Apple’s most affordable iPad has an AI problem

Apple’s 10th-gen iPad is a great value at $299 (regular $349), especially when you consider that the next comparable display size in the lineup starts at $600. iPad 10 has a full-screen design, fun colors, Touch ID, USB-C, and impressive cameras. However, there’s one missing feature that should make customers carefully consider purchasing this model.

Apple Intelligence-less

Since Apple updated the iPad mini last fall, the iPad 10 is the only model in the lineup that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence. Every Mac model sold also supports Apple Intelligence.

Apple still sells three iPhones without Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15, iPhone 14, and iPhone SE), so it’s not like Apple Intelligence is ubiquitous across all hardware yet. Still, Apple Intelligence support is a reasonable request for new hardware sold in 2025.

That’s because Apple has a self-designated minimum specification of 8GB RAM or more for hardware that runs Apple Intelligence. For iPhone and iPad, 8GB is a good floor for RAM — the resource that allows you to multitask without slowing down. On the Mac, 16GB RAM is a reasonable floor, and all new Macs now ship with this amount.

Guess which iPad sold by Apple lacks 8GB RAM? You guessed it: the iPad 10. Since the iPad can multitask in ways that the iPhone cannot, it’s reasonable to expect more RAM in the tablet than the phone. For that reason, it may be worth waiting for a revised iPad 11 to see if 8GB comes to the entry level iPad for less than the $600 iPad Air.

Should you buy an iPad without AI?

Is Apple Intelligence that mission critical that you shouldn’t buy the iPad 10? Not really, yet, but the iPad will hold up long enough that Apple Intelligence will improve before you need a new iPad down the road. And as mentioned, it’s probably just a good idea to have 8GB RAM in your iPad these days.

The mystery for now, however, is whether or not the 11th-gen iPad will work with Apple Intelligence. If not, Apple probably just shouldn’t release it until it can make 8GB RAM affordable.

I’m putting my money where my mouth is in this case. My son has a well-worn iPad 9, and I would love to retire the Lightning port and Home button from our household. But even with a low upgrade price through trade-in, I’m not convinced that skipping Apple Intelligence is a good idea for his next iPad. Even simple features like Image Playground and Genmoji seem essential to the basic iPad experience once you spend time with them.

Agree or disagree? Would you buy an iPad 11 without Apple Intelligence? It’s way too early to judge yet, but a much better Siri could also be worth waiting for Apple Intelligence support. We’ll see!

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