A fresh report has us looking forward to new and improved iPad and iPad Air models in 2026.
Macworld claims to have seen an internal Apple code document that reveals the company’s tablet plans for 2026.
Among the juicy tidbits to emerge from this leaked document, there’s a new standard iPad – likely to be referred to in some quarters as the iPad 12, or just the plain old iPad 2026.
What’s notable about this refresh is that it’ll be powered by the same A19 chip that can be found in the iPhone 17, together with 8GB of RAM. That would be quite the performance boost over the current iPad, which launched earlier this year with an A16 chip and 6GB of RAM.
Britta O’Boyle
It would almost certainly lead to the stock iPad range gaining Apple Intelligence features for the first time.
With this processor on board, the iPad 2026 would also likely feature Apple’s N1 wireless chip. Otherwise, it’ll likely be ‘spot the difference’ from the device we call the Apple iPad (A16).
iPad Air M4
The document also allegedly makes reference to a new iPad Air model, this time carry the M4 chip that ran the iPad Pro 2024.
This would represent much less of a performance boost from the preceding model, considering the current iPad Air runs on the M3.
Again, don’t expect much else in the way of upgrades, other than Apple’s custom N1 wireless chip.
The lack of mention of any new iPad Pro model could signify that Apple is going to skip a refresh of its premium tablet in 2026. We’ll be keeping our eye out for any indication to the contrary.
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.