The iPad Pro has been on a pretty consistent 18-month refresh cycle for a few years now, so the recent report from Bloomberg confirming a spring 2027 release for the next model isn’t a shock.

What We Know About the Next iPad Pro

There aren’t a ton of real solid rumors on what’s coming in the next iPad Pro, but we can piece together a pretty good idea of what’s coming from the few rumors we have and some logical assumptions.

Same Design

The Bloomberg article confirms that the next iPad Pro will continue the current design, introduced in 2024. I don’t think there’s a set amount of time that Apple keeps an iPad design, but seeing as the previous design lasted from 2018-2024, I think we’ll have a few more years with the current one. And honestly, I don’t see a need for a change. The current design is still very modern, thin and light, even if by the end of this year, it may no longer be the thinnest Apple device ever.

M6 or M7 Chip

One would logically expect the next iPad Pro to launch with the M6 chip, but rumors are now suggesting the M6 family of chips wouldn’t be a family at all. Apple apparently plans on only producing a base M6 chip without Pro, Max, and Ultra variants. Instead, the company plans to quickly transition to a full featured M7 generation of chips.

That puts the iPad Pro in a tricky position. If it gets the M6 chip, then it’s stuck on what feels like a stopgap chip for 18 months, but if the M7 isn’t ready by the time the next Pro is supposed to ship, then that may be the way it goes.

Either way, the iPad Pro will transition from a 3 nanometer chip to a 2 nanometer chip, which should bring greater efficiency and longer sustained performance.

Vapor Chamber May Be Coming

The iPhone 17 Pro introduced a vapor chamber, which helps more evenly disperse heat throughout the chassis of the phone when it’s under heavy load. Rumors suggest that Apple has been testing a vapor chamber for the next iPad Pro.

Thermal management is an issue for all portable devices, but it’s even more important for a phone or a tablet as they are generally passively cooled. The iPad Pro has a graphite sheet that helps with spreading heat along the body, but a vapor chamber may provide even better heat dispersion, making it so the iPad will throttle less when doing things like exporting video or using local LLMs.

Conclusion

It’s always disappointing to some when Apple doesn’t change the industrial design of a product between generations. But to me, the iPad Pro really isn’t in need of a redesign, and is still one of the best looking computers that Apple is shipping today. A spec bump update keeps its performance competitive with the needs of modern Pro users.