Main Highlights:
- According to Apple watcher Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple is hoping to introduce an iPad Pro with the rumored M2 CPU between September and November of this year.
- Gurman thinks Apple will make a significant update to the next generation of iPad Pros, including MagSafe charging.
- As Gurman points out, Apple last upgraded the iPad Pro in 2018, including a softer-edged design, an edge-to-edge display, and a USB-C connector.
- This improvement has come over a year and a half after Apple debuted the iPad Pro 10.5 in 2017.
According to Apple tracker Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter, Apple aims to ship an iPad Pro with the rumored M2 processor between September and November of this year. Gurman anticipates Apple to release a significant upgrade for the next generation of iPad Pros, which will reportedly feature MagSafe charging capabilities. As Gurman notes, Apple last updated the iPad Pro in 2018, when the company launched a design with softer edges, an edge-to-edge display, and a USB-C port. This upgrade arrived almost a year and a half after the iPad Pro 10.5 was released in 2017.
This year, Apple is on pace to follow the same trend, with the latest generation of M1-equipped iPad Pros scheduled to ship in May 2021. With an anticipated September to November 2022 debut date, Apple will spend between one year and four months and one year and six months preparing for the next model.
Earlier this month, Apple showcased the latest iPad Air during its “Peak Performance” presentation but omitted an upgraded iPad Pro. Gurman predicted that the iPad Pro would include wireless charging and a glass back last year. Although 9to5Mac confirms this allegation, its sources indicate that Apple may have abandoned the glass back design in favor of aluminum since with a glass Apple logo.
There has also been little information on the speculated M2 processor, which Apple has yet to confirm. Gurman believes the chip’s CPU will be somewhat quicker than its predecessor and retain the same eight-core design. He also expects Apple to use the M2 in the upcoming iPad Pro and the reported 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and 24-inch iMac. Predictions regarding the revamped MacBook Air’s M2 processor are divided — Gurman believes it will feature the speculated chip, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes it will use the M1.
Apple’s transition to ARM Chips:
Apple is virtually finished transitioning to its chips. At the company’s recent spring presentation, the Mac Studio and its M1 Ultra CPU — its most powerful chip — were unveiled. However, it suggested a possible future for Apple’s computers. For the first time, Apple’s whole chipset is available.
The first critical point is that Apple is now a chipmaking powerhouse to be reckoned with (if it wasn’t previously). The overwhelmingly favorable response to the initial wave of M1 machines and the relative success of the company’s M1 Pro and M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro laptops last year cemented the company’s credentials. However, with the M1 Ultra, Apple unleashed its most powerful CPU to date, touting it as the “world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.”
These chips are already a point of differentiation for computers. Purchasing a Mac is no longer just about acquiring Apple’s software or aesthetic design – it’s about getting performance and battery life that no one else can match.
Apple aimed at Intel’s top-tier CPU, the Core i9-12900K, claiming a 90% boost in multi-threaded performance over the M1 Ultra at the same power level and the ability to match Intel’s most excellent stats while using 100W less power. Apple made a similar victory lap over Nvidia’s RTX 3090 GPU, which the firm says outperforms while consuming 200W less power. (Of course, we’ll be verifying those statistics in the following days and weeks). Apple’s Silicon shift is no longer an experiment; it is Apple’s future and one that PC makers will have to consider in the future.
