Apple’s tablet shelf is crowded enough that buying “the new iPad” no longer means much. In its June 2026 update, WIRED recommends the 2025 iPad with Apple’s A16 chip as the best choice for most people, while pointing students and work users toward the 2026 iPad Air with M4.
The current lineup, as WIRED lists it, spans the base iPad with A16, the 2024 iPad mini with A17 Pro, 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models with M4, and 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models with M5. The spread matters because the devices look similar, but their processor, software support, display tech, accessory compatibility, and price can differ a lot. Apple’s naming scheme remains a tax on the reader.
WIRED’s top pick, the 11th-generation iPad released in March 2025, uses the same general design as its predecessor, with an 11-inch LCD, USB-C, Touch ID in the power button, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 12-megapixel front camera positioned for landscape video calls with Center Stage. The cellular version supports 5G. Retail listings cited by WIRED showed it at $440 on Amazon and $449 at Walmart and Apple.
The catch is Apple Intelligence. The A16 iPad does not support Apple’s AI feature set, because WIRED says it lacks the required memory. That leaves it as the only current iPad without those features. For some buyers, that may be a defect. For others, it may be a rare case of Apple saving them from Apple.
Air for work, mini for size, Pro for a smaller crowd
WIRED recommends the 2026 iPad Air with M4 for work and school, with an 11-inch Amazon listing cited at $709, down from $749. The 2024 seventh-generation iPad mini, built around the A17 Pro, is the recommended small model, with WIRED citing a $649 Walmart listing.
The iPad Pro with M5, launched in October 2025, is treated as overpowered for most buyers. WIRED says it makes more sense for users who need features such as its tandem OLED display, faster ports, and M5-class graphics. An 11-inch model was listed at $1,139 on Amazon, down from $1,199.
Timing is relatively safe for buyers, according to WIRED. The iPad Air moved to M4 in March 2026, while the base iPad and Pro were refreshed in 2025. WIRED says reports of an A18 base iPad in spring 2026 did not pan out, making fall the next likely window. It also notes reports that an M6 iPad Pro could slip to 2027, and that a future iPad mini may get OLED if rumors prove accurate.
Software support is now part of the buying decision
WIRED says Apple announced iPadOS 27 at WWDC with a focus on Siri, including a dedicated Siri AI app drawing on Google Gemini’s world knowledge and context, stronger app integration, and natural-language Shortcuts. The update is also said to refine iPadOS 26’s Liquid Glass design with a transparency control.
According to WIRED, iPadOS 27 will support iPad ninth generation and later, iPad mini sixth generation, iPad Air models from the 11-inch fourth generation and M-series models, and recent iPad Pro models including M4 and later. A public beta is due in July, with release planned for fall.
WIRED’s avoid list is blunt: skip iPad mini models 1 through 6, iPad models 1 through 10, the 2014 iPad Air 1, and the 2015 Air 2. Its broader cutoff is any iPad released before 2020, unless the price is effectively free. Older iPad Pro models with M1, M2, or M4 can still be reasonable, WIRED says, but only if the price is well below a new M5 Pro.
This story draws on original reporting from WIRED.
