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iPad Pro Can we speculate on Next years iPad Pro ? And Mini-LED 11”

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TheRealAlex

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Sep 2, 2015
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Ok none of us have the 2021 yet. But can we spend 30 seconds and speculate for 2022 ?

Could 2022 be a 2019 repeat and not have a Pro release ?

Will It be an M3 CPU or an M2X CPU ?

Will the 11” even bother with Mini-LEDs ? The difference is so negligible that will Apple just go full OLED for the 11” ?
 
TheRealAlex said:
Ok none of us have the 2021 yet. But can we spend 30 seconds and speculate for 2022 ?

Could 2022 be a 2019 repeat and not have a Pro release ?

Will It be an M3 CPU or an M2X CPU ?

Will the 11” even bother with Mini-LEDs ? The difference is so negligible that will Apple just go full OLED for the 11” ?
Click to expand...
We just got the 2021. We should enjoy it before speculating the 2022 version.
 
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I honestly dont think there will be a 2022 iPad Pro. There were people that refused to believe there was going to be a 2021 version. Apple usually updates their iPads every 18 months or so. This was unusual because the 2020 update was so minimal. I’m convinced this is a significant enough upgrade that they won’t release one next year. The only question I may have, is whether or not they decide to bring mini LED to the 11 inch iPad sooner Than 18 months...
 
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Rainshadow said:
I honestly dont think there will be a 2022 iPad Pro. There were people that refused to believe there was going to be a 2021 version. Apple usually updates their iPads every 18 months or so. This was unusual because the 2020 update was so minimal. I’m convinced this is a significant enough upgrade that they won’t release one next year. The only question I may have, is whether or not they decide to bring mini LED to the 11 inch iPad sooner Than 18 months...
Click to expand...
They will probably stick to ~yearly (12-18 month cycles) tick-tock upgrades with the iPad Pro now. There’s basically no doubt there’ll be a new M-series chip every year since a lot of the foundational tech will already be developed for that year’s iPhone. I would expect all the M1 devices to be updated yearly with the M2, M3, etc. Pretty simple business proposition; develop one new processor and boost the sales of five different product lines. I think many of their products, which were formerly neglected for years at a time while Apole waited for Intel to get their **** together, will now get more frequent updates.

I’m anticipating the 2022 iPads to get the M2 processor (based on N5P process), mini-LED on the 11”, possibly more robust configuration options (i.e. Configure 128GB with 16GB RAM), a gold color, and an even fancier camera system on the back.
 
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AceFernalld said:
They will probably stick to ~yearly (12-18 month cycles) tick-tock upgrades with the iPad Pro now. There’s basically no doubt there’ll be a new M-series chip every year since a lot of the foundational tech will already be developed for that year’s iPhone. I would expect all the M1 devices to be updated yearly with the M2, M3, etc. Pretty simple business proposition; develop one new processor and boost the sales of five different product lines. I think many of their products, which were formerly neglected for years at a time while Apole waited for Intel to get their **** together, will now get more frequent updates.

I’m anticipating the 2022 iPads to get the M2 processor (based on N5P process), mini-LED on the 11”, possibly more robust configuration options (i.e. Configure 128GB with 16GB RAM), a gold color, and an even fancier camera system on the back.
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Maybe. We will see. But I disagree.

We have had an M1 and we still have devices being released with that chip 7 months later. Apple is constantly in the process of refreshing designs and more than just chips. So it’s not just as simple as a new chip and ship it out the door.

Apple designing their own chips does mean that they can have their own update cycle. But, Why every year? Remember, they have finite resources and they haven’t even released a chip for the upper end computers yet - we don’t even have the full foundation of M series chips. I think it’s wishful thinking to have a whole new set of chipsets come out every year for every device - pro and consumer levels. That would mean the ENTIRE lineup of computers, phones, and iPads all update yearly... I don’t think so.

