Upcoming 12th-gen iPad to arrive with two significant upgrades

MacWorld has stumbled upon some interesting new information about the upcoming iPad 2026/12th-gen. It will get a shiny new A19 SoC found on the base iPhone 17 and a much-needed memory bump from 6 GB RAM to 8 GB RAM. In theory, this should allow it to run Apple Intelligence features, which, at the time of writing, are only available on the iPad Air and iPad Pro models.

A storage upgrade seems unlikely because the 2025 model just got one. On the other hand, the iPad 2026 will ship with Apple's N1 chip, unlocking Wi-Fi 7 functionality. This makes the base iPad an even better deal than its last-gen counterparts, because it effectively offers iPad Air-level features at a lower price.

Apple unveiled the iPad (2025) in March. Ideally, the 12th-gen iPad should surface around that time. However, there's a good chance it could be pushed back due to the ongoing memory shortage. Given the numerous upgrades it offers and the skyrocketing prices of memory, a price increase seems imminent.