Apple iPad 11" A16 Silver 2025

Apple's $500 base iPad gets a big storage upgrade and the A16 chip, landing a gorgeous Liquid Retina display in an absurdly portable design. It's ideal for streaming, note-taking, and everyday tasks, but don't expect it to replace a laptop or handle serious gaming. Performance sits in the bottom quarter of our database, so heavy users should look at the iPad Air or a Windows tablet. For casual use, it's one of the best values in tablets right now.

Apple's been on a roll with the base iPad, and the new A16 model keeps that momentum going. You're getting an 11-inch Liquid Retina display, the same A16 chip that powered the iPhone 14 Pro, and a fresh $500 price tag that starts you at 128GB of storage instead of the stingy 64GB of last generation. That combination makes it one of the best entry-level tablets we've seen for everyday use. It's compact enough to slip into a bag without a second thought, and the build quality is exactly what you'd expect from Apple: solid, premium, and a joy to hold.

Who's this for? Students who want a digital notebook and media machine, casual folks who stream shows and browse the web, and anyone who's already deep in the Apple ecosystem. It handles Apple Pencil (the USB-C model or the older 1st-gen with an adapter), the Magic Keyboard Folio, and all the iPadOS multitasking tricks that make it feel more productive than a basic Android tablet. The 99th percentile compact score in our database confirms what you can see at a glance: this thing is incredibly portable.

But here's the reality check. While the display and design are fantastic, the A16 chip is a few years old now, and it lands in the bottom quarter of our performance rankings when you stack it against laptops and high-end 2-in-1s. That's fine for streaming, note-taking, and light photo editing, but don't mistake this for a powerhouse. The $500 price puts it in a sweet spot, but you need to know exactly what you're getting into.

The A16 here is a 5-core chip that was a beast in phones a couple years back, but in tablet land it's more middle-of-the-pack. Our CPU tests place it in the 26th percentile, which translates to "falls behind" when you compare it to the M-series iPads or Windows tablets with Core Ultra chips. For web browsing, Netflix, and tapping through apps, you'll never notice the difference. Everything feels snappy, apps open quick, and the 11-inch screen makes split-view multitasking genuinely useful.

Where you'll feel it is in gaming and anything that pushes the GPU. The integrated graphics sit in the 18th percentile, which is a weak spot. Even older Apple Arcade games run fine, but try a demanding title like Genshin Impact at high settings and you'll see frame drops. And forget about serious video editing; this chip can handle trimming clips in iMovie, but 4K exports will test your patience. RAM is still a mystery from Apple, but given the 14th percentile ranking in our database, we suspect it's 4GB or 6GB, which means apps reload more often than on an iPad Air or Pro.

At $500, this iPad is a steal for what you get if you're a media consumer, student, or casual user. You'd be hard-pressed to find another tablet with this screen quality, build, and software polish at the same price. The base storage bump to 128GB alone makes it a better long-term buy than the previous model, which started at 64GB and practically forced you to juggle apps and offload photos. When you compare it to the $599 iPad Air with M1, you're saving a hundred bucks and still getting a great display, just with a slightly slower chip.

That said, value gets trickier if you plan to add a keyboard and Pencil. The Magic Keyboard Folio costs extra and turns this into a $750+ setup, which is where you start to wonder if a used M1 iPad Air or even a Chromebook with a stylus would give you more for your money. For pure tablet use without the accessories, the price is right on the money.

If you're cross-shopping, the obvious tablet rival is Samsung's Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which also hovers around the same price and throws in an S Pen. The Samsung has expandable storage and a slightly larger screen, but its Exynos chip gets smoked by the A16 in single-core performance, and Android tablet apps still feel less polished than their iPadOS counterparts. For artists and note-takers, the iPad's Pencil experience and app selection give it a real edge unless you need that included S Pen.

On the laptop side, things like the ASUS ProArt PX13 or Microsoft Surface Go are entirely different beasts. Those are Windows machines that can run desktop software and handle much heavier workloads, but they cost more and aren't as fluid for quick tablet tasks. If you need a device that can replace a laptop for real work, skip the iPad; if you want a best-in-class tablet that sometimes wears a keyboard, this is the one.

If you're a gamer who wants to run anything more demanding than simple puzzle games, look elsewhere. The A16's GPU sits near the bottom of our charts, and even mid-range Android tablets with dedicated graphics can outpace it. Creative pros who edit 4K video, work with large Photoshop files, or juggle dozens of tabs while streaming should also pass: the limited RAM and CPU will have you staring at loading wheels. Instead, grab an M1 iPad Air or, if you're on a budget, a used iPad Pro from a previous generation. These will handle real work without breaking a sweat.

Also, if you need a laptop replacement and can't stomach the cost of a Magic Keyboard Folio, a Chromebook like the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet might be a better fit. It gives you a keyboard and trackpad in the box for less money, even if the screen and app selection aren't as polished.

For the student who scribbles notes in class, unwinds with YouTube after dinner, and occasionally fires up a lightweight game, this iPad is borderline perfect. It nails the essentials: gorgeous screen, all-day battery, and a price that doesn't make you wince. Pair it with Apple Pencil and you've got a fantastic digital notebook that will last you through years of iOS updates.

But if your day involves editing 4K video, running complex spreadsheets, or playing the latest AAA ports, steer clear. The A16 just doesn't have the muscle for that. You'd be better off saving up for an iPad Air with M1 or looking at a compact Windows 2-in-1 that can actually chew through those workloads.