For some time now, many iPad owners — including myself — have had the luxury of upgrading only when we feel like it, or when something breaks down. Using an outdated version of iPadOS poses problems, but most apps can continue to function, and Apple even pushes out security patches for older hardware when threats are severe. Significantly, a lot of iPads are overpowered for what they’re used for — my 2020 iPad Pro can’t handle Final Cut or Resident Evil 8, but it can still multitask most apps with ease.
An imminent sea change is coming, however, one that may sweep up me and many other iPad owners. The degree to which you should care about this may depend on how many other Apple products you own.
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Apple
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128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
How iPadOS 27 might pressure me to upgrade
The practical use of AI
In September 2026, Apple is expected to release the finished version of iPadOS 27. You can try the public beta today — I just wouldn’t recommend it if your iPad is a primary device, since betas are unfinished products that are more prone to glitches.
There are a bunch of improvements coming with the software, but leading the pack is a revamped Apple Intelligence, centered around an overhauled Siri dubbed Siri AI. It’s based on the AI models underpinning Google Gemini, and accordingly, it will finally bring Siri into the modern age. You’ll be able to ask it for the address of that meeting you talked about with a friend, for instance, or create automations in the Shortcuts app simply by telling it what you want. General knowledge questions will no longer force you to tap a web link. Indeed you can expect to hold natural-language conversations, as if you were talking to an expert.
Like any generative tech, Siri AI does occasionally get things wrong, and it’s way too slow in its beta incarnation. But the writing is on the wall: to get the most out of an iPad going forward, you’re going to want a device capable of handling the new Apple Intelligence.
The problem is that this excludes a lot of older products, my 2020 Pro among them. To run Apple Intelligence in any form, you need an iPad with at least an M1 or A17 Pro processor, and my Pro is stuck with an A12Z. The most advanced version of Siri AI — only providing a customizable voice, at the moment — requires an iPad with an M4 chip and 12GB of RAM. That excludes some models currently on sale, never mind hardware released a few years ago.
I wouldn’t mind so much except that my iPhone 16 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 2 support everything except that top-end Siri AI. If I don’t upgrade my iPad, there’s going to be a serious schism, at the least forcing me to dumb down requests on my tablet. Having to code-switch like that will be awkward at best. At worst, it’s going to be a serious impediment to productivity as Siri AI becomes de facto across apps.
There’s more. Another perk of Siri AI is that it comes with an app of its own, used to keep conversations in sync. Without that app on my Pro, my other devices won’t know what I’ve done there, and vice versa. Given that I’d like to use my iPad as more than just a glorified chat and media device, that wall could wreak havoc.
Should you or I rush out to buy a new iPad?
Avoid succumbing to FOMO
I’m resisting the urge at the moment for a couple of reasons. One is budget — I’m in the process of moving cross-country, as I write this — but the other is that Apple is rumored to be preparing a new iPad mini for October 2026, and updates to the rest of the lineup in spring 2027. All of those tablets will be equipped for Siri AI from the get-go, and should include other improvements as well. The Mini is expected to switch to an OLED display, and it’s not inconceivable that Apple will finally bring 120Hz refresh rates to both that and the Air lineup.
That said, if you need an iPad right now, you’ll be fine as long as it meets those basic Apple Intelligence requirements I mentioned. You might want to splurge on an M4 Air or M5 Pro if you want to ensure support for the best Siri AI features for the next few years. With nothing more than a customizable voice on the horizon, though, I wouldn’t panic if you need to buy something cheaper.
