My iPad says I have the latest version of iTunes and clearly I do not.

Well then you are correct. The latest version of iTunes would be the version in iOS 15 which unfortunately you cannot update to. What you are experiencing is normal behavior. Some apps, when updated, require newer versions of iOS and if you cannot update to that version, you can’t use the apps. It is up to the app developers if they want to continue to support older versions of apps.

If you have the original iPad Air as your profile line indicates, iOS 12.5.5 is as high as you can go. If you want to run a newer version of iOS, you need to purchase a newer device.

MichaelJLuke wrote:

My iPad says I have the latest version of iTunes and clearly I do not.

And what are you basing that on? Your claim is rather cryptic.

iTunes on the iPad is a link to the iTunes Store where you purchase music, movies and videos. If you are truly running iOS 12, then you aren’t running the most up to date version of iTunes because that would be included in the iOS 15 update. iTunes is updated when the iOS is updated and can’t be updated as a standalone app.