Apple iPad Apple - 11-inch iPad A16 chip with Wi-Fi + Review

Apple's latest 11-inch iPad is a bit of a puzzle. It's packing the same A16 chip you'd find in an iPhone 15 Pro, which lands it in the 65th percentile for CPU and GPU performance against all tablets. That's solid, but it's not the top-tier M-series silicon you get in the Pro models. The 11-inch Liquid Retina display is gorgeous and sits in the 74th percentile, making it a great screen for movies or scrolling. But the overall score tells a story: it's best for reading and entertainment, with a total score of 65.8 out of 100. Where it stumbles? Productivity, scoring a weak 45.7. This isn't your laptop replacement.

At 481 grams, it's light and portable. Connectivity is its secret weapon, hitting the 91st percentile with WiFi 6 and optional 5G cellular. But you're looking at a device with a known weakness: RAM lands in the 28th percentile. That's a spec Apple doesn't advertise, but it's the reason you might see apps reload more often than you'd like, especially if you're trying to multitask. It's a fantastic media and casual use tablet that makes some clear trade-offs to hit its price point.

Performance is a tale of two halves. The A16 Bionic chip is fast, no doubt. In our benchmarks, it puts this iPad ahead of most mid-range Android tablets and even some older Intel-based Windows devices for single-core tasks. You'll get smooth gameplay in most mobile titles and snappy app launches. The 12MP cameras on both sides are more than capable for video calls and scanning documents, with Center Stage keeping you in frame.

But that 28th percentile RAM ranking is the bottleneck. It limits how many apps you can keep open in the background. Jump between a browser with ten tabs, a note-taking app, and a game, and you'll likely encounter reloads. The battery life is middle-of-the-road at the 48th percentile, so you'll get through a day of mixed use, but heavy users will need to plug in by evening. It's performance built for bursts, not sustained, heavy workloads.

Priced between $468 and $499, this iPad sits in an awkward spot. You're paying a premium for the Apple ecosystem, the excellent build quality, and that best-in-class connectivity. But for that money, you're accepting significant compromises in RAM and multitasking capability. If your use case is strictly reading, streaming, and light web browsing, it's a good, if not great, value. The moment you try to push it into more demanding workflows, the value proposition drops fast because you're constantly bumping against its hardware limits.

Compared directly to its siblings, the choice is clear. The iPad Pro with the M5 chip runs circles around this model in every performance metric and has a far better screen, but it costs nearly twice as much. The more interesting fights are outside the Apple garden. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 offers full Windows, a kickstand, and keyboard in the box, making it a much stronger productivity device for a similar price, though its battery life can be worse. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra has a massive, beautiful screen and better multitasking software, but it's also larger and more expensive. If you're all-in on Apple and just want a slick media tablet, this 11-inch model works. If you need to do real work or hate app reloads, look at the Surface or save up for an iPad Pro.

The 11-inch iPad with the A16 chip is a fantastic entertainment tablet that's hamstrung when asked to do more. Its stellar connectivity and lovely screen make it perfect for watching videos, reading, and casual gaming. But that 28th percentile RAM score is a deal-breaker for anyone who needs to juggle apps. For a student who just needs to take notes, browse, and stream, it's a good pick. For someone wanting a laptop alternative or a powerful creative tool, you'll hit its limits quickly. Buy it for what it's best at, not for what you hope it could be.