Apple Intelligence requires a capable A-series or M-series chipset with a powerful Neural Engine and 8GB of RAM as the bare minimum to run generative AI features, so many iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus owners were likely livid when they found out that their one-year devices that cost a decent chunk of change would not be supported. Apple likely does not want to make this a habit of pushing customers away, especially when it has yet to roll out the first wave of features, which is why the technology giant might not proceed with an iPad 11 launch this year.
A 2-year launch gap for the iPad 11 means that it should have the required hardware to run Apple Intelligence comfortably
The current low-cost iPad 10 that released back in 2022 is equipped with an A14 Bionic and 4GB RAM, which does not meet the minimum required hardware to run Apple Intelligence. Even the previous-generation iPad mini 6, which is three years old at this point, shipped with an A15 Bionic and 4GB RAM, but since the specifications were a few generations old, it was understandable.
With the iPad mini 7 officially announced in what happens to be one of the biggest surprises of the year, Apple not only upgraded the compact slate with the A17 Pro but also doubled the RAM to 8GB while charging the same price, making it ooze exceptional value. Assuming that the iPad 11 would absolutely have to witness a launch in 2024, equipping it with an A17 Pro and 8GB RAM as the bare minimum would not be feasible, as these components are expensive to produce.
However, a launch after two years might give Apple sufficient motivation and pricing freedom to incorporate capable internals for the iPad 11 to comfortably run generative AI features. After all, even the low-cost iPhone SE 4 slated to launch early next year is said to ship with an A18 and 8GB RAM, suggesting that Apple is definitely ‘all in’ regarding its generative AI strategy.
Fortunately, Apple Intelligence is not an attractive selling point for all customers, and with the current-generation iPad 10 going for $299 on Amazon for the Wi-Fi-only model and 64GB of internal storage, there are a bevy of other tasks that can be carried out on a powerful tablet like this that does not support generative AI features.
