iPad 12 Launch Date, Design, Price, Chip, Model, Processor Details Unveiled

A new low-cost iPad is expected to land as early as next week, and the most interesting thing about it isn't the colour palette or the camera bump. It's the quiet possibility that Apple is about to turn its 'cheap iPad' into the most accessible on-ramp yet to Apple Intelligence—without changing the look at all.​

Apple has already invited select media to what it calls a 'special Apple Experience' on March 4, with parallel gatherings in New York, London, and Shanghai. This isn't necessarily a keynote you stream at home; it's more often the kind of controlled, hands-on press encounter Apple uses when it wants the products to do the talking.

Familiar Shell, Same Compromises

If you're hoping the iPad 12 will finally slim down or pick up the premium display tricks Apple keeps for pricier models, temper that optimism. The expectation is an unchanged chassis—still the modern, squared-off look introduced with the 10th-generation iPad—paired with an edge-to-edge 11-inch screen, Touch ID built into the side button, and those unmistakably thick bezels that quietly signal 'entry level' from across the room.​

Apple doesn't refresh the budget iPad's physical design very often, and it doesn't need to here: the shape is only a couple of years old, and it already visually echoes the iPad Air and iPad Pro families well enough. What remains less flattering is what the screen likely won't do—no ProMotion, no wide P3 colour, and no laminated panel—small spec-sheet omissions that translate into a device that's perfectly pleasant, but never quite 'paper-like' under harsh light.​

There's at least some space for personality. Apple has leaned into playful colours for the base iPad in recent cycles, and a refresh is one of the few outward signals it can offer without spending real money on new tooling.​

The A19 Bet On Apple Intelligence

The story, as ever with Apple, is inside. The budget iPad is widely expected to move up to an A19-class chip—the same generation used in the iPhone 17 line—bringing the kind of speed-and-efficiency gains that don't make for thrilling stage demos but absolutely show up over three or four years of ownership.​

The more consequential shift is what silicon enables. The current iPad's A16 doesn't support Apple Intelligence, while the A19 does—meaning the 'cheap iPad' could suddenly qualify for Apple's AI feature set, and that's the sort of capability gate Apple rarely leaves open at the low end.​

That change may drag memory upgrades with it. If Apple wants Apple Intelligence to feel competent rather than cramped, it will need to ensure there is enough RAM headroom—and chatter suggests 8GB is the new floor. And for a certain slice of buyers—students, families, people replacing a tired old iPad that mostly lives on the sofa—AI features that summarise, rewrite, or generate content may end up being the first 'new' thing they notice in years.​

iPad 12 Price And Launch Date

Pricing is the other pressure point. The 11th-generation iPad (A16) has been sitting at $349 for 128GB in the US, a rare recent example of Apple holding the line while doubling base storage, and there's no strong indication yet that Apple wants to spook budget buyers by nudging that figure upward.​

As for timing, all signs point to a launch next week, positioned just ahead of the March 4 'special Apple Experience.' That's classic Apple choreography: release the hardware, then let invited guests touch it, film it, and—if Apple's feeling confident—walk away quietly impressed.