IPadOS 26 Supports iPad 9, But M1 Chip Required For Apple Intelligence

Apple is cutting four iPad models from iPadOS 26 support this fall, and the dividing line is more revealing than the list itself.

The dropped hardware includes the iPad 8th generation, iPad Air 3rd generation, iPad mini 5th generation, and implicitly any model older than those. These are not ancient devices. The iPad 8th generation launched in 2020, meaning some owners are being nudged toward an upgrade after roughly five years, which tracks with Apple’s typical support window but still stings when the hardware runs fine.

The supported lineup for iPadOS 26 covers a fairly wide range:

• iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later
• iPad Air 4th generation and later
• iPad 9th generation and later
• iPad mini 6th generation and later

The chip floor matters more than the compatibility list

Making the list does not mean getting the full experience. Apple’s on-device AI features, the ones requiring larger memory pools, are effectively gated behind M-series chips. An iPad 9th generation with an A13 Bionic technically runs iPadOS 26, but it will sit out the features Apple spent the most stage time demonstrating at WWDC.

This two-tier reality inside a single compatibility list is something Apple has been quietly normalizing since Apple Intelligence launched. The headline number of supported devices looks generous; the fine print about which features actually run on which chips tells a different story.

For most people buying an iPad today, the M1 threshold is the practical floor for a complete software experience, not just an entry on a support page. That shifts the real conversation away from “will my iPad get the update” toward “will my iPad get the update that was actually advertised.”