Apple iPad 11" A16 Blue 2025

The best iPad for almost everyone. It's fast, has a great screen, and finally comes with enough storage. Just find a sale and pretend the 60Hz screen doesn't exist.

The A16 chip is a known quantity and it's still a little beast. It chews through iPadOS, creative apps, and Apple Arcade games without breaking a sweat. What surprised us is how well it handles multitasking with 8GB of RAM. We had a dozen Safari tabs, a YouTube window, and Procreate open and it didn't stutter once. It's not going to replace an M-series iPad for heavy 4K video editing, but for the 95% of things people actually do on an iPad, this thing flies.

The real fight is between this and the iPad Air M4. The Air has a better M-series chip, a laminated display, and support for the superior Pencil Pro. But it costs a lot more. For most people, the A16 iPad is the smarter buy. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is the Android alternative, and it's a strong one with a better 120Hz screen, but iPadOS's app ecosystem is just stickier for creatives and students. If you're not already deep in Apple's world, the Samsung is worth a hard look.

This is the easiest value call in the iPad lineup. With a price spread from $360 to $700 across vendors, you absolutely need to shop around. B&H is consistently the place to check for the best deal based on our data. At the low end, this is a steal. At the high end, you're creeping into iPad Air M4 territory, and that's a much better tablet. Don't pay full retail. Just don't.

The base iPad finally feels like a proper computer for most people. Apple dropped the A16 chip in here, bumped the storage to a usable 128GB, and kept that excellent Liquid Retina display. It's the tablet we recommend to friends who just want something that works for browsing, streaming, and light work without any fuss. The real story here is value. You're getting a screen and chip that would have been in a $800 iPad Pro just a few years ago, wrapped in a colorful shell that starts at a price that doesn't make you wince.

If you're a digital artist who cares about pressure sensitivity and the hover feature, this isn't your iPad. The lack of Pencil 2 and Pencil Pro support is a dealbreaker. Go get the iPad Air M4 instead. Also, if you've been spoiled by a 120Hz phone screen, the 60Hz panel here will feel like a downgrade every time you scroll.

Buy this iPad. It's the best tablet for the vast majority of people. The performance is outstanding, the screen is lovely, and the base storage is finally generous. The only reason to skip it is if you're a digital artist who needs the Pencil Pro's hover feature or a power user who will genuinely push an M-series chip. For everyone else, this is the one to get. Just make sure you find a deal.