iPadOS 27 Drops Five iPads. Siri AI Needs M1 or A17 Pro

iPadOS 27 installs on 23 iPads, back to the iPad (9th generation) and the 2020 iPad Pro, and five iPads that ran iPadOS 26 stop there. Apple Intelligence and Siri AI need an iPad with M1 or later, or the iPad mini (A17 Pro). Changing how Siri sounds needs M4 or later with at least 12GB of memory. All three lines are on Apple’s own pages; two of them are in footnotes.

The three tiers

Tier	What you get	iPads Apple lists
1	iPadOS 27	23 models: iPad (9th generation) and later, iPad mini (6th generation) and later, iPad Air (4th generation) and later, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) and 12.9-inch (4th generation) and later
2	Apple Intelligence and Siri AI	iPad mini (A17 Pro) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), iPad models with M1 and later
3	Customising how Siri sounds	iPad models with M4 and later and at least 12GB of memory

Each tier includes everything above it. Tiers 2 and 3 are Apple’s phrases, from footnotes 1 and 3 on its iPadOS 27 page; the models they cover are below, matched using the chip and memory in Apple’s tech specs.

The five iPads that stop at iPadOS 26

These appear on Apple’s iPadOS 26 compatibility page and not on the iPadOS 27 one. Every other model on the iPadOS 26 list carries over.

iPad	Last iPadOS
iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)	26
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)	26
iPad Air (3rd generation)	26
iPad mini (5th generation)	26
iPad (8th generation)	26

The iPad that gets the update and not the headline

The iPad (A16) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), which Apple still sells, is on the iPadOS 27 list and not on the Apple Intelligence list. Apple names only two kinds of iPad for Apple Intelligence: the iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPads with M1 or later. The A16 is neither, so an iPad (A16) owner gets iPadOS 27 without Siri AI or the rest of Apple Intelligence.

It is also the one current iPad that Apple Pencil Pro does not support; which Apple Pencil works with each iPad is set out model by model.

Six older models are in the same position. By the chips in Apple’s tech specs:

iPad	Chip	iPadOS 27	Apple Intelligence
iPad (A16) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	A16	Yes	No
iPad (10th generation)	A14	Yes	No
iPad (9th generation)	A13	Yes	No
iPad mini (6th generation)	A15	Yes	No
iPad Air (4th generation)	A14	Yes	No
iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)	A12Z	Yes	No
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)	A12Z	Yes	No

It is the iPad version of the iPhone 15 split, where the 15 and 15 Plus install the update and only the Pro models get the features: iOS 27 sorts iPhones into the same three tiers.

Who gets Apple Intelligence

The M1 line reaches further back than the model names suggest. Apple’s specs give the iPad Air (5th generation), the iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) and the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) an M1, so all three qualify. So does every iPad Air and iPad Pro since, including the iPad Air (M3) and the iPad mini (A17 Pro) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab).

Even on those iPads, Apple attaches conditions:

• Siri AI is a beta, available in English to start, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish due in October.
• Not in the EU at first. Apple says Siri AI “will not be available initially in the EU” on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS; that sentence does not name macOS.
• Not in China, where Apple says Siri AI and the other new Apple Intelligence features will not be available while it works through regulatory requirements.
• Daily limits. Features that use server-side models, Siri AI among them, have daily usage limits, and Apple says expanded access “will be available for a fee in the future”. If you would rather not use any of it, there is no single switch, but every setting is listed.

The memory line for Siri’s voice

Customising how Siri sounds needs M4 or later and at least 12GB of memory, so the chip alone does not decide it. The 256GB and 512GB iPad Pro (M4) have 8GB, and miss it.

iPad	Memory, per Apple’s specs	Customise Siri’s voice
iPad Pro (M5), any storage	12GB or 16GB	Yes
iPad Air (M4) (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)	12GB	Yes
iPad Pro (M4), 1TB or 2TB	16GB	Yes
iPad Pro (M4), 256GB or 512GB	8GB	No
iPad Air (M3) and earlier	—	No, chip is below M4

For this one feature, the iPad Air (M4) qualifies and a 256GB iPad Pro (M4) does not. If you are choosing between iPads for other reasons too, how the iPad Air scores against other tablets covers the rest. Macs draw the same kind of line at M3 and 12GB: which Macs get macOS 27’s new Siri voices.

What the speed claims rest on

Apple says browsing and transferring files from iPad to an external drive is up to 5x faster, tested on an iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) with a USB 4 SSD. Its newsroom figure of apps launching “up to 30 percent faster” on iPhone and iPad comes from a test on an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Those are Apple’s numbers on Apple’s test devices, not ours, and none was measured on the oldest iPads on the list.

Questions people ask

Will my iPad get iPadOS 27?

If it is an iPad (9th generation) or later, an iPad mini (6th generation) or later, an iPad Air (4th generation) or later, or an iPad Pro from 2020 or later, yes. Apple lists 23 models. Check yours in Settings › General › About.

Which iPads are not getting iPadOS 27?

Five iPads that run iPadOS 26 are not on the iPadOS 27 list: iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad mini (5th generation) and iPad (8th generation).

Does the iPad (A16) get Apple Intelligence?

No. It installs iPadOS 27, but Apple’s Apple Intelligence list names only the iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPads with M1 or later. The A16 is neither, so the iPad (A16) gets iPadOS 27 without Apple Intelligence or Siri AI.

Which iPads get Siri AI?

The same iPads that get Apple Intelligence: the iPad mini (A17 Pro) and any iPad with M1 or later. That includes the iPad Air (5th generation), the 2021 iPad Pro models and every iPad Air and iPad Pro since. Siri AI is a beta, in English first, and not initially in the EU.

Can I change Siri’s voice on my iPad in iPadOS 27?

Customising how Siri sounds needs an iPad with M4 or later and at least 12GB of memory. That means the iPad Air (M4), any iPad Pro (M5), or a 1TB or 2TB iPad Pro (M4). The 256GB and 512GB iPad Pro (M4) have 8GB and miss it.

Does iPadOS 27 make older iPads faster?

Apple claims file transfers to an external drive are up to 5x faster, but tested that on an iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) with a USB 4 SSD. Its ‘up to 30 percent faster’ app launch figure for iPhone and iPad comes from a test on an iPhone 11 Pro Max, not an iPad.