Last year's update to the Pro line brought significant improvements to Apple's high-end tablets.
In addition to the evolution of the Mini-LED screen of the 12,9-inch model, the brand has introduced its M1 chip, which offers incomparable processing power and better autonomy. Still, while the results are already impressive, it's working hard to deliver even faster iPad Pros this year.
We've rounded up everything there is to know about Apple's next tablet, including the latest information on its release date and price.
When will the iPad Pro (2022) be released?
We expect the new iPad Pro models to launch in fall 2022, likely at an event in September alongside the iPhone 14, or in October.
Optimists can hope to see new Pros during the highly anticipated Spring Keynote in March, but that would be a surprise. Apple has never released two generations of iPad Pro within a year of each other, and tends to leave around 14 to 17 months between launches in this line.
- iPad Pro (3rd generation): November 2018
- iPad Pro (4th generation): March 2020
- iPad Pro (5th generation): May 2021
We even noticed a relative lack of leaks from the supply chain, which suggests that Apple isn't far along in the development process.
As you can see, this timeline isn't as accurate as the Apple Watch or iPhone, which tend to debut in September each year.
If Apple continues down this path with the new models, we could see the new iPad Pro line appear in the first half of 2022, but rumors suggest something else entirely this time around. Apple would hold an event in the spring, but it would focus on the iPad Air 5 and iPhone SE 3, with Apple's Pro line expected to take center stage later in the year.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says a new iPad Pro will ship in 2022, but he hasn't given a release date yet.
Instead, it's leaker @dylandkt sharing the most accurate release rumor we've seen so far, in a now-deleted tweet, that the iPad Pro is "coming in the fall."
How much will the iPad Pro (2022) cost?
As with its release date, the eventual price of the iPad Pro (2022) is still unknown, so we will base ourselves on the initial prices of the previous models:
- 12,9-inch iPad Pro (2020): from €1
- 11-inch iPad Pro (2020): from €899
- 12,9-inch iPad Pro (2021): from €1
- 11-inch iPad Pro (2021): from €899
As you can see, Apple isn't afraid to change the prices of its iPad Pros even if it's never in a big way.
Because of this, while the 11in iPad Pro may increase slightly depending on the upgrades offered, we don't think the 12,9in model will be priced higher.
Potential design and features
Last year, Apple spent it syncing the design language of its product line, like the iPad Mini 6 and iPhone 13 which sport the same industrial, angular aesthetic as its iPad. Pro.
If we stick with that, then we don't expect Apple to completely redesign its tablet. On the other hand, this does not prevent the integration of new functionalities.
11-inch mini-LED screen
One of the biggest rumors we've heard so far is that the 11-inch iPad Pro will introduce a mini-LED display, just like the 12,9-inch iPad Pro.
This information comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, who states in a July 2021 note that the 11-inch iPad Pro and MacBook Air will both receive the mini-LED upgrade in 2022.
@Dylandkt also thinks Mini-LED will be present on both models, saying "all iPad Pro models will have a MiniLED display" in a tweet from late January 2022.
This technology is a step up from standard LED LCD screens, as it allows for better contrast control, making the darkest parts of the picture even darker, while increasing the color richness and peak brightness of the screen. screen.
A glass back for wireless charging
Although they are not subject to a major overhaul of their design, the next iPad Pro would, according to rumors, have a glass back instead of the aluminum currently used. The reason for this new material, according to Bloomberg, is the arrival of wireless charging...
This claim was confirmed in September 2021, when Mark Gurman mentioned the existence of a glass back and reverse wireless charging capabilities. Given that this technology is very accessible, especially because of its popularity, it makes sense that it will finally make an appearance on the iPad Pro 2022.
In the same report, Bloomberg claims that this would allow owners of Qi-enabled iPhones or even AirPods to be able to charge them by placing them on the back of the tablet.
However, an article published in early 2022 on 9to5Mac thinks otherwise. According to sources familiar with Apple, the glass back design may have been scrapped due to its fragility.
Instead, the company would develop prototypes with a larger, all-glass Apple logo. It is also announced that it could have magnets, much like MagSafe on the iPhone.
As a reminder, these are only rumors, so it is advisable to take this information with tweezers.
A refreshed design
Along with a glass back and reverse wireless charging, an analyst hints that the iPad Pro could have a refreshed design (although the leak doesn't specify if that's the 2022 model, or it is a project in preparation behind the scenes of Apple Park.
@dylandkt thinks that the new iPad Pro would have a horizontal photo sensor and a horizontal Apple logo, with the "default" orientation of Pro tablets changing from portrait to landscape.
There's no mention of other iPads with this configuration, and while it might seem odd at first, the Pro line lends itself more to landscape than other Apple tablets. Creative people tend to draw in landscape mode, for example, and the Magic Keyboard is also used in landscape mode.
M1 Pro, M1 Max or M2 chip
Given Apple's transition to the M1 process on the iPad Pro (2021) lineup, it's safe to assume that one of its successors will be incorporated into this new generation of tablet. It could be either the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips found on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.
Finally, Dylandkt also predicts that it is possible that Apple will launch an M2 chip, which would explain why he estimates that it will push back its iPad Pro release to fall 2022.
Mark Gurman, however, says that the iPad Air will ship an A15 or A16 Bionic chip, and that the final decision could depend on the availability of the chip.
