Real Users Weigh In: Is the Base iPad Worth It?

Great purchase :) I own the ipad 10th gen of the same colour and it's a wonderful machine (both physically and technically speaking). Versatile and solid!

Matches the all time low price. The air is also on sale for $449 with a laminated screen (no parallax when using the Pencil), wide-gamut color, faster processor, and Apple Pencil Pro support. If you don't NEED those things though this is the one to get.

The base iPad for me is more than enough to perform the basic of tasks and then some. I currently use an iPad 9, and it's plenty powerful for my daily tasks with some moderate gaming. Enjoy your new iPad, OP!

Yes, it's the perfect choice. It's generally very hard to notice differences between the base iPad and the other ones (Air and Pro), unless you know that your workflow demands something specific. For your usecase the base is plenty.

Need a tablet? Buy a tablet. Don't need a tablet? Don't buy a tablet.

It's an excellent iPad that offers a great value proposition. However, the fact that the pencil requires charging via a dongle and doesn't connect wirelessly to the iPad is a deal breaker for me, especially since I plan to use it for note-taking. Additionally, the non-laminated screen will be problematic for me as well.

That's a perfect choice! I'm a Phd student and I got the Ipad 11 few months ago. I mainly use it for reading PDF and note taking.

I've used iPads daily for years since the iPad Air 2. You are likely best suited for the Cellular A16 model. It does everything you say you want an iPad for, plus the freedom of having internet connection wherever you are without having to depend on unreliable public WiFi is unmatched.

I've had mine for almost 2 weeks and I LOVE it. This is my first iPad and I could not be happier.

I just got the iPad 16a in blue and is great! My first iPad, I won't miss the apple intelligence from my perspective.

Yes I play lads on it and it does get hot mind you but it has not crashed like on my phone. Highly recommend.

Absolutely perfect for your needs. It works great in my work flow and lifestyle.

I like your review. I found that the basic iPad is good for me as well. I have a pink iPad 10 because it was cheap enough to have lying around and I absolutely love the color. But I ended up liking it so much, I now wish I got more storage because it kind of became my main device.

Whether you get the A16 or iPad Air M3, just make sure you get more than 128GB. I assume you will have the iPad for a while. I personally went with iPad Air M3 256GB as I play some games and it operates nicely. Although I initially bought it strictly for school, I'm actually using it a lot for everyday use.

iPad 11 gen is just fine. I'm using mine to type this on. I use it everyday and have never had a single problem with it.

If you need a tablet now, the 11th gen is a solid buy and you can get it at a good price. If you can wait and want better long-term performance, it's probably worth holding out for the A19-chip iPad.

I wanted the pro coming out later this year. I was really about to spend around 1200 for it. Something told me to buy the iPad a16 instead at a significantly lower price… and I'm glad I did. $279 and very much worth it. I have no regrets with the a16.

It's an excellent value proposition for basically anybody other than people who draw. You did well, I hope you get many years out of it.

As someone that frequently draws, but is not a professional, I actually think this 2025 ipad is fine! I didn't want to go for the Air model because it does not fit my budget. I don't care that it's a non-laminated screen, because I'm always using my ipad inside of my home. The only thing that I'm very disappointed about are the speakers. They sound worse than my old 2019 ipad that I had before this one. The speakers are lower in volume and they sound very flat.

11th gen is generally fine for reading, checking notes, note taking and for basic media consumption.

Good enough, only push for the Air if you have the budget.

With the A16 iPad you can expect around 4 years of software updates (+/- 2 years). But the A18 iPad is only 4-6 months away. If you can find the current model for 20-30% off, then it's great.

I got that iPad specifically for lads, so it's basically the only thing on it, but yes it does run very smoothly on ultra!

A16 is all you need. The A16 and the air have the same potential longevity. The difference is CPU, RAM, and the laminated screen. The A16 is the iPad most people need. The extras are just nice to haves. Taking notes, reading books/web, and watching streaming don't require an M chip.

As an owner of IPad Air M3 (11 inch) I highly recommend it but to be fair 11th gen iPad will do the job too so no worries on that.

Just get the 11th gen, it's plenty powerful enough to handle anything you're going to do on a base model iPad for the next 5+ years. iPads, especially the base model, are mostly limited by software at this point: the chips are capable of more than iPadOS allows.

Got mine the other day. Couldn't be happier, but if I'm being honest, the blue color I picked kinda looked better in the photos, and I'd probably go for the silver one if I knew this beforehand.

I used the 8th gen for five years. I only got a new one because I wanted the extra ram for 3D sculpting. That's it. I was happy with my old iPad still.

I have the 11 gen and use it for browsing the web, gaming, writing and some foto editing, everything ok so far. It's fast enough for daily stuff. The only thing is the battery, it could last longer.

If you have the budget get the Air, the ipad A16 misses out on some good features for the longrun, like pencil pro, m series chips and laminated display. It's worth getting the Air m2 at least if you are planning to keep it as long as you deem fit.

I just got that iPad and it runs absolutely beautifully. Ultra graphics, no stuttering, very smooth. I really like it.

This should work well for you. PDFs and notes in class aren't too much for the regular ipad, especially the current version of it. As a student, the 11 inch ipads are a good balance between portability to carry to class and usable screen space.

Yes you are the ideal person for this iPad. Only thing is doing complicated word processor type work is a little difficult with it. Otherwise it's perfectly fine for everything else a student needs.

For $299 it's a good deal!

I work entirely on an iPad 9th gen, only 3gb ram and haven't had any major issues. Any of these 2 options will be fine.

I've been having this exact same dilema and I am choosing the iPad Air M3 because it has an anti reflective screen, the screen is laminated so there's no gap between the screen and glass, and it's compatible with the new Apple Pencil Pro.

Apple Intelligence is shit by design, so you're not missing out on much. And iPad apps are just glorified iPhones apps so you don't need to worry about processing power.

I got it for my little brother and he loves it, says it does everything he needs it for even for school.

I'd say it's the perfect size for note taking, the 13 inch is too cumbersome and the mini is too tiny.

I use this exact model and it runs the game perfectly! Graphics are beautiful and so is combat.

I also use an A16. I don't use it much except for LaDS, Balatro, and Youtube/Netflix. It runs super well on ultra and doesn't get hot for me either which is nice!

iPad 11th gen is enough and especially you're going for the usb c pencil. But if budget isn't tight you can go with the iPad Air that has an m chip.

A16 doesn't support apple intelligence which should be released this spring. That's why I am not buying it even if it's so cheap now. It's already obsolete the moment it's purchased.