Gurman: iPad Pro With 'M2' Chip and MagSafe Charging Likely to Launch in Fall 2022

[bondr006]

But this is not the intended use case for an iPad. For me, the iPad really makes sense to me, since I stopped using the Magic Keyboard case and started to use only my fingers and the Apple Pencil for doing things on the iPad. When you do that, the iPad becomes a totally other device then a mere laptop computer replacement.

It may not be the intended use case scenario but the iPad is not limited to its intended use case scenario. It would be very hard for the iPad to replace a laptop without the flexibility of being to use it like one if so desired. That’s what makes it such a magical device. It can easily for many of us, cover multiple bases. I use the Apple Pencil for hand written notes and sketching but also work with contracts, documents, and pdf’s….all of which would be virtually impossible without a keyboard. I love the simplicity and mobility of my iPad Pro while at the same time no longer needing a laptop for my work or personal life.

 

[TechRunner]

I was thinking about trading in my 7th gen iPad for an 11" iPP, but I'm perfectly fine waiting to see what happens in the fall, if anything.

 

[jz0309]

Maybe just maybe MagSafe II will use the magnetic sections of the ring for more than just attaching and instead be used like the three pin SmartConnector evolved and then the option of Qi will also be provided. Think outside the box.

magsafe aids efficiency as it ensures best alignment of the coils, still efficiency is below 90% which for battery sizes like iPad Pro is bad.
Funny that no-one published efficiency of their wireless chargers, that's what regulators like EU should focus on

 

[hydrochloride]

It may not be the intended use case scenario but the iPad is not limited to its intended use case scenario. It would be very hard for the iPad to replace a laptop without the flexibility of being to use it like one if so desired. That’s what makes it such a magical device. It can easily for many of us, cover multiple bases. I use the Apple Pencil for hand written notes and sketching but also work with contracts, documents, and pdf’s….all of which would be virtually impossible without a keyboard. I love the simplicity and mobility of my iPad Pro while at the same time no longer needing a laptop for my work or personal life.

Agreed, but on an iPad the keyboard is - at least from my point of view - only intended as a temporary extension. You have to write a longer text? OK, slap on the keyboard, write your thing, then get rid of it again, and use your fingers and Pencil as input devices.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

In the last two years, since the debut of Apple Silicon Macs, the Mac lineup has been outselling iPad at least from a revenue perspective.

Pretty much every quarter the mac generates more revenue than the iPad, however the Mac has far more expensive options… so it’s hard to say whether the iPad or the Mac generates more profit or not…

Revenue and unit sales are two different things. Unit sales represents users, some with a Mac, most with PC’s and some that have no computer, looking at all the choices available and buying the one that fits their need. There are millions more deciding that “this iPad is what I want” than “this Mac is what I want”.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Most mainstream users don't need a PC, Mac or an iPad. All they need is a smartphone.

Which is, indeed, the bigger picture. There are millions of PC’s NOT being sold today because PC’s simply aren’t required for much of what many folks in the world want to do.

 

[MrGimper]

I'd be happy if they just put a damn Taptic Engine in the iPad... No idea why it doesn't have one.

 

[hydrochloride]

I'd be happy if they just put a damn Taptic Engine in the iPad... No idea why it doesn't have one.

I guess it is difficult to produce this Taptic effect in the big body of an iPad. You would surely need multiple engines for that.

 

[jclardy]

The A12X/Z generation of iPad's has been overkill for anything on iPadOS since 2018...we are now 4 years later with M2 iPad's on the horizon which will smoke the A12, but at the same time, an iPadOS that hasn't expanded in capability at all.

I use an iPad as a secondary device to my Mac and it frustrates me constantly. The files app opening one specific app no matter what you do (And a single click performing that action rather than selecting.) Not knowing which apps are actually performing background tasks (Again...files app doing a transfer to my NAS, you can only know if you open the files app, no home screen indicators or activity indicators anywhere in the OS, not even in the multitasking menu.)

Even still, I continue to use the iPad because it is just really good for note taking and reading, but it could easily be so much more if iPadOS got features more than once every 2 years. I enjoy using my iPad more than my Mac, but you hit a wall once you want to do something beyond using one app for one task.

