Report: iPad Pro upgrade also this year
According to a report from South Korea, Apple is preparing a new iPad Pro – the second with an OLED screen. The innovations are likely to be limited.
The iPad Pro M4 in 11 and 13 inch versions.
(Image: Apple)
Apple is apparently planning new models this year for the iPad Pro, which was equipped with a particularly thin housing and OLED screens for the first time last year. This is reported by an electronics trade journal from South Korea. However, no major innovations are expected: The new version is “slightly changed”, it is a “minor change” model.
All iPads new except for the mini in one year?
There had previously been speculation that Apple would slightly overhaul the iPad Air in 2025 – in a seventh generation with 11 and 13 inches, which would receive an M3 or (hopefully) M4 instead of the M2 from last year. Apple appears to be pursuing a similar approach with the iPad Pro. However, this would then have to jump straight to the M5, Apple's yet-to-be-unveiled next Apple Silicon SoC, which will also be used in the Mac. In 2024, Apple unusually used the iPad Pro to introduce the M4 – back in May. Macs with the chip followed months later.
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It is conceivable that Apple is now planning a similar approach for the M5, which could be built using the 2 nm process and thus promises some efficiency and speed improvements. Alternatively, Apple could also wait until October with the upgrade, the “normal” annual date for new iPads. It has also been rumored that there will be a new standard iPad (11th generation) in 2025, presumably in the spring. This model will be the first to feature Apple Intelligence, i.e., a faster chip. Nothing has yet been heard about the iPad Mini. This could mean that Apple will overhaul all iPads except for the compact one this year.
Component production starts in spring
According to the report by The Elec, which is published in Seoul, the South Korean company LX Semicon could supply display driver ICs (DDIs) for the new iPad Pro models for the first time. Components could therefore go into mass production in April or May, which suggests that Apple is planning an iPad Pro M5 for the fall.
The inclusion of LX Semicon in Apple's supplier portfolio for the iPad Pro would be a setback for Samsung's subsidiary LSI, which has so far supplied DDIs for the iPad Pro OLEDs all by itself. The panels are said to come from both LG and Samsung. However, it is not yet clear whether LX Semicon will receive a go-ahead from Apple for mass production. If not, Samsung may take over LSI completely again.
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