June 11, 2026, 12:47 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Apple announced iPadOS 27 at WWDC26. The update finally brings the new AI-powered Siri to compatible iPads and gives users more control over the Liquid Glass interface. The operating system is also expected to be more responsive thanks to under-the-hood optimizations. Curiously, several iPad models will lose support–including some powerful iPad Pros.
Popular iPad Pro Models Lose Support
With iPadOS 27, Apple is ending software support for the iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation). Both models were released in 2018 and introduced the current design with thin, uniform display bezels and a boxy chassis. Owners of these devices had hoped for another year of updates, especially since the A12X Bionic chip is nearly equivalent to the A12Z Bionic used in successors.
The real bottleneck is likely the mere 4 gigabytes of RAM. Current iPad models also have only 4 GB, but Pro model users expect better performance, especially with multitasking, which Apple is expanding in iPadOS 27. Therefore, the new iOS version requires the iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), both equipped with the A12Z Bionic and 6 GB of RAM.
Older iPad, iPad Mini, and iPad Air Models Dropped
While last year the iPad Air 3rd generation received the iPadOS 26 update with Liquid Glass, 2026 marks the end. Only iPad Air models from 2020 with A14 Bionic, M1, or newer will be supported.
For the base iPad, Apple had already left the 7th generation from 2019 behind with iPadOS 26. Now, the 8th generation from 2020 also loses support. For iPadOS 27, at least the 9th generation from 2021 with A13 Bionic is required–the last supported iPad with a Lightning connector.
For the iPad Mini, the minimum requirement rises to the 6th generation model with A14 Bionic. The Mini 5th generation will no longer receive the update.
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These iPads Are Compatible with iPadOS 27
Here is the complete list of iPad models compatible with the new iPadOS version:
iPad Pro
- iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)
- iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (M5)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation)
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation)
- iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
iPad Air
- iPad Air 13-inch (M4)
- iPad Air 13-inch (M3)
- iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
- iPad Air 11-inch (M4)
- iPad Air 11-inch (M3)
- iPad Air 11-inch (M2)
- iPad Air (5th generation)
- iPad Air (4th generation)
iPad Mini
- iPad Mini (A17 Pro)
- iPad Mini (6th generation)
iPad
- iPad (A16)
- iPad (10th generation)
- iPad (9th generation)
Drastic Cut
With the introduction of iPadOS 26 last year, almost all iPad models were spared. At that time, only the iPad 7th generation remained on iPadOS 18.
Also interesting: What new devices does Apple have in the works?
iPadOS 27, on the other hand, affects devices across all three model lines (Standard, Mini, Air, and Pro). All iPads now losing support have one thing in common: They come with A12-series chips. Apple seems to consider the performance of these chips inadequate for the demands of the new iPadOS version. The last chip in the series, the A12Z, will continue to be supported in the 2020 iPad Pro models–likely just to achieve at least six years of software updates.
For comparison: The iPad Pro models with A12X Bionic from 2018 received a total of eight years of software support. They are so old that they originally launched with iOS 12.1–a year before Apple introduced the new tablet operating system, iPadOS.