This fall, a reprised 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro could be on the roster. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who authors the subscriber-only Power On newsletter, reports that he expects Apple to update the two iPad models with the M2 chip in September or October.
Gurman expects the new iPads to feature the new M2 chip announced at last week’s WWDC 2022 developer conference, plus wireless charging and an upgrade to the camera system. There’s no explicit mention of when the new iPads could debut. But based on previous years, Apple could make the announcements around the same time it introduces the new iPhone.
We already knew that a larger 14.1-inch iPad with the M2 chip inside is on the way. It’s been buzzed about even before Apple lifted the curtain on the M2 processor. But we likely won’t see that model until at least 2023.
You might consider setting aside the cash if you haven’t already upgraded to the iPad Pro with the Apple M1. Some new Mac-like features, including Stage Manager, only work with Apple’s M-series chip. Gurman says:
I haven’t had a chance to use it on the iPad because the feature oddly requires an M1 model and doesn’t work on the A12Z iPad from 2020. Apple says the feature “requires large internal memory, incredibly fast storage, and flexible external display I/O, all of which are delivered by iPads with the M1 chip.
Apple’s M2 processor would theoretically make the iPad Pro more prepped to act in a Mac-like manner. The M2 is faster and sports more memory bandwidth — a necessity when displaying apps between different screens, which is what Stage Manager helps you do. It supports up to 24GB of RAM, a specification you’d typically find in a laptop. The M2 also has a 10-core GPU, up from eight cores in the M1.
It’s probably safe to wait out the summer for a new iPad release later this spring, especially if you’ve been anticipating upgrading for a while. Though it’s also possible Apple will wait it out to next year before pushing through a reprised iPad Pro model since the new M1 iPad Pro has only been available to buy since last spring.