Apple iPad 11" A16 Silver 2025

Battery life is the real star here—this iPad scores in the 96th percentile, making it one of the longest-lasting tablets you can buy. The A16 chip is perfectly adequate for everyday use but don't expect M-series muscle. At $299 for the 128GB model, it's a bargain; anything north of $500 and you should look at the iPad Air instead.

Apple's newest base iPad packs an A16 chip and a starting price that dips as low as $299 for a refurb model, making it one of the most affordable ways into iPadOS. The real headliner here is battery life—our database puts it in the 96th percentile, so you're looking at a tablet that can easily go all day on a charge. That 11-inch Liquid Retina display hits 500 nits and a 264 ppi pixel density, which lands it well above average for screen quality in this class.

The A16 keeps things snappy for everyday tasks, but it's a middle-of-the-pack performer among tablets overall—55th percentile for CPU and 57th for GPU. That's fine for browsing, streaming, and note-taking, but it's not a powerhouse. Build quality is classic iPad: 481 grams, under half an inch thick, and it plays nicely with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and a keyboard case. The real question is who should buy this over the iPad Air, and the answer comes down to how much you care about ProMotion and M-series chips.

The A16 chip here is a 5-core CPU with a 4-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, paired with 6GB of RAM. In our benchmarks, it lands around the 55th percentile for CPU and 57th for GPU across all tablets. That means it's about average for the category, and it'll handle your daily driver apps just fine—Safari, Notability, even light photo editing in Pixelmator won't make it break a sweat. But push it with heavy 3D rendering or raw video work and you'll feel the difference compared to an M-series chip. Storage options go up to 256GB on our review unit, which is generous for a base model, though the entry-level 128GB is a bit stingy for anyone who hoards offline content.

Connectivity is a strong suit here: Wi-Fi 6 and 5G cellular put it in the 92nd percentile, and the USB-C port (albeit slow USB 2.0 speeds at 480 Mb/s) gives you some flexibility. The 29Wh battery punches way above its weight, thanks to A16 efficiency and iPadOS optimization. It earned a battery score in the 96th percentile, which is one of the best we've seen in the tablet space. The 12MP front and rear cameras are perfectly fine for video calls and document scanning, not much else.

The price spread on this iPad is massive, ranging from $299 for a refurbished 128GB Wi-Fi model on Amazon to $1,179 for a kit with 256GB storage and AppleCare+ at B&H. The sweet spot is definitely the lower end—$299 gets you a tablet that outperforms most Android options at that price, with a screen and battery life that embarrass Chromebooks. Once you cross the $600 mark, though, the value proposition gets shaky. That's iPad Air territory, where you'll get an M-chip and a better display. If you can snag the 128GB Wi-Fi model for $349 or less, it's a no-brainer for casual users and students.

The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro gives the iPad A16 a run for its money on specs alone, with a faster Snapdragon chip and a 144Hz display for a similar price to a 256GB iPad. But iPadOS and Apple's app ecosystem still smoke Android on tablet optimization. The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ comes with an S Pen in the box and a smoother 90Hz screen, while Samsung DeX offers a desktop-like experience that iPadOS can't match. The Surface Pro 11 is in a different weight class—it runs full Windows and has a real laptop-grade CPU, but its battery life is nowhere near the iPad A16's endurance. For most people who just want a reliable tablet that lasts forever on a charge, the iPad A16 is the safer bet, but the competition is creeping up fast.

If you need a laptop replacement or do serious productivity work, the iPad A16 is going to frustrate you—our best-for-productivity score lands at just 72.5/100. The 60Hz display is a real letdown for anyone who's used to smoother scrolling, and the A16 chip will feel pokey compared to an M1 or M2 if you push it with demanding apps. Creative pros who need raw GPU power or a high-refresh pen experience should save up for the iPad Air or Pro.

This is the iPad for people who want the absolute best battery life in a tablet without spending a fortune. Our tests show it's a top-tier endurance champion, and the user feedback backs that up with near-universal praise for how long it lasts on a charge. The A16 chip and 60Hz screen won't excite anyone looking for performance, and that's fine—this tablet isn't for them. At $299 refurbished or $349 new, it's the value king, but avoid paying more than $500 for the higher storage or cellular models unless you really need always-on connectivity. For students, casual browsers, and media junkies, it's an easy recommendation.