Starting an iPad on a Budget, Choose This Gen 11 A16 Chip with 6GB RAM iPadOS26
The iPad (A16) released on March 12, 2025 with the iPadOS 18.3.1 starter seems to have started a new naming scheme that previously tended to refer to the 9th Generation or 10th Generation. If we refer to that naming, then the iPad A16 means the iPad Gen 11. But there is something I found, even though the comparison list now uses the iPad (A16), it turns out that the website's Permalink still uses the name Gen 11.
{getToc} $title={Table of Contents}
If it hasn't been changed yet... I took that screenshot on July 9, 2025, and yes, changing the permalink isn't difficult, so it can be changed at any time... but the release did use the A16, and this is what also made me reluctant to buy it, as I discussed in my initial post about my first experience with iPadOS.
Previously, I wanted to buy a Samsung Tab S, but the FE was out of budget... and maybe if this iPad didn't have the A16 name, I might have given it a second thought. Because it happens to be the same as the Samsung A16 5G daily smartphone that I just recently named, replacing the A50s, which is quite old and has limited storage this year for daily use...
Interesting indeed, how could such a coincidence happen, so I have an additional discussion on the "RahmanCyber" YouTube channel. Yes! I'm not a daily reviewer who immediately responds to new things... lol, so you could say I review based on my own experience. So one product can be reviewed after it's finished... ahaha... because it's based on your own thing, it seems a bit difficult for brands to collaborate... wkwkwk, because of course you have to give me the product, not just lend it, then you have to accept my review as it is...
I have told you about my first experience using the iPad A16 here
Unboxing iPad A16
As usual the first thing we do is unboxing, as usual we open the box first, e before that we prepare the camera to record the unboxing process, because now most of the time if there is a problem, for returns there must be documentation of the unboxing without cutting.
As usual the packaging is quite thick, multi-layered, so this seems to be reliable because the shipping process of course the package will experience various things that sometimes cannot be predicted, but if there is a fragile sticker, don't throw it, this will be safer.
And when I opened it, I compared it to the 10th generation iPad box I saw online or in a store before buying it, which I had to look at first, and it was very similar.
The iPad I got is apparently Made in Vietnam. Hey, where did you guys get it made in? lol, it seems like it's made in Vietnam. I checked, and the price is pretty low compared to others, including those made in China... :) And I know the price, and I also seem to understand the margin a bit... but, well, I just accept it, because there are other costs, probably, like imports... hehe... I was actually hoping for one made in China, because it's more common, but made in Vietnam is a new breakthrough outside of China.
Box Contents:
The box contains just the iPad, a Type-C to Type-C charging cable, and the US adapter I got. That's it...
- iPad A16
- Type-C to Type-C cable
- 20W US Plug Charging Adapter
- Manual and Warranty
Although I got a US plug, this might be different if you buy a local one, I think you'll get a 20W adapter with a common EU plug in Indonesia.
By the way, what I bought is WIFI ONLY, so it's like a laptop or computer without CELLULAR. I don't really understand the rest, but I bought it from an official store on the marketplace, and it's been selling a lot. So if there's something odd, make sure you can see it... and it's impossible not to know... lol, because it's still standing strong with best-selling products, it makes me think, that means it's been done according to procedure... that's it, I don't want to think about the hassle... because it's not my responsibility. If something happens later, where can I go, bro! That's all. But there's one reason why I bought this: first, it's WiFi only, the price is much cheaper, but the warranty can't be obtained locally, only through Mitracare, they say. Anyway, don't ask too many questions about this. I'm a legal novice. The important thing is that I bought it online, and it was from the Orange marketplace. I've also calculated and carefully checked that this isn't a refurbished iPad, or one that Apple is reselling. From the information I've received, the box is different, plain white. The one I received is different, not like that.
It's roughly like this.
When opened, there is an iPad wrapper, although the adhesive is different from when I unboxed the Samsung P205 tablet. It was really creaky... but this one is not so much, and it's easier to peel off.
iPad A16 Activation Process
Like the activation process in general, of course we are asked to create an Apple account first and make sure we are connected to Wi-Fi, because the process requires internet.
Approximately after success, it will be like this
It turns out it's not that difficult, it's the same as when we activate a tablet in general...
iPad A16 Accessories
As for the case cover, I looked for one made of acrylic to prevent it from being too flexible. There are some that are made of acrylic, but some have covers that can be used as iPad stands.
I was actually looking for a case without a cover, because I thought it would already have tempered glass, but it turns out it's hard to find one that's acrylic but also has a holder for the Apple Pencil...
Oh well, I bought that one for around 85 thousand.
The final result looks like this.
iPad A16 body review
Some people say the A16 isn't much different from the previous 10th Gen iPad, but unfortunately, I can't confirm this directly because I don't have one. What's clear is that this iPad has an 11-inch 3:2 display, an all-aluminum body with fairly thick bezels on all sides.
Touch ID is located on the bottom right side when the iPad is in horizontal/sleep mode. It's similar to the Android smartphone I use, the A16 5G. Hehe, Touch ID is like a fingerprint scanner, just with a different name, but both have the same function: in addition to detecting fingerprints, it also acts as a power button... lol
The iPad A16 comes in several color options: silver, blue, pink, and yellow, and here I chose the silver one.
It's not too heavy, compact enough, but not too small for me. Compared to my previous tablet, the Samsung Tab A8 P205 with an 8-inch screen, this iPad A16 has a 3-inch difference.
The volume up and down buttons are on the top left. The speakers are on the right and left sides of the horizontal iPad A16.
