Apple’s current M4 Pad Pro
A new report backs up previous claims that an iPad Pro with an M5 processor will be released in the second half of 2025, and adds that it is already in testing.
Previous rumors have claimed that the expected M5 iPad Pro will be released in late 2025 — and be only a minor update. According to Bloomberg, however, this next iPad Pro could be earlier than expected, with the new estimate saying only that it will be released in the second half of 2025.
The report specifically says that the M5 iPad Pro is currently in what it describes as advanced testing, ahead of manufacturing and mass production. Also describing it as late-stage testing, the report says that there will be four models, and they are codenamed J817, J818, J820, and J821.
It’s not clear why J819 has been skipped in that naming, but it is clear that the four variants will be:
- 11-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi only)
- 11-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi and Cellular)
- 13-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi only)
- 13-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi and Cellular)
The cellular editions of the M5 iPad Pro are not believed to use Apple’s own C1 modem, or even a later model such as the expected C2. This new report further claims that Apple has already begun work on an M6-based iPad Pro, and those models will include Apple modems when they are released in 2027.
Apple last updated the iPad Pro in May 2024, when it added an M4 processor plus OLED screen and a markedly thinner design.
It appears that Apple expected the higher-quality OLED display to drive upgrade sales, but this did not happen.
Part of the reason may be that previously, a key differentiator for the iPad Pro was that it included a 13-inch model. Alongside the OLED iPad Pro, though, Apple released a 13-inch version of the iPad Air, which may have cannibalized sales.
Apple has now also released an updated second version of that 13-inch iPad Air, giving it an M3 processor.
