Apple has new iPad Pro hardware launching this fall, packed with an M5 chip and a few other feature updates. Here’s everything we’re expecting from Apple’s latest iPad Pro model.
Brand new M5 chip
This one’s a no-brainer, of course. But it’s also one of the most substantial updates coming.
Just like last year’s M4 iPad Pro, Apple is expected to once again debut its brand new M5 not in a Mac, but rather an iPad.
Details on the M5 chip’s upgrades are unknown, but we can expect the standard boosts to CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. Don’t be surprised if AI performance is an area of major focus for Apple.
Dual front-facing cameras
It was only last year with the M4 model that iPad Pro finally moved its front-facing camera to the landscape side.
Now, Mark Gurman reports that Apple plans to add a camera back to the portrait side, while keeping the existing landscape camera too.
Having dual front-facing cameras means the iPad Pro can work well for video calls in any orientation. I’m also hopeful it will enable some other new capabilities, such as Desk View or other multi-cam features.
16GB RAM
With the M4 iPad Pro, Apple had a two-tiered approach to RAM. If you bought a model with 1TB of storage or higher, you’d get 16GB of RAM. The more popular storage options below that, though, came with only 8GB.
Since that time, however:
- iPadOS 26 has been unveiled with major productivity features
- Apple has made all M4 Macs start at 16GB
- and RAM-hungry AI has grown in importance
For all of these reasons, it’s expected that the M5 iPad Pro will make 16GB standard for all models—not just the two most expensive ones.
Wi-Fi 7 support
Wi-Fi standards evolve all the time, and the latest is Wi-Fi 7.
The M4 iPad Pro only supports Wi-Fi 6E, but Apple adopted Wi-Fi 7 last fall in its entire iPhone 16 lineup.
As a result, it’s likely we’ll see Wi-Fi 7 come to the M5 iPad Pro too. Here are some of the benefits:
While the maximum transfer speed of current Wi-Fi 6E is around 9 Gbps, Wi-Fi 7 is capable of reaching speeds of up to 46 Gbps. This is five times faster than the current generation of Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi 7 isn’t just faster. It operates on 320 MHz channels, significantly wider than those used by previous Wi-Fi standards. This, combined with the 6 GHz band, reduces interference and signal congestion. Devices can also transmit and receive data simultaneously over multiple links of different frequencies with Wi-Fi 7.
M5 iPad Pro features: wrap-up
Apple may have several surprises in store for us this fall, but based on current rumors, the M5 iPad Pro is expected to be a fairly minor spec bump update.
That’s not at all unusual, since last year’s M4 model came with major changes like a new, ultra-thin design, tandem OLED display, new Magic Keyboard, and more.
One of the biggest selling points for the M5 iPad Pro is expected to be software, not hardware. With iPadOS 26, Apple will finally have software that can match the powerful hardware it’s been shipping for years.
Will iPadOS 26 merit splurging on an M5 iPad Pro? Not necessarily. But for anyone due for a new iPad anyways, the one-two punch of fresh hardware and software could make for an easy upgrade decision.
What new features do you hope to see from the M5 iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments.
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