Apple won’t roll out iPadOS 27 to any iPad with the A12 or A12X chip. This leaves five models out in the cold for the company’s next tablet operating system.
Devices sold from 2018 to 2020 are affected by the change, as Apple raises iPad prices across the board.
Apple is discontinuing all five iPads, the A12 and A12X
according to 9to5MacThis downgrade removes the 2019 iPad Air (3rd generation), the 2019 iPad mini (5th generation), the 2018 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, as well as the 2020 iPad (8th generation). All five iPads are powered by either an A12 or A12X processor.
Apple has given these devices six to eight years of software updates, which is longer than most tablet manufacturers provide. But the timing is suspicious. All iPhones running iOS 26 will support iOS 27. The iPad side is taking a tougher stance.
There’s been a lot of criticism about how well iPadOS 26 performs. Michael Burkhart of 9to5Mac also argued that Apple should either let owners downgrade to iPadOS 18 or find a way to bring iPadOS 27 to dropped devices.
A downgrade path is technically possible. Apple is still shipping security patches for iOS 18. iPadOS 18.7.9 was released about a month ago, so the older operating system remains actively under maintenance.
Apple’s current policy prevents downgrades by “unsigning” old firmware versions when a new one is released. Apple first restricted Stage Manager on iPad M1 devices on iPadOS 16 in 2022, then relented and released it for 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro models after criticism. Older iPad Pros ran Stage Manager without external display support.
Full windows in iPadOS 27 may require a little more GPU It can offer more headroom and RAM than the A12’s 4GB. Apple has never provided any public explanation. The iPadOS 27 beta is about three weeks old. If public reaction increases, Apple may expand device compatibility before the fall release.
Apple iPad prices jump $100 to $200
On June 25, Apple raised prices for iPads. The base iPad is now priced at $449, up from $349. The iPad Air has been increased to $749 from $599. The price of the iPad Pro has increased from $999 to $1,199.
apple attributed Increases in the cost of memory components are driven by the build-out of AI infrastructure. “The consumer electronics industry faces an unprecedented challenge.” apple He told CNBC. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has led to an extraordinary increase in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen component prices increase so much, so quickly.”
Memory prices have jumped more than four-fold since late 2025, and rising material prices are always a challenge, Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, told TechCrunch.
Counterpoint said smartphone DRAM prices rose 50% and NAND flash storage prices rose more than 90% on a quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2026. For a user who owns a 2019 iPad Air, for which software support is not available, replacing a less expensive iPad is now more than $100 cheaper than last quarter.
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