Back in January, a Twitter tipster with the address @dylandkt said to expect the 2022 iPad Pro models to be powered by the unannounced M2 chip. The latter will most likely be the sequel to the 5nm M1 which contains 16 billion transistors and is manufactured by TSMC using the latter’s 5nm process node. The M2 could be introduced in the second half of this year and be built using the foundry’s 3nm process node.
Apple recently introduced the last chip in the M1 series. This series, created by Apple to replace Intel’s processors used for the Mac, includes the M1 (16 billion transistors), the M1 Pro (33.7 billion transistors), the M1 Max (57 billion transistors), and the M1 Ultra (114 billion transistors). The M1 Ultra is made by combining two M1 Max SoCs.
The currently available iPad Pro (2021) is powered by the M1. If the 2022 iPad Pro series is powered by the M2, it is going to be quite a powerful tablet. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman discussed the iPad Pro (2022) in the Q&A section of Sunday’s Power On newsletter. According to The Verge, the Bloomberg scribe expects the top-of-the-line Apple tablet to be released this coming fall with support for the iPhone’s MagSafe charging platform and the M2 chipset under the hood.
The last major update for the iPad Pro took place in 2018 when the iPad Pro gained flat corners and the Lightning port was replaced with USB-C. Touch ID was replaced by Face ID which will work in any orientation. Last year, Gurman predicted wireless charging capabilities for the 2022 iPad Pro along with a glass back. At this point, it still isn’t clear what Apple is going to do with the back.
Let’s return to the M2 for a second. Gurman says that it will have the same eight-core architecture as the M1, and deliver slightly faster performance. If built on the 3nm node as rumored, it should also conserve energy allowing the 2022 iPad Pro to feature improved battery life.
