Now that iPadOS 16 has been unveiled by Apple, we get a glimpse of what iPads will look like in the coming months when the software update hits our tablets.
However, not all iPads will receive this update, because with each version of iPadOS, Apple removes some older devices from its compatibility list.
So even if your iPad has iPadOS 15, it doesn’t mean it will get the next version. So, to help you, we’ve put together this list of all iPads compatible with the next version.
Oh, and by the way – if you don’t know which iPad you have, go to Definitions application and then press Aboutso in model name field you will see which iPad you are using – it’s simple.
input iPad
If you have the entry-level iPad – the one just called ‘iPad’ with no suffix – then you can get iPadOS 16 if you have the fifth-gen model or higher (pictured).
That was the version released in 2017, and since then there’s also been a 2018 version with the same 9.7-inch screen, and two versions with 10.2-inch screens. All five models are supported.
All these tablets also have iPadOS 15, so if you have that, you’ll get another update.
iPad Mini
Sadly, the iPad Mini lineup is losing a member. The oldest small-body slate that gets an upgrade is the fifth-generation iPad Mini (2019) (pictured), though its 2015 predecessor got the iPadOS 15.
The only two members of the mini lineup to receive the iPadOS 16 update are the aforementioned 2019 device and the newer 2021 iPad Mini, which was the first to release the Home button.
With a gap of four years between the fourth and fifth generation iPad Minis, it’s no wonder the former is being scrapped, but it’s still sad that we can’t say that ‘all iPadOS 15 compatible iPads are getting newer to update’ .
iPad Air
The oldest iPad Air model to get iPadOS 16 is the iPad Air (2019), or the third generation model, i.e. only it and the two latest models (from 2020 and 2022) get the update.
As with the Mini device, that means one model is falling behind – the iPad Air 2 in this case.
That tablet is eight years old at this point, so it’s had a good run.
iPad Pro
There’s good news for iPad Pro owners: all versions of the tablet, even the 2015 models that are showing their years, will get the iPadOS 16 update.
Of course, all these devices also received iPadOS 15, but we were expecting Apple to exclude its first Pro models from the iPad update this year. Evidently, we were wrong.
With five generations of tablets, that means the Pro lineup is joining the entry lineup for being the only family with so many slate waves supported by iPadOS 16, albeit with the first iPad Pro being announced months after the fifth generation entry. level model, technically means the slate is the oldest still in action.
