Apple almost never gives away anything about future products, so it is a bit of a surprise that there’s been a subtle but unmissable hint about the next iPad. Even more surprising is where it came from: Apple’s earnings call, held on Thursday, April 30.

The CFO’s ‘Difficult Compare’ Warning

On Thursday, CFO Kevan Parekh talked about iPad revenue for the April to June quarter, commenting that it would be a “difficult compare” to the same quarter from 2025 because of the release of the 11th-generation iPad with A16 processor which landed in March 2025.

“We expect our June quarter total company revenue to grow by 14 to 17 percent year-over-year, which comprehends our best view of constrained supply. On iPad, keep in mind, we face a difficult compare driven by the launch of the A16-powered iPad in the prior year,” Parekh said.

In other words, the April to June quarter this year won’t benefit from a just-released entry-level iPad, unlike last year.

Which confirms that the next iPad won’t launch until after June at the earliest. This stands in contrast to comments by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, who in March said that the 12th-generation iPad was ready to go.

What This Means For WWDC 2026

Well, for a start, it means there won’t be an iPad product announcement next month at WWDC unless there’s a real change of heart.

While it’s possible that Apple could launch the next entry-level iPad in July or August, this would be quite out of character for Apple (although, nobody saw AirPods Max 2 coming).

Additionally, since the earnings call was peppered with comments about the constrained supply Parekh mentioned, it makes sense that Apple will want to ensure it has the components it needs for its pricier models.

The Apple Intelligence Gap

Plus, right now, there’s no shortage of the current iPad, so Apple seemingly has plenty left to sell.

On the other hand, that iPad is the only product in the iPad range that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, which will almost certainly be a big part of iPadOS 27.

So, I suspect that the reports which say the next entry-level iPad will arrive this year are right on the money.