 

[joiwomcow]

Here's why the iPad is a failure as a computer:
- I use git for version control.
- I use TeX to edit and compile documents
- I use Goodnotes for document markup.

Each of these three apps has its very own file system. It is a constant burdensome agony to export files from one app to the other and back again.
The iPad (specifically goodnotes) makes an excellent, searchable electronic notepad. And that's what an iPad is for.

 

[Tsepz]

In my mind, the story and focus should be on the new iPadOS. The M2 chip and MagSafe are gimmick sales tactics without a more robust OS.

Agreed. Along with Pro apps for these iPad Pro’s.
Apple can literally use the M1 for the next few releases at different levels of BIN and optimization and probably continue to be well ahead of the competition, but it would be great to see iPad OS become more and more of its own robust OS and not just the lesser side piece of iOS, along with software that takes full advantage of this and the hardware.

EDIT:

Seems you’ve caused some emotional damage for some of the hardcore zealots who want things to simply stay as is ??

If some of these zealots were at Apple, we’d still be rocking 3.5inch screens and 2G only on iPhones.

 

[hydrochloride]

Here's why the iPad is a failure as a computer:
- I use git for version control.
- I use TeX to edit and compile documents
- I use Goodnotes for document markup.

Each of these three apps has its very own file system. It is a constant burdensome agony to export files from one app to the other and back again.
The iPad (specifically goodnotes) makes an excellent, searchable electronic notepad. And that's what an iPad is for.

I guess approx. 99.9% of iPad users never used Git or Tex, nor plan to do so.

 

[hydrochloride]

Here's why the iPad is a failure as a computer:
- I use git for version control.
- I use TeX to edit and compile documents
- I use Goodnotes for document markup.

Each of these three apps has its very own file system. It is a constant burdensome agony to export files from one app to the other and back again.
The iPad (specifically goodnotes) makes an excellent, searchable electronic notepad. And that's what an iPad is for.

I guess approx. 99.9% of iPad users never used Git or Tex, nor plan to do so.

 

[EugW]

I guess approx. 99.9% of iPad users never used Git or Tex, nor plan to do so.

Indeed. In fact, I'd guess 95% of Mac users have never used Git or Tex either, nor plan to do so.

 

[hydrochloride]

Indeed. In fact, I'd guess 95% of Mac users have never used Git or Tex either, nor plan to do so.

Agreed. But laptops simply have another use case than tablets, which includes serving as main computers for devs. From my point of view, the limitations of iPadOS are part of its simplicity and elegance.

 

[svish]

Faster MagSafe charging speeds on iPad will be required due to the bigger battery.

 

[hydrochloride]

Faster MagSafe charging speeds on iPad will be required due to the bigger battery.

I guess MagSafe on iPad will be more like MagSafe on Macbook. An iPhone-like MagSafe would take far too long to charge the iPad‘s battery from 0 to 100%.

 

[bondr006]

Here's why the iPad is a failure as a computer:
- I use git for version control.
- I use TeX to edit and compile documents
- I use Goodnotes for document markup.

Each of these three apps has its very own file system. It is a constant burdensome agony to export files from one app to the other and back again.
The iPad (specifically goodnotes) makes an excellent, searchable electronic notepad. And that's what an iPad is for.

A failure as a computer to you. An impressive very capable tablet computer to me. It easily replaced my MBP for both my real estate businesses. I do realize it cannot do this for everyone, so I will not characterize it with a blanket statement that it can and should do this for everyone. At the same time it is mischaracterizing the iPad to say it is a failure as a computer. To some it can, to some it can't, and to some it is somewhere in between. The one thing I think we all can agree on is that iPad OS has some evolving to do but has come quite a ways from its humble beginnings.

 

[obviouslogic]

In my mind, the story and focus should be on the new iPadOS. The M2 chip and MagSafe are gimmick sales tactics without a more robust OS.

Future proofing with a powerful SoC and damage proofing with a fall-away power connector are gimmicks? Ok. Welcome to your world/mind, I guess?

