Sometime in the near-ish future, Apple is going to probably launch a new iPad Pro model. That device will look largely like the existing model (last refreshed in 2020), but with some key changes for potential new owners. Like an upgraded processor, for instance.
Expectations are high that Apple is going to use the “A14X” processor under the hood of the new iPad Pro, and we may actually have our first signs that that is indeed the case. That’s according to a report from 9to5Mac today, which states that the latest beta of iOS 14.5 has revealed the upcoming chip.
The original article notes that every processor has an internal codename for the company. In this case the processor is codenamed “13G”. The fifth developer beta of iOS 14.5, which Apple seeded earlier today, references a GPU associated with the codenamed processor, and that codename is not currently used in any existing Apple product.
The A14X processor will be a variant of the existing A14 Bionic processor, which Apple uses in the latest iPad Air and the iPhone 12 lineup.
Things get interesting when the report notes that the new processor is based on the T8103, which is the codename for Apple’s M1 processor used in the current MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. That lines up with a report from Bloomberg earlier this month, which stated the upcoming processor in the new iPad Pro would be “on par” with the M1 chip.
One more tidbit from the report:
As rumors suggest that the only new iOS device to be introduced in the first half of 2021 will be the next-generation iPad Pro, it’s hard to imagine that the A14X chip we’ve discovered is destined for another device — at least for now. 9to5Mac has also learned that the codenames for the new iPads are J517, J518, J522, and J523.
All signs seem to point to a launch of a new iPad Pro with a powerful new processor under the hood. The rumor mill is pointing to April as the launch month, and, if that is indeed the case, we don’t have long to wait before things get official.
Are you planning on upgrading to the iPad Pro whenever Apple launches it?