Apple is apparently planning new models this year for the iPad Pro, which debuted last year with a notably thinner housing and OLED screen. An electronics magazine report From South Korea. However, no major innovations can be expected: the new version is “slightly redesigned” and is a “minor facelift” model.
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All iPads new except Mini in a year?
There was already speculation that Apple would slightly overhaul the iPad Air in 2025 – with a seventh generation with 11 and 13 inches, which will receive an M3 or (hopefully) M4 instead of last year’s M2. Apple appears to be taking a similar approach with the iPad Pro. But going straight to the M5, Apple has not yet introduced the next Apple Silicon SoC, which will also be used in Macs. In 2024, Apple unusually used the iPad Pro to introduce the M4 in May. Months later, Macs with chips arrived.
It can be speculated that Apple is now planning a similar approach with the M5, which may be built using a 2nm process and thus promises some improvements in efficiency and speed. Alternatively, Apple could also wait until October, the “normal” annual date for new iPads, for an upgrade. We’ve already heard that a new standard iPad (11th generation) will arrive in 2025, possibly in the spring. It is believed that this model will be able to handle Apple Intelligence for the first time, i.e. will get a faster chip. We haven’t heard anything about the iPad Mini alone. This could mean that Apple will make changes to all iPads except the compact ones this year.
Component production begins in spring
According to The Elec report published in Seoul, it is now being said that South Korean company LX Semicon may supply the display driver IC (DDI) for the new iPad Pro model for the first time. So the components could go into mass production in April or May, which suggests Apple is planning the iPad Pro M5 for the fall.
The addition of LX Semicon to Apple’s supplier portfolio for the iPad Pro will be a blow to Samsung subsidiary LSI, which previously supplied DDI for the iPad Pro OLED itself. The panels are said to come from both LG and Samsung. However, it is not yet clear whether Apple will greenlight the LX Semicon for mass production. If not, Samsung may completely take over LSI again.
(B.Sc.)
