New iPad Pro: M5 chip in the second half of the year, M6 only in 2027 Apple Modem 43 comments
Apple is developing the next iPad Pro in-house. As one of the first devices in the second half of the year, it is expected to rely on the new M5 chip with a better manufacturing and stacking design. The new iPad Pro with M6 is also under development and could then use Apple’s in-house modem for the first time.
The current iPad Pro with M4 chip (test) was already the first to carry it in May 2024; the new SOC was only inserted into the fall MacBooks. Apple plans to plant the code names J817, J818, J820, and J821 for the new iPad Pro, as reported by Marc Gurman of Bloomberg. M5 in the next half of the year
This year, however, the release will likely be delayed: Apple is targeting production of the new models only for the “second half of the year,” meaning an announcement could only take place in July, and therefore in the summer. This would still be earlier than the new MacBooks, which won’t receive an update until the end of the year.
Stacking and Chiplets
As previous rumors have revealed, the M5 chip is to stack multiple modules for the first time and is therefore similar to AMD’s X3D processors. Larger SOCs such as the M5 Pro, which are then used in Macs, are even expected to rely on a chiplet design for the first time. The M5 family is to be manufactured again at TSMC, but using the improved 3nm N3P process. So far, N3E has been used for the M4.
M6 not expected until 2027
Internally, Apple is also already working on a model with the M6 chip. The integration of the internal C-modem is the focus of development, which Apple recently introduced in the new iPhone 16E (review). The new iPhone uses the C1 modem, which the company had developed internally under the code name “Sinope.”
Defenses for the 16E modem: Apple’s C1 is almost complete. A 4nm modem with its own RF transmission modem: Apple is developing MacBooks and Vision Pro with 5G.
An iPad Pro with the M6 chip would therefore likely use the previously suspected “Ganyide” successor, possibly the C2 chip as the modem. Gurman doesn’t comment on this and only indicates that Apple is planning a release in 2027. Then, “Prometheus” or the C3 chip would already be conceivable, according to earlier rumors. The iPad Pro with the M4 chip still uses a Qualcomm modem; the new M5 chip will likely also rely on an external modem. Topics: Apple
iPad Pro tablets What: Bloomberg
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