Apple iPad 11" A16 Chip Kit Silver 2025 Review

Skip this overpriced iPad. You're paying for 5G and an insurance plan, but you're stuck with a sluggish 60Hz screen that makes the fast chip pointless.

This iPad is a weird one. It's got a powerful A16 chip and 5G connectivity, but it's stuck with a 60Hz screen and a price that makes you wonder who it's for. The one thing to know? This isn't an iPad Pro, and it's priced like it wants to be. It's a fast tablet for watching videos and browsing the web, but it's held back by a screen that feels a generation behind and a design that's basically unchanged. The included AppleCare+ is a nice touch, but it doesn't fix the core value problem.

The performance is a classic Apple story: the A16 chip is fast, landing in the 65th percentile for CPU and GPU, which means it breezes through apps and games. But here's the surprise: that speed feels wasted. The 60Hz screen makes everything feel less fluid than it should, and our database shows its productivity score is a dismal 36.2 out of 100. It's like putting a sports car engine in a car with flat tires. The connectivity, however, is top-tier at the 99th percentile, so downloads and streaming are blazing fast.

At $668, it's not worth it. You're paying a premium for cellular connectivity and AppleCare+, but you're getting a mid-tier screen and a tablet that struggles with real work. For this money, you can find better all-around tablets, or spend a bit more for a much better experience.

The most obvious competitor is the 11-inch iPad Pro with the M5 chip. It's more expensive, but you get a 120Hz ProMotion display, a much faster chip, and a design built for productivity. If you're in the Apple ecosystem and need a workhorse, save up for the Pro. If you're open to other platforms, the Microsoft Surface Pro with Snapdragon X Elite is a full Windows PC in a tablet form, and it will run circles around this iPad for actual work. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ also offers a better screen and more flexibility for the price.

If you're looking for a tablet to get real work done, this isn't it. Go get an iPad Pro or a Microsoft Surface Pro instead. Also, if you just want to watch videos and browse the web at home, the standard Wi-Fi iPad is a much better value. This model is for a very specific person who needs 5G on the go and doesn't care about screen quality.

We can't recommend this iPad. It's a confusing product that tries to sit between the basic iPad and the Pro, but it ends up being the worst of both worlds: expensive without the premium features. If you need cellular, look for a deal on last year's iPad Pro or an iPad Air. If you just want a media consumption device, the standard iPad is hundreds of dollars cheaper. This specific kit misses the mark.