iPad Pro With Apple's 5G Modem, iPad 12, and More Already Rumored

[MacRumors]

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today shared some details about future devices.

In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple is already in the early stages of developing iPad Pro models with an M6 chip and an Apple-designed 5G modem, an entry-level iPad 12 with a newer chip, and MacBook Air models with an M5 chip.

Apple is currently aiming to release the iPad Pro models with its own 5G modem in 2027, according to Gurman. This will likely be Apple's C2 modem. The current cellular iPad Pro models are equipped with Qualcomm modems.

Apple's first C1 modem debuted in the iPhone 16e last month.

A new iPad Pro generation typically launches every 18 months or so. The current models were released in May 2024, and the next models with the M5 chip will likely launch in October this year. If this trend continues, the iPad Pro models with the M6 chip and an Apple-designed 5G modem would likely be released in the first half of 2027.

Gurman did not say when the new entry-level iPad and MacBook Air models will launch, but 2026 is a safe bet.

At this point, no other major changes have been rumored for these devices.

Article Link: iPad Pro With Apple's 5G Modem, iPad 12, and More Already Rumored

 

[DHagan4755]

October 2025 is looking like a very busy month for Apple product announcements.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Put a cellular modem in a MacBook for goodness sake!!!

 

[Capeto]

iPhone 17 is well underway, iPhone 18 is coming down the pipeline (expect it in 2026), and Apple is planning iPhone 19 models afterwards. Give me $200,000

 

[Joshuaorange]

As long as it can’t run Mac OS, it’s useless to me.

 

[klasma]

White and black iPads like that would be nice.

 

[Eminemdrdre00]

Put a cellular modem in a MacBook for goodness sake!!!

It'd be nice, but using your iPhone as a hotspot is such a seamless process. It connects automatically, you don't even need a password.

 

[knappeduivel]

As long as it can’t run Mac OS, it’s useless to me.

It can but it won't

 

[120FPS]

Hold on. Does that mean there is no Wi-Fi 7?

Edit: Sorry just saw C2 will mean Wifi 7

 

[cardfan]

Don’t really buy iPads anymore.

 

[AdamHarbour]

Don’t really buy iPads anymore.

Don’t really buy Mac anymore ! Choice

 

[hokuspokus]

I'm interested in hearing about a single SoC with the modem integrated like Qualcomm's mobile/PC SoCs and what kind of savings that provides.

 

[Joshuaorange]

It can but it won't

That’s the same thing.

 

[Joshuaorange]

It can but it won't

That’s the same thing.

 

[Premium1]

I'm interested in hearing about a single SoC with the modem integrated like Qualcomm's mobile/PC SoCs and what kind of savings that provides.

The only savings it provides is to apple's bottom line. If you think it will translate to lower prices you are in for a ride.

 

[gusping]

More tandem OLED PWM flicker for me. Yippie

 

[kobberrød]

I actually wonder what features apart from the new SoC can Apple include in MacBook Air M5. Is it gonna be a very modest update? Better screen is rumoured for later (M6 presumably).

 

[switz]

Do not get your shorts in a wedgee.

All the conversations up to the moment Apple makes a formal annoucement are about vaporware, not hardware. There are lots of prototype devices that never see a production line.

Apple Car anyone?

 

[segfaultdotorg]

The camera wart looks smaller. I wish they would get rid of it entirely.

 

[rp2011]

I love my M4 iPad Pro; I mostly use it for sculpting in Nomad and Z Brush and painting 3D models in Procreate, but the iPad Pro requires more memory than the 8 to keep these programs from crashing on more complex projects, if it can even load the assets. I must simplify my projects and go back and forth to make them iPro Pro friendly which shouldn't be the case. Hopefully, the iPad Pro ditches the 8GB standard RAM to 16 like all the other Macs. The 1 and 2 TB models are far too expensive for that memory upgrade.

 

[theanimala]

I upgraded my IPad Pro 11” with the 12x processor to the Pro 11” with the M2 processor. I only did it because I was out of storage space (lowly 64GB). Besides the extra capacity for storing movies and shows while traveling, I notice nearly 0 difference between the two. Putting in an M-whatever processor will make no difference if they don’t improve IPad OS.

 

[klasma]

I upgraded my IPad Pro 11” with the 12x processor to the Pro 11” with the M2 processor. I only did it because I was out of storage space (lowly 64GB). Besides the extra capacity for storing movies and shows while traveling, I notice nearly 0 difference between the two. Putting in an M-whatever processor will make no difference if they don’t improve IPad OS.

How would the M2 make more of a difference after they’d improve iPadOS? To me the SoC and improving iPadOS are largely orthogonal to each other. Most tasks don’t need a lot of processing power for the user to be productive, instead it requires good UI and OS features. And the compute-heavy tasks that actually can leverage a lot of processing power are already possible to implement as iPad apps today.

 

[hokuspokus]

The only savings it provides is to apple's bottom line. If you think it will translate to lower prices you are in for a ride.

I was more thinking of power and space savings.

 

[kellen]

I hope it has wireless charging. Will make me upgrade. Otherwise I’ll hold on for a couple years.

 

[SoldOnApple]

iPads finally have retro game emulators in the App Store, so the more processing power they have the better, because those emulators can't access JIT yet.