The tablet market has seen numerous contenders come and go, but Apple’s iPad lineup continues to dominate the space. I recently got my hands on the latest entry-level iPad, and I’m genuinely impressed by what Apple has accomplished at this price point. The new Apple iPad 11-inch (2025) represents a significant upgrade over its predecessor, featuring the powerful A16 Bionic chip previously reserved for premium devices. Starting at just $349 (and frequently available for $299 during sales), this 11-inch model strikes an interesting balance between affordability and capability. According to recent market analysis, entry-level iPads account for nearly 40% of all iPad sales—and with these specifications, it’s easy to see why Apple is doubling down on this segment.
Design and Display Features
The Apple iPad 11-inch (A16, 2025) builds on Apple’s recognizable design language with a modern flat-edge aluminum unibody that feels premium in hand. Available in four color options – Silver, Blue, Pink, and Yellow – this iPad offers more vibrant personalization choices than previous generations.
Expansive Display Real Estate
The 11-inch Liquid Retina display represents a significant upgrade with its 2360 x 1640 resolution at 264 pixels per inch. This provides ample screen space for content consumption, productivity tasks, and creative work. The display reaches 500 nits brightness, making it usable in most indoor environments, while True Tone technology automatically adjusts white balance to match ambient lighting conditions.
Display Considerations
Despite these improvements, the display has notable limitations compared to Apple’s higher-end tablets. The non-laminated screen creates a slight air gap between the glass and display panel, resulting in a perceptible distance between your finger or stylus and the actual pixels. Additionally, the absence of an anti-reflective coating may hamper visibility in bright environments.
The fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating does provide practical value, minimizing smudges during daily use – a thoughtful addition for a device designed to be handled frequently.
A16 Bionic Performance: Premium Power at Budget Price
The A16 Bionic chip represents the heart of this iPad’s capabilities, bringing flagship-level processing to the entry-level iPad lineup. This system-on-chip features a 6-core CPU architecture with 2 high-performance cores for demanding tasks and 4 efficiency cores for battery conservation during lighter workloads.
Technical Architecture
The chip’s components work in concert to deliver responsive performance:
- 6-core CPU (2 performance + 4 efficiency cores)
- 5-core GPU for graphics processing
- 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning tasks
- 6GB RAM for improved multitasking
Real-World Performance
In practical usage, the A16 Bionic handles everyday tasks with ease. Web browsing remains smooth even with multiple tabs open, while video streaming services operate without hiccups at maximum resolution. Productivity applications like Pages, Numbers, and third-party alternatives maintain consistent performance throughout extended use sessions.
For gaming, the 5-core GPU handles casual titles flawlessly and can run more demanding games at medium to high settings. Popular titles like Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile maintain stable framerates, though the highest graphical presets may cause occasional slowdowns during intense sequences.
Multitasking benefits from the 6GB RAM allocation, allowing for side-by-side app usage without frequent reloading. Compared to previous entry-level iPads, this model demonstrates approximately 30% faster overall performance in typical workflows.
Battery endurance reaches up to 10 hours for Wi-Fi models (9 hours for cellular versions), benefiting from the A16’s sophisticated power management system that intelligently balances performance and efficiency.
Camera System and Audio Experience
Versatile Camera Capabilities
The iPad’s camera system balances functionality with practical use cases. The front-facing 12MP Ultra-Wide camera features Center Stage, which automatically keeps you centered during video calls even as you move around. This proves particularly useful for FaceTime sessions, virtual meetings, and online classes.
The rear 12MP Wide camera with f/1.8 aperture delivers solid performance for document scanning, augmented reality applications, and casual photography. Smart HDR 4 processing enhances dynamic range in challenging lighting conditions, while 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second provides flexibility for content creation.
Audio Performance
The landscape stereo speaker configuration represents a practical improvement over previous models, producing clearer directional audio when watching videos or playing games in landscape orientation. The speaker system delivers surprisingly full sound for its size, though bass response remains limited by the iPad’s thin profile.
Dual microphones effectively capture clear audio during video calls, with background noise suppression improving voice isolation in moderately noisy environments. Voice recordings exhibit good clarity for note-taking applications and casual podcasting, though professional audio production would require external microphones.
When compared to iPad Pro models, audio limitations become apparent in maximum volume output and spatial audio capabilities, reflecting the product’s positioning in Apple’s lineup.
Connectivity and Accessories Compatibility
Modern Connectivity Standards
The transition to USB-C from Lightning marks a significant improvement for connectivity, even though transfer speeds remain limited to USB 2.0 (480 Mbps). This standardized port supports a wider ecosystem of peripherals including external storage, displays, and charging accessories without proprietary adapters.
Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), delivering theoretical maximum speeds up to 1.2 Gbps under ideal conditions, with practical throughput typically ranging from 500-700 Mbps on compatible networks. Bluetooth 5.3 ensures stable connections with wireless headphones, keyboards, and other accessories, with improved range and reliability over previous standards.
Cellular models add 5G connectivity with support for sub-6GHz bands, providing mobile data speeds significantly faster than LTE in areas with 5G coverage.
Accessory Ecosystem
The iPad supports the Apple Pencil (USB-C), offering precise input for note-taking, drawing, and navigation. Compatibility with the first-generation Apple Pencil requires a separate USB-C adapter. Neither pencil magnetically attaches to this iPad model.
For productivity, the Magic Keyboard Folio transforms the iPad into a laptop-like device with a keyboard and trackpad, while the Smart Folio provides basic protection with a convenient stand functionality. These accessories significantly enhance versatility but add substantial cost – the Magic Keyboard Folio costs approximately 57% of the iPad’s base price.
iPadOS 18 Experience on the Entry-Level iPad
The A16-powered iPad runs iPadOS 18 with optimizations for the 11-inch display. The interface scales appropriately to maximize usable screen space while maintaining touch target sizes that remain comfortable to interact with.
Software Capabilities
Standard multitasking features include Split View and Slide Over, allowing two applications to run simultaneously on screen. The 6GB RAM allocation ensures these features operate smoothly with minimal app reloading when switching between tasks.
App performance across categories demonstrates the chip’s capabilities:
- Productivity apps like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace maintain responsiveness even with complex documents
- Creative applications such as Procreate and LumaFusion operate effectively with moderate project sizes
- Entertainment apps including Apple TV+, Netflix, and Apple Arcade games run without performance concerns
The Verdict: Who Should Buy the iPad 11-inch with A16?
The 2025 Apple iPad 11-inch with A16 chip represents exceptional value in Apple’s tablet lineup. At $349 (often $299 on sale), it delivers performance that would have been flagship-level just a few years ago. The A16 Bionic chip handles everyday tasks with ease, and the expanded 11-inch display provides ample screen real estate for content consumption and productivity.
While it lacks some premium features found in the iPad Air and Pro models—like a fully laminated display, anti-reflective coating, and support for the latest accessories—these compromises are reasonable given the price point. The doubled base storage (now 128GB) addresses one of the biggest complaints about previous entry-level iPads.
This iPad is ideal for students, casual users, families seeking a shared device, or anyone who wants the iPad experience without breaking the bank. If you’re primarily using your tablet for web browsing, streaming, note-taking, and light productivity, the iPad 11-inch (2025) offers everything you need at a price that’s hard to beat.
