The next iPad may miss out on Apple’s biggest new feature

By Patrick Hearn Published January 23, 2025

Apple Intelligence is, without a doubt, the biggest advancement Apple has made in years — so it’s surprising that the next iPad might not have those features. The iPad 11 could ship with the older T8120 processor, and that likely means it will use the A16 chipset. The A16 chipset, powerful though it might be, doesn’t offer the same level of support for Apple Intelligence features as newer models.

The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, along with the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, both use this chipset. According to MacRumors, the information is backed by a source that chose to remain anonymous; however, it also contradicts what Mark Gurman has previously said, and Gurman has the more proven track record.

Gurman claims the opposite: that the iPad 11 will sport the A17 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM. Those are the bare-minimum specs for Apple Intelligence, so if Apple opts for lesser internal specs, it is possible the iPad 11 won’t have Intelligence features. That said, it seems unlikely Apple would choose to leave those features out of its next entry.

There is an alternative option to consider. The T8120 signifier points to the silicon, and the A16 branding is more packaging than something that affects specs. Apple could repackage the T8120 processor, pair it with a larger amount of RAM, and call it something like the A16 Pro or the A16X. With the right configuration, the T8120 can be slightly more powerful than the M2 chip in Macbooks — and it adds weight to rumors about Apple manufacturing more A16 chips at the plant in Arizona.

One term you might not have heard before is NPU, or neural processing unit. This is a chip designed to mimic the human brain and is used to power AI technology. The A16 can hit 17 trillion operations per second (TOPS), while the M2 maxes out at 15.8 TOPS. That’s a pretty significant difference in power.

The A16 will be around until at least 2026 since it’s the main chip in the iPhone 15 lineup. With that in mind, it makes sense that Apple would want to find a way to reuse its existing supply rather than manufacture an entirely different piece of silicon.

Repackaging chips is a tried-and-true practice that Apple already employs for the Apple Watch. Both the S9 and S10 chips used in the Apple Watch are just T8310 silicon, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the company.

We don’t fully know how Apple Intelligence works. There is likely a lot more to it than just the NPU, but the A16 should be able to handle AI functionality if you just give it a touch more RAM.