Apple’s base iPad didn’t get AI, and this chart totally explains why

Apple just updated its base iPad this month after a very long, 2+ year wait. But curiously, the new iPad got a worse chip than we expected and missed out on Apple Intelligence. A new chart by CIRP, however, seems to explain why.

Full iPad lineup has been updated, but one model missed out on Apple Intelligence

Apple’s iPad lineup has been getting a lot of love from the company over the past year.

• We got a major new M4 iPad Pro with a gorgeous display, excellent Magic Keyboard, and more
• The new iPad mini got an A17 Pro chip to enable Apple Intelligence, and supports Apple Pencil Pro
• There have been not one, but two iPad Air updates that importantly added a new 13-inch size

There’s one model that hasn’t been so lucky, however.

The base iPad got an underwhelming spec bump after a longer-than-usual wait. And it also gained the honor of being the first product in an AI-supported platform that doesn’t actually support Apple Intelligence.

So what gives?

CIRP’s new report on iPad model sales over the years seems to have a great answer.

Sales trends made it necessary to hold back the base iPad

Take a look at this CIRP chart showing the past five years of iPad sales:

Looking at the left side of the chart, it’s pretty clear why Apple needed to hold back its latest iPad.

The base iPad has been steadily taking more of the marketshare away from Apple’s other models.

The cheap iPad went from:

• 15% of iPad sales in 2021
• to 21% in 2022
• 30% in 2023
• all the way up to 38% last year

While all sales are good sales, Apple would undoubtedly prefer customers splurge for more expensive models.

But it seems that in recent years, an increasing number of shoppers felt that was unnecessary. The base iPad was good enough for them.

So Apple decided to do something about that.

First, it waited longer than usual to give the base iPad an update. And when that update did arrive, it changed very little and most notably held the iPad back from supporting Apple Intelligence.

And now, I totally understand why.

What are your takeaways from this iPad sales chart? Let us know in the comments.

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