The iPad doesn’t need AI, but Apple must fix something else

By Nadeem Sarwar Published March 29, 2025

I just finished testing the new entry-level iPad, and so far, I am fairly impressed by the tablet. You can’t get a better value than this slate for $349. From the external hardware to the innards, there is hardly any alternative from the Android side that can deliver a superior experience.

This year, Apple delivered a couple of surprises, in addition to the expected chip upgrade. You now get twice the storage for the same ask, and the RAM has also been bumped up. In a nutshell, it’s faster, better at multi-tasking, and without any storage headaches, even if your budget is tight.

Apple, however, hasn’t fixed the software situation with iPadOS, which continues to bother with its fair share of quirks in tow. This year, however, the software gulf is even wider between the baseline iPad and every other tablet in Apple’s portfolio. Stage Manager has been the big differentiator so far, but in 2025, we have another deep chasm.

A lot has been written about Apple’s AI stack, and not necessarily in a positive light. Google has progressed to the Gemini era on Android and Chrome OS. Amazon has entered the generative AI era with Alexa+ assistant. The likes of ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are quickly emerging as a new breed of far more capable virtual assistants.

Siri, on the other hand, has been a sore laggard. The situation is so bad that the capabilities paraded at last year’s developer event are yet to ship, and now, the online marketing material has been accordingly scrubbed off. As per Bloomberg, we are in for a long wait, one that could extend well until 2027.

As a stop-gap, Apple has offloaded things to ChatGPT via a clever integration. It hasn’t quite delivered any revolutionary leap yet. I had a better experience putting Gemini everywhere on my iPhone, from the home page to the Lock Screen widgets. And it works better than I expected.

But at $349, I am not complaining, neither am I clamoring for a turbocharged Siri. Or the entire Apple Intelligence bundle, for that matter. It’s a resource burden. You need an A17 Pro processor (or an M-series chip) at the very minimum and 8GB of RAM. The entry-level iPad can afford neither.

The iPad’s core audience doesn’t care about the AI stack either, certainly not at that asking price. The iPad mini supports Apple Intelligence, and look where the asking price has landed. Hint: $150 more than the iPad. Has AI transformed it into a better small tablet? For the most part, no!

Apple’s $349 tablet is targeted at an audience that wants to watch videos, take it to school for note-taking, play a few games, and then call it a day. It excels at all those parameters. It will exceed your expectations at even demanding games, and with better stability than top-tier Android phones.

AI is not going to add anything meaningful in those scenarios. I am glad that Apple chose to skip the “AI burden” hardware and kept the iPad’s price in a territory where it remains accessible for people who want the signature Apple tablet experience. In that regard, the 2025 iPad is a huge win.

Now, where do I start on this one? Let’s begin with the stylus. This one supports only the first-gen Apple Pencil and the Apple Pencil with USB-C. Look at the image above, and you will realize just how cumbersome it is to live with that stylus, its wonky charging situation, and a prone-to-lose USB-C adapter.

The Apple Pencil USB-C model? Well, it costs $80. You can’t use the second-gen Apple Pencil that charges wirelessly, nor the Apple Pencil Pro, with the 2025 iPad. That also means losing out on next-gen features such as pressure sensitivity, barrel role, haptic feedback, and Find My support. Plus, they are pricier, too.

It makes little sense to spend 37% of the tablet’s sticker price on a stylus, either way. Will Apple launch a stylus that’s cheaper to fit the iPad’s niche? Unlikely. Is there an alternative? Definitely. Look no further than the ESR Geo Digital Stylus, which costs a mere $30, but even puts the $130 Apple Pencil Pro to shame.

It has a fantastic build quality, magnetic attachment, a neat multi-function button at the top, and offers a smooth sketching experience. The best part? You even get the support for Find My tracking, a perk you won’t even get on the second-gen Apple Pencil, which costs nearly four times as much.

Now, let’s move on to the keyboard situation. The Magic Keyboard Folio is fantastic. It also costs $250, which is roughly two-thirds of the tablet’s market worth. It’s a great kit, but a terrible value, especially for budget-conscious shoppers who are picking the iPad over an Air or Pro for a reason.

The problem is not just the price. Apple serves a functionally worse package at a higher premium. Take for example the Logitech Combo Touch keyboard case for the iPad. It offers a pencil holder, all-side bumper protection, and more importantly, a backlit keyboard for just $149.

At $249, Apple’s keyboard case is not backlit. Then you have the ESR Rebound Magnetic keyboard case for the 11th gen iPad. This one essentially replicates the far pricier Magic Keyboard with its cantilever design, but at a lower price than even Logitech.

For an even smaller hit on the wallet, the ESR Ascend keyboard case copies the Magic Folio keyboard design, but with side protection, a pencil slot, and a backlit keyboard facility. It’s almost as if Apple is oblivious to the iPad’s sticker price and target audience, and hawking them accessories at a price that makes no sense.

IPadOS is fluid, and the app ecosystem is fantastic, as well. Gaming is another area where the iPad excels over Android tablets. But the superiority of app experience over Android is mostly limited to in-house software, or a select few third-party apps. For the remaining part, the iPadOS experience is notoriously rigid.

Some of the world’s most popular apps are not optimized for the iPad. Take for example Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Bluesky. You’re either stuck with a terrible overstretched look, or ugly pillarboxing. Android, on the other hand, has grown a lot more flexible with aspect ratio and resolution adjustment.

You can even force full-screen view for apps where you really want them to span across the whole screen. Window resizing is absurdly limited on iPadOS, even with Stage Manager enabled. The back gesture in apps is also inconsistent in iPadOS and remains a sore functional hassle.

Is it a swipe, or should I look for a back button in a corner, or should I open a side window? Let’s just admit it. Android’s universal edge gestures are far superior, and most importantly, a lot more reliable. Apple has done a decent job of optimizing keyboard shortcuts for iPadOS, much better than the fragmented Android ecosystem, but it needs to fix the touch-based navigation experience.

The software experience doesn’t need a monumental overhaul. All it requires is a few functional improvements at the very foundations of human-machine interaction. Apple has the resources to pull it off. It’s just a matter of commitment, and paying heed to the community feedback.