According to today’s Power On newsletter, the next generation iPad Pro is set to gain a subtle, yet important upgrade: vapor chamber cooling. This should help future iPad Pro models stay performant whilst still being fanless and incredibly thin.
With the M4 iPad Pro last year, Apple already overhauled the cooling system – bringing a copper heatsink that dissipates heat through the Apple logo on the back of the tablet. That isn’t enough apparently, and Apple wants to bring a vapor chamber to the M6 iPad Pro, to push performance even further.
Apple debuted its first vapor chamber cooling system on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, which essentially eliminated overheating on the iPhone during normal tasks. It particularly helps out in gaming.
Even with a fan in the base model 14-inch MacBook Pro, some users have started to notice that the M5 chip is potentially thermal throttling before it can reach its peak – and that issue will only continue to grow over time.
Vapor chamber on M6 iPad Pro
Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman:
Given all that, a vapor chamber in the iPad Pro — which is even thinner than the iPad Air — is on the company’s road map. Apple is now working on the feature, with plans to integrate it as soon as the next round of updates. The company is on an 18-month upgrade cycle for the iPad Pro, suggesting that the vapor chamber could be added around spring 2027.
So, this isn’t an imminent upgrade – ultimately Apple just debuted the M5 iPad Pro this past week. Regardless, if thermals on the iPad are a key concern for you, then the early 2027 model will be worth waiting for.
There aren’t any other key rumors for that iPad Pro release quite yet, though it will likely feature the new 2nm M6 chip – set to debut in the Mac late next year.
What do you think of a vapor chamber debuting in the M6 iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments. Personally, I’d really love to see one in the MacBook Air line.
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