And the question remains, at least for the iPad... why? The things are insane. Why spend the money and time changing out the production just for a moderately better chip? The average consumer doesn’t even know what an M1 chip is.

But this is the real reason = Apple has been using its own chips in iPads since the beginning and they had an 18 month cycle most of the time. Why change it now?

It wouldn’t make sense to me at all.

Again, however, the screen on the 11” is the one thing that makes me wonder if there will be a quicker update. I can’t see that staying different for too long.
 
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I personally believe that there will come an upgrade in 2022. Most importantly to bring the mini-LED to the 11inch as well, as productioncosts/isssues/capacity is sorted out. Also as apples M-chip developments seems to be on fire right now. I believe Apple will use this development to further differentiate the Pro-line from the Air-line by introducing a version of the newest CPU in the tablet (m2 next year). Also if IpadOS 15 brings more merging of iOS and OSx then the upgrade-cycle of the MBP and the iPP will likely be linked more closely together From now on.

Not saying to wait for an upgrade, as the new iPPs are crazy powerfull. But as someone who prefer the 11inch size for portability, I am in envy of display on the 12.9 iPP.
 
I’m not Upgrading til the next RAM upgrade 4GB has been standard now on base models for 2 years. In 2-3 years 16GB will be standard
 
If Apple keeps with the past patterns, the next iPad pro will be released in the second half of 2022, with M2 (or M3 is that's a thing by then). RAM options will 100% stay the same, they'll definitely not move to 16GB at least for a couple more years... At this point, any more speculation makes little sense, it's way to early... Maybe the M2 Macbooks will give us some hints...
 
AceFernalld said:
They will probably stick to ~yearly (12-18 month cycles) tick-tock upgrades with the iPad Pro now. There’s basically no doubt there’ll be a new M-series chip every year since a lot of the foundational tech will already be developed for that year’s iPhone. I would expect all the M1 devices to be updated yearly with the M2, M3, etc. Pretty simple business proposition; develop one new processor and boost the sales of five different product lines. I think many of their products, which were formerly neglected for years at a time while Apole waited for Intel to get their **** together, will now get more frequent updates.

I’m anticipating the 2022 iPads to get the M2 processor (based on N5P process), mini-LED on the 11”, possibly more robust configuration options (i.e. Configure 128GB with 16GB RAM), a gold color, and an even fancier camera system on the back.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't think annual A-chipset upgrades is a guarantee of annual M-chipsets.

A9: 2015
A9X: 2015 & 2016

A10: 2016
A10X: 2017

A11: 2017
no A11X

A12: 2018
A12X: 2018
A12Z: 2020

A13: 2019
no A13X

A14: 2020
M1: 2020 & 2021
 
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Rainshadow said:
I honestly dont think there will be a 2022 iPad Pro. There were people that refused to believe there was going to be a 2021 version. Apple usually updates their iPads every 18 months or so. This was unusual because the 2020 update was so minimal. I’m convinced this is a significant enough upgrade that they won’t release one next year. The only question I may have, is whether or not they decide to bring mini LED to the 11 inch iPad sooner Than 18 months...
Click to expand...
My GUESS is that Apple intended to use mini LED on the 2021 11" Pro but the pandemic impacted supply, etc., and they didn't think it was feasible this year. It's the 12.9" models that seem to be in somewhat short supply. While some 11" versions are not immediately available at launch they don't seem nearly as delayed. The nearest Best Buy had at least a few 256gb wifi only versions available this morning.
 
At this point expect yearly updates. The days of 18month updates are long gone. A new chip will come out every year and it will go out to basically every new update. Back in the Intel days they where the hangup for many machines like the iMac.
 
rui no onna said:
Hmm, I don't think annual A-chipset upgrades is a guarantee of annual M-chipsets.

