolution of 2360 x 1640 and up to 500 nits of brightness, and the iPad continues to support Wi-Fi 6 for connectivity and peripherals like the Apple Pencil (1st generation and USB-C) and the Magic Keyboard Folio case.
Those numbers aren't bad per se, but it's safe to say that Apple isn't necessarily pushing the limits in any regard with this year's base-level iPad.
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