Shop E Store Apple’s 10th generation iPad is a great deal at $299 (regularly $349). It’s a great value, especially when you consider that the next comparable display size in the lineup starts at $600. iPad 10 features a full-screen design, fun colors, Touch ID, USB-C, and an impressive camera. However, it is missing one feature that customers should consider carefully before purchasing this model.
No Apple intelligence
Since Apple updated the iPad mini last fall, the iPad 10 is the only model in the lineup that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence. All Mac models sold also support Apple Intelligence.
Apple still sells three iPhones without Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15, iPhone 14, and iPhone SE), so Apple Intelligence isn’t yet widespread on all hardware. Still, Apple Intelligence support for new hardware sold in 2025 is a reasonable request.
This is because Apple has a proprietary minimum specification of at least 8GB RAM for the hardware running Apple Intelligence. For iPhone and iPad, the optimal amount of RAM to multitask without slowing down is 8 GB. 16GB RAM is a reasonable lower limit for Macs, and all new Macs currently ship with this capacity.
Guess which iPad sold by Apple doesn’t have 8GB RAM? You guessed it: the iPad 10. Since the iPad can multitask in a way that an iPhone cannot, you can expect a tablet to have more RAM than a phone. So it might be worth waiting for the revised iPad 11 to see if the iPad Air brings 8GB to an entry-level iPad for less than $600.
Should I buy an iPad without AI?
Is Apple Intelligence so mission-critical that you shouldn’t buy the iPad 10? Not really yet, but the iPad will last long enough that Apple Intelligence will improve before you need a new iPad in the future. And as mentioned earlier, it’s probably a good idea to have 8GB of RAM on a modern iPad.
However, the mystery for now is whether the 11th generation iPad will work with Apple Intelligence. Otherwise, Apple shouldn’t release 8GB RAM until it’s affordable.
I’m putting my money where my mouth is when it comes to this. My son has a worn-out iPad 9 and would like to get rid of the Lightning port and home button from our home. But I’m not convinced that skipping Apple Intelligence on the next iPad is a good idea, even if the trade-in upgrade price is lower. Even simple features like Image Playground and Genmoji seem essential to the basic iPad experience once you use them.
Do you agree or disagree? Would you buy an iPad 11 without Apple Intelligence? It’s too early to tell, but a better Siri might be worth waiting for Apple Intelligence support. yeah. Let’s take a look!