A9: 2015
A9X: 2015 & 2016

A10: 2016
A10X: 2017

A11: 2017
no A11X

A12: 2018
A12X: 2018
A12Z: 2020

A13: 2019
no A13X

A14: 2020
M1: 2020 & 2021
Click to expand...
The problem with this comparison is that previously when they developed and introduced an X-variant of a chip that really only went into one product line: the iPad Pro. There are some exceptions like A10X in the Apple TV, but that's mostly it. That's a lot of chip development for just one product line that isn't moving iPhone units...

Now, with the M1 going into such a large percentage of their product line, they can develop one new chip and have it boost sales for FIVE different product lines. I know it's not as easy as just plug-and-play into everything once the chip is done, but I would imagine it's simple enough to justify the boost in sales they get by updating each product line with a new chip that has significant YoY improvements.
 
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AceFernalld said:
The problem with this comparison is that previously when they developed and introduced an X-variant of a chip that really only went into one product line: the iPad Pro. There are some exceptions like A10X in the Apple TV, but that's mostly it. That's a lot of chip development for just one product line that isn't moving iPhone units...

Now, with the M1 going into such a large percentage of their product line, they can develop one new chip and have it boost sales for FIVE different product lines. I know it's not as easy as just plug-and-play into everything once the chip is done, but I would imagine it's simple enough to justify the boost in sales they get by updating each product line with a new chip that has significant YoY improvements.
Click to expand...

I think it's certainly a possibility but like I mentioned, there's no guarantee.

Besides, YOY gains are lower if they upgrade every year.

A12 -> A13 was ~30% iirc
A13 -> A14 was ~20% iirc

We're benefiting from 2 generations worth of improvements with the M1.
 
rui no onna said:
I think it's certainly a possibility but like I mentioned, there's no guarantee.

Besides, YOY gains are lower if they upgrade every year.

A12 -> A13 was ~30% iirc
A13 -> A14 was ~20% iirc

We're benefiting from 2 generations worth of improvements with the M1.
Click to expand...
A12X Vs M1 ?

What’s the YOY gain ? And does 4GB RAM Vs 8GB RAM play into this ?
 
rui no onna said:
I think it's certainly a possibility but like I mentioned, there's no guarantee.

Besides, YOY gains are lower if they upgrade every year.

A12 -> A13 was ~30% iirc
A13 -> A14 was ~20% iirc

We're benefiting from 2 generations worth of improvements with the M1.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah! I’m definitely not saying it’s a guarantee, just that it’s more likely now than ever before given the added benefit of having the same chip all over the place.
 
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TheRealAlex said:
A12X Vs M1 ?

What’s the YOY gain ? And does 4GB RAM Vs 8GB RAM play into this ?
Click to expand...
There was not A13X so it's a 2.5 year gap to A14X/M1 (while A10X to A12X was a 1.5 gap of similar proportions)
RAM does not play into speed since there is no swapping to disk, unless you count reloads as slowdowns. There can also be crashes because of low RAM but with 4GB devices they are still relatively rare (though very annoying when they happen), so RAM mainly affects the amount of reloads. This may change in the future, if more sophisticated forms of multitasking (e.g. on external displays and iPad simultaneously) are allowed or if some apps can use more RAM in the future, but my guess, if that happens, is that 4GB devices might not be allowed to run the full multitasking anyway or the full feature set of those apps, to avoid crashes.
At this point the app with the highest minimum requirements is, to my knowledge, the new AAA game that sets the minimum entry at A12X.
 
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Count me in the 18 month category. 2020 release was so minor that it couldn’t really hold as a generation until 2022, not with the same cpu.

Not sure why so many think all of a sudden apple is going to be pushing out all models of machines every year, since when have they ever? Many models fall stagnant for years, even when theres intel chips and gpus coming out annually (and there was a time when these updates were more significant too).
 
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I think the pandemic changed a lot of plans and we're now dealing with supply constraints.

Apple's issue is they don't want to always a new model is people get upgrade fatigue. But they also don't want to release too unpredictably. If there is a 2022 release, I think it'll be a tock cycle. I think they'll do a big tick when a majority of the iOS owners are on M devices.
 
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