Apple’s iPad 10, released in 2022, introduced an all-new design for the entry-level Apple tablet, with a bigger display and a more unified look in line with the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. While this tablet is slightly more expensive than its predecessor, it still includes the A14 Bionic chip, 5G capabilities, proper support for attaching the USB-C Apple Pencil magnetically, and more. Nonetheless, it’s hard to justify buying an iPad 10 in 2026, considering Apple is now on the iPad 11, with rumors suggesting a new model is expected to be released in 2026.
There are two ways to think about Apple’s iPad 10 tablet: It’s offered at a very reasonable price, and it can be a very good choice for browsing the web, accessing social media apps, reading, and playing basic games. It’s also going to continue receiving updates for at least a few more years; Apple’s oldest supported iPad is the iPad 8, released in 2020. The iPad 10 is great for less techie-savvy users who just want to upgrade an older tablet or give the iPad a first chance now.
Buying an iPad 10 in 2026 can be a good option, but hear me out
The iPad 10 has been on the market for almost four years now. Unlike the iPhone 16 or even the Apple Watch Series 10, this device isn’t expected to receive many software updates in the coming years, since the other two are brand-new. Besides that, sitting at the end of Apple’s tablet lineup, its processor is nowhere near as good as the more recent versions. The A14 Bionic was available on the iPhone 12, and Apple currently offers the A19 as its most basic chip for the A series.
In addition, the iPad 10 starts at 64GB of storage, which is not even enough to update the iPad software. A common issue among iPad users, Apple’s most recent tablets have at least 128GB of storage, making it easier to get the latest software updates whenever they’re available.
Spending over $350 on a tablet that will be hard to update with a processor that’s already a bit old, and might lose the ability to get new software versions in the near future, doesn’t seem the smartest choice, even if the tablet itself is still reliable and will work as expected.
iPad 12 will be a big update for customers
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While the iPad 12 is expected to have the same design as the current iPad, MacWorld says the biggest upgrade with this tablet will be its processor, as the company is expected to add the A19 chip, the same processor available on the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e. According to the publication, the A19 chip is 50% faster than the processor available on the iPad 11, and Apple would also boost this tablet with 8GB of RAM, which is almost 30% more than the previous model. These two changes would make this tablet compatible with Apple Intelligence, which is expected to get a major revamp starting this WWDC, once Apple introduces the all-new Siri powered by a Google Gemini model.
Besides that, not much is rumored to change about the iPad. It’s unclear whether Apple is improving the display, battery, or even the cameras, but from a longevity standpoint, the newer the iPad, the longer it will last, making your investment a ton more valuable. That said, this new tablet is expected to launch in the upcoming months, and it might be the best option for those looking for a new iPad to call their own.
