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New iPad Pro rumored to debut with M4 chip

New iPad Pro logo on the back


Last updated

A new rumor claims that the forthcoming iPad Pro, scheduled to debut on May 7, could be the first Apple product with the next-generation M4 chip powering it.

It seems unlikely that the iPad Pro would skip the M3 chip outright, or that it would appear in an iPad ahead of any Mac. However, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims in his Sunday newsletter there is "a strong possibility" that it will have the M4 on board.

He added in his Power On newsletter that he believes Apple will market the pro tablet as "its first truly AI-powered device."

The iPad Pro is also expected to gain an OLED display, which could help make the device thinner than previous models. Apple is also said to be planning to reposition the FaceTime front camera, and release redesigned accessories including a new Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil.

He suggests that an iPad Pro debut of the M4 chip could set the stage for more M4-based Macs and A18-based iPhone models. If the M4 iPad Pro debut is accurate, it would be the shortest cycle of Apple Silicon updates yet, with the gap between releases being only seven months, versus about 10 from M2 to M3.

An expanded Neural Engine and greater machine learning or AI capabilities in forthcoming products are expected to be a major part of this June's Worldwide Developer Conference. That event will be held on June 10-14th, and again be mostly online with a special in-person event at Apple Park.



40 Comments

aderutter 18 Years · 625 comments

This has been rumoured previously and if true might mean we get Mac Mini & Mac Studio M4 sooner than some are predicting? 

Either way, the new large iPad Pro & new Pencil are likely going to perform brilliantly with the upcoming ZBrush for iPad 😁

3 Likes · 0 Dislikes
jbirdiikun 2 Years · 4 comments

I suppose any chance of the iPad mini getting the M4 is nonexistent..? 

4 Likes · 0 Dislikes
narwhal 7 Years · 127 comments

Qualcomm and Microsoft will debut Snapdragon X Elite Windows laptops in May that they claim match the specs of a base model M3. I suspect Apple wants to release a faster iPad before then to take a bit of wind from their sails.

1 Like · 0 Dislikes
nubus 9 Years · 644 comments

It doesn't make sense to ship any AI product before WWDC. There is no new iPadOS/AI to make use of that new AI power.
Even worse for Air as it will be obsolete on arrival.

Launching M4 now will make MBA M3 "the last student computer without AI". It is, but Apple shouldn't put back-to-school sales at risk.
Same for iPhone. We're 4-5 months from next gen. No way that Apple will go full Osborne and kill all shipping products now without new products.

WWDC should be XCode AI + frameworks using very limited memory + the message that everything is possible with 18 TOPS and 6-8 GB as that is A16/M3.
A18/A18 Pro/M4 can deliver a new level of performance but iPhone has to be first.

3 Likes · 0 Dislikes
jellybelly 16 Years · 142 comments

narwhal said:
Qualcomm and Microsoft will debut Snapdragon X Elite Windows laptops in May that they claim match the specs of a base model M3. I suspect Apple wants to release a faster iPad before then to take a bit of wind from their sails. CBv 

I doubt Apple could have based a surprise like this on recent public information of Qualcomm and Microsoft news or even ‘insider’ hunches of those plans. 


The  Apple Silicon chips may take two years to design the chip/package while working with TSMC engineers and planners to know when production quantities will reach critical mass necessary for a product release. Then there’s designing the iPad (in parallel to chip ramp up, as well as after test chips are available to test the new chip in the new iPad design, testing sequences of revisions etc.— prior to start of iPad production and assembly one or two months ago to announce May 9 and release prior to WWDC opening. (So developers can try new software tools on the new AI functionality). 

It would be a major feat of secrecy to have this rumor only drop now.

And I hope that’s the case.  It would change the yearly sales pattern, increasing/boosting iPad sales quite significantly. 

Apple would get a lot of attention if this happens, which only spurs further sales—a virtuous circle.  It’ll help the stock price as well. 

But it’s such a difficult feat—so while I won’t count on it, I sure have my fingers crossed. However unlikely, I want this to be true.  

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