 

[Neodym]

M1, M2, M3, just seems like overkill for the software. We must've hit the diminishing return on tablets, haven't we? I still use iPad Air 3, mainly for consumption, magazines, movies, shows, etc., never stops or slows down. I know my use case is not as intensive as others, but sheeeesshh!

Take a real demanding game, like XCOM2 on the iPad (shame on me for not looking exclusively at work and business scenarios ). Already the long loading time shows that it's testing the limits of the device. Just yesterday I played it with shared screen on my 4k TV. After a couple minutes in, audio and video on TV started to exhibit noticeable stutter, while the internal display continued to run smoothly .

As the troubles did not appear immediately, but only after a while, when the iPad was heated up - maybe it had to throttle. And as I never had stutter with other content being shared, I'd rule out problems with router and/or AirPlay.

It also heats up while playing without screen sharing, though there's no stutter noticeable then. And it definitely heats up way less than its 2020 predecessor and runs longer on battery while playing.

So it makes you wonder, if M1, M2, M3 would really be overkill or rather "not that relevant" for _certain_ use cases ...

 

[obviouslogic]

Agreed. Along with Pro apps for these iPad Pro’s.
Apple can literally use the M1 for the next few releases at different levels of BIN and optimization and probably continue to be well ahead of the competition, but it would be great to see iPad OS become more and more of its own robust OS and not just the lesser side piece of iOS, along with software that takes full advantage of this and the hardware.

EDIT:

Seems you’ve caused some emotional damage for some of the hardcore zealots who want things to simply stay as is ??

If some of these zealots were at Apple, we’d still be rocking 3.5inch screens and 2G only on iPhones.

Moving the iPad Pro to M2 isn't about "power" per se, it's about using the M2 in more devices, which brings down the cost of fabricating it. Which is why the iPad Air now uses the M1 as well.

The A-series sells in 100's a million devices a year. The M-series, tens of millions. So moving some of those A-series devices to the M-series could help cut costs. Expect to see the M1 in the AppleTV next.

There's also the efficiency factor. The M2 will be much more efficient than the M1 which could help battery life.

 

[bondr006]

Future proofing with a powerful SoC and damage proofing with a fall-away power connector are gimmicks? Ok. Welcome to your world/mind, I guess?

With an M1 chip and 8 to 16gb ram the iPad Pros are safely future proofed with the existing iPad OS. I agree wholeheartedly with @Apple_Robert that the focus of improvement needs to be on the OS catching up to the abilities of the existing Pro hardware. Why do they call it pro when all iPads run the same OS? Because they put a laptop processor in it that can't do anything more than it can in the non pro iPads? The OS definitely needs to be the main focus.

 

[Neodym]

The one thing I think we all can agree on is that iPad OS has some evolving to do but has come quite a ways from its humble beginnings.

The question is, how much evolving is actually possible?! I mean, you can only get so far with a touch-based UI. The success of mouse-centric UI's is partly related to decoupling clicks and movement. This is not fully transferable to a touch-based UI.

 

[obviouslogic]

With an M1 chip and 8 to 16gb ram the iPad Pros are safely future proofed with the existing iPad OS. I agree wholeheartedly with @Apple_Robert that the focus of improvement needs to be on the OS catching up to the abilities of the existing Pro hardware. Why do they call it pro when all iPad run the same OS? Because they put a laptop processor in it that can't do anything more than it can in the non pro iPads? The OS definitely needs to be the main focus.

Ok, well how does focusing on the OS impede their ability to use a newer SoC? It doesn't. There's no reason to hold back from updating the SoC when it has nothing to do with how and when the OS gets updated. Yes, you may feel the OS needs to be more "pro", but that has nothing to do with putting a new SoC in it. One that's more powerful and much more efficient.

Putting an M2 in it has nothing to do with the OS team from doing what they need to do to make the OS more "pro".

 

[bondr006]

But this is not the intended use case for an iPad. For me, the iPad really makes sense to me, since I stopped using the Magic Keyboard case and started to use only my fingers and the Apple Pencil for doing things on the iPad. When you do that, the iPad becomes a totally other device then a mere laptop computer replacement.

Exactly! That is why I love my iPad Pro. For my needs I would rather have a tablet computer that can also be a laptop than a laptop that can't be a tablet any day.