2020 iPad Pro lacks Apple's U1 chip, report says

After weeks of speculation and claims to the contrary, a report on Monday supposedly confirms Apple did not integrate its U1 Ultra Wideband chip in the 2020 iPad Pro.

Citing a "little birdie," Daring Fireball's John Gruber confirmed "there is no U1 chip in the new iPad Pro." The reported validation from a reputable insider seemingly snuffs weeks of back and forth on the subject.

Introduced with iPhone 11 last year, the U1 enables UWB features like directional AirDrop and was expected to see integration in subsequent Apple devices. Indeed, 9to5Mac in March claimed to have discovered evidence of an iPad Pro with U1 chip in a then-current iOS 13.4 beta release.

Apple itself did not mention the U1 in iPad Pro's press release or subsequent marketing materials, including a webpage detailing the tablet's technical specifications. As Gruber writes, "[I]f there were one, Apple would have told us so."

An initial hardware teardown conducted by iFixit found no trace of the UWB silicon, and a final de-shielding of the iPad Pro's logic board last week appeared to confirm the chip's absence. The repair specialist told AppleInsider it concluded work on the device and would not investigate further.

In its own testing, AppleInsider confirmed both 2020 iPad Pro iterations, running the latest iOS 13.4 software, are incompatible with iPhone 11's directional AirDrop feature.

There are a number of reasons why Apple decided not to include the U1 in the latest iPad Pro variant, from supply chain availability to incompatibility with the A12 processor family. That said, the UWB hardware should show up in a future , as it is expected to play an important role in the support of upcoming products and services like AirTags.

While mere speculation, the U1 could surface in a forthcoming iPad Pro model with mini LED backlighting rumored to see release later this year.

12 Comments

curtis hannah 1834 comments · 12 Years

About 4 years ago

Not really a surprise, this iPad having an iterative A12 series processor instead of A13 means they have more plans coming soon.

bestkeptsecret 4289 comments · 13 Years

The iPad Pro saw no update last year, so I understand that Apple was anxious to release an update.

What I don't understand is why they would release one now, if they plan to release another later this year with the UWB chip, mini-LED backlighting and an A13/ A14 variant processor.

If AirTags rely on the UWB for more accuracy, it seems strange to release a new iPad Pro without it. I could understand if this was just an iPad Air or iPad, but it is not.

I really wonder what the rush was to get it out of the door.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

I have some clueless speculation.

Apple doesn’t include always support the same stuff between the phone and the pad. For example, there isn’t an Activity app on the iPad.

So I’m thinking that the Airtag stuff was only ever going to be supported on the iPhone.

SoundJudgment 187 comments · 7 Years

Apple. Leaving out today, what we'll all cry about tomorrow.

rogifan_new 4297 comments · 9 Years

bestkeptsecret said:

The iPad Pro saw no update last year, so I understand that Apple was anxious to release an update.
What I don't understand is why they would release one now, if they plan to release another later this year with the UWB chip, mini-LED backlighting and an A13/ A14 variant processor.
If AirTags rely on the UWB for more accuracy, it seems strange to release a new iPad Pro without it. I could understand if this was just an iPad Air or iPad, but it is not.
I really wonder what the rush was to get it out of the door.

Jason Snell thinks it’s because this new magic keyboard was ready and Apple didn’t want to wait until the fall or spring 2021 to release it. Of course it works with the 2018 iPad Pro too but the camera cutout is different. Some are comparing this to the iPad 3/4 situation but I don’t think it’s the same. The iPad 3 was not a good product. The hardware inside couldn’t really support the Retina display. The iPad 4 fixed that. In this case there don’t appear to be any hardware issues with this device. Maybe they just wanted a machine with lidar that developers could get their hands on before the new iPhones ship this fall.