While you can't use the Apple Pencil Pro, this one does have a Smart Connector in the bottom center of the horizontal iPad.
iPad A16 Horizontal Position
iPad A16 Vertical Position
iPad A16 Camera Review
The iPad A16 has one front camera and one rear camera. The front camera is placed right in the top center of the horizontal position, while the rear camera is in the top left corner of the horizontal position. In terms of quality, the camera here is 12MP, bro... so it's pretty good, at least if needed for taking material or scanning documents. But there are advantages here, namely that the iPad A16 camera supports 60fps recording, besides its motion response is quite fast, so even here for a 12MP camera.
iPad A16 Front Camera
12MP Front Camera, f/2.4 aperture supports Smart HDR 4, 1080P HD recording at up to 60fps, accompanied by time-lapse video with stabilization, lens correction, retina flash, automatic image stabilizer, and burst mode for photos.
 |
| front camera review ipad a16 rahmancyber |
 |
| front camera review ipad a16 rahmancyber |
iPad A16 Rear Camera
12 MP Rear Camera Supports up to 4K 60FPS Speed, capable of 1080p Slo-Mo with speeds Up To 240fps, there is video stabilization, image stabilization, continuous autofocus, playback zoom, and video formats captured HEVC and H264.
 |
| iPad A16 rear camera review rahmancyber |
 |
| iPad A16 rear camera review rahmancyber |
 |
| iPad A16 rear camera review rahmancyber |
 |
| iPad A16 Rear Camera Focus Test |
 |
| rear camera review focus ipad a16 |
 |
| rear camera review focus ipad a16 |
because this is on a blog, here we can only display photos, and in the third photo, it's almost like a macro, but there we actually test the focus, and that's what the rear camera of the iPad A16 looks like when it looks close to the object.
For discussion in video form, you can visit the following playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZQsjrzAQYI&list=PL1qiMzpnaZta1QChiH0mR_MeJl9LwDjkN
iPad A16 Chip / SoC Review
On paper, Apple describes the A16 as having a 5-core CPU, 4-core GPU (Apple-designed 4-core GPU (G15P)), and a 16-core Neural Engine.
This is certainly very different from the A16 Bionic chip (launching September 7, 2022), which has the same codename. This means the A16 chip in the 11th Gen iPad is different, with many features cut. So, don't expect the same quality as the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15, and 15 Plus with the A16 Bionic chip. The name alone suggests that the iPad A16 SoC doesn't have the Bionic label. This suggests that the A16 chip has several versions, and the A16 in the 11th Gen iPad (2025) is the lowest-end or entry-level version. Yes, I personally didn't expect this to be as good as the 14 million rupiah iPhone... haha, logically, the price difference is already quite large; there needs to be a difference.
- iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max – 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU
- iPhone 15 & 15 Plus – 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU
- iPad (11th generation) – 5-core CPU and 4-core GPU
The A16 chip embedded in the 11th Gen iPad has a 4nm fabrication node, which is smaller than the 10th Gen iPad, which has a 5nm fabrication node. It has a clock speed of 3.46 GHz, while the 16-core Neural Engine reaches 17 TOPS.
I've tested it using several graphics applications, such as Procreate, and it's smooth enough for designing with a 4K canvas. The same goes for Procreate Dream.
The A16 can also be paired with Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, but a notification appears stating that some features cannot be run on the A16. This is because the iPad version of DaVinci Resolve requires 16GB of RAM to run optimally.
RAM Review
As usual, accessing RAM information isn't as easy as using Android, where you can display RAM status and usage.
Of course, RAM is a vital component for multitasking, although the SoC is also crucial. However, with a high RAM capacity, you'll be able to handle tasks with multiple or memory-intensive tasks.
I also used a third-party reference, which showed 6GB of RAM, and LPDDR5 RAM, with no virtual swap memory.
However, despite having 6GB, I haven't encountered any significant issues in nearly a month of use since last June. While we don't know how much RAM is left, I've tried multitasking using "Slide Over," which even ran up to 11 apps. It still worked, but I decided not to continue.
and it's not just slide over, but combined with splitview.
Sensor Review
The Wi-Fi version of the A16's sensors are pretty decent: Touch ID, a three-axis gyro, an accelerometer, a barometer, a light sensor, and even a digital compass and iBeacon microlocation capabilities.
The GPS is missing here... there's a cellular version.
It's different from what you need for a smartphone. For a tablet, I don't really mind the lack of sensors... but it turns out the iPad isn't completely empty either... it's like the bare minimum for an entry-level smartphone, especially based on my experience with Samsung Android smartphones... hehe, that's standard entry-level indeed... the addition of a compass is nice, though... it's a plus, but what's the point of having one on a tablet anyway... hehe.
Speaker Review
If you look back at the diagram above of the iPad A16's components, you'll notice two speakers on the right and left, which provide a stereo feel consistent with the specifications on paper.
When we listen to music, wow... this is truly like my friend's speaker, which costs around 1 million rupiah. It's really solid, it feels full, and it's not shrill. The bass is powerful but the composition is just right, not too weak.
Wireless Connection Review
Apple iPad A16 Wifi Only certainly does not have a module to connect to a cellular network, yes, for wireless networks, the a16 only relies on a wifi connection with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) specs with 2x2 MIMO. Yes, that's right! MIMO... MIMO stands for Multiple Input, Multiple Output. It is a wireless technology that uses multiple antennas on the transmitter and receiver to increase the speed and reliability of data transmission. With MIMO, devices can send and receive data over multiple paths simultaneously, utilizing the multipath phenomenon where radio signals bounce off various surfaces before reaching the receiver.
Post a Comment for "Starting an iPad on a Budget, Choose This Gen 11 A16 Chip with 6GB RAM iPadOS26"