To help differentiate the lineup from the iPhone Air, the M6 iPad Pro is expected to get the same cooling technology that's in the iPhone 17 Pro in the spring of 2027.

Apple added vapor chamber cooling to the A19 Pro, giving the iPhone 17 Pro a considerable boost to its performance. It probably won't be the only chip to benefit from the thermal management addition.

According to Sunday's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman hears that it is on Apple's roadmap for the iPad Pro. Work is underway on adding the feature, with the intention of it being included in the next bout of iPad Pro upgrades.

Based on an 18-month upgrade cycle for the iPad Pro line, Gurman suspects that vapor chamber models of iPad Pro could arrive by spring 2027, and use the M6 chip.

The move could be a big one to differentiate the iPad Pro from the iPad Air. While they may use similar chips, the Pro-limited vapor chamber will give that line an advantage over the Air.

Gurman has a pretty good track record when it comes to rumor reporting. It's also quite believable as a thing that Apple can incorporate into future models.

Compact cooling

Vaopr chamber is a method of cooling a chip or component using liquid. As the name implies, it is a chamber inside a device containing a liquid that evaporates and condenses over time.

Part of the chamber resides over the chip, heating up the liquid and making it evaporate. That vapor flows to a different part of the chamber and condenses, before a wick pulls the condensation back to the main pool.

The idea is that the vapor moves heat away from the source to another area. Doing so transfers heat away from the processor and minimizes the possibility of thermal throttling.

This technique works for an iPhone, since it is a small device with constrained internals that could benefit from a reasonably flexible and efficient cooling process. It makes sense for Apple to adopt it for other products, with the iPad facing very similar thermal management challenges.

Indeed, the concept could be expanded into other areas, like a MacBook Air. That model lacks active cooling and somewhat relies on the aluminum casing to help reduce temperatures.

That said vapor chamber is a technique that should only really be used where other better cooling systems are impractical to implement. For example, a MacBook Pro and a Mac Studio are larger devices with efficient active cooling systems.

Apple could well expand vapor chamber to more hardware, but only when there isn't a better option available.