It’s shaping up to be a big year for the iPad, with iPadOS 26 the biggest productivity update ever and a new iPad Pro coming this fall. Now, a curious rumor about that M5 iPad Pro’s cameras hints at yet another Mac-inspired feature coming to iPad soon.
M5 iPad Pro expected to feature two front-facing cameras
This weekend in his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman shared a curious detail about a new M5 iPad Pro feature.
Gurman writes:
Apple is apparently adding a second, portrait-side front-facing camera to the upcoming M5 iPad Pro, presumably so FaceTimers and selfie fans can use the device equally well in either orientation.
On the surface, this dual-camera setup could indeed be for the sole purpose that Gurman guesses.
It might just be a nice enhancement so the iPad can be used comfortably in any orientation for video calls.
I’m pretty doubtful that’s the only purpose, though.
Adding a second front-facing camera means adding cost to the iPad hardware. That cost will almost certainly eat into Apple’s margins, since I doubt the company is willing to raise iPad Pro prices again after last year’s major increases.
It also takes up precious real estate in an ultra-thin device that could be used by other components, such as additional battery.
Like my colleague Chance, I’ve also been unaware of users complaining about the camera being on the landscape side of the M4 iPad Pro. If anything, that’s more likely an issue with cheaper iPad models.
Has Apple gotten complaints? Maybe. You can do video calls with an iPad in portrait orientation, but it generally means your eyes will be looking off to the side.
Still, landscape iPad users dealt with that same problem for years, so it’s unlikely to be the sole reason Apple’s adding a second camera.
Instead, the addition of a new camera hints at another Mac-exclusive feature coming to the iPad.
I’m talking about Desk View.
Why Desk View makes a lot of sense in iPadOS 26
Desk View is the macOS feature that lets you run two video feeds simultaneously: one of your face, the other of your desk.
Some Macs support this natively with a single built-in camera, while others require an iPhone.
Here’s Apple’s description:
Desk View uses your iPhone camera or the built-in camera of your Mac to show your face and an overhead view of your desk at the same time. It’s great for tasks such as creating DIY videos or showing live sketches in video apps like FaceTime.
Desk View might seem a bit too niche to make it worth bringing to iPad, but Apple has actually been expanding the feature very recently.
The three newest Mac models to launch—M4 MacBook Pro, M4 MacBook Air, and M4 iMac—all had Desk View as a tentpole feature.
On the M5 iPad Pro, Apple could offer a very similar feature with its new two-camera setup.
Who knows? There might even be a wider set of multi-view possibilities that the M5 iPad Pro supports.
Dual-angle shots for a video podcast seems like a nice use case. Did I mention that multi-cam video recording is a rumored iPhone 17 Pro feature?
iPadOS 26 already brings a ton of Mac-inspired features to the iPad, plus new audio tools that make video calls, podcasts, and more better than ever.
Perhaps the M5 iPad Pro will reveal a key, untold part of Apple’s iPadOS 26 story.
With new multi-view camera capabilities, Apple would have compelling audio and video production features to market heading into the holiday season.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but the timing seems right. And I think it makes a lot more sense than Apple adding a second camera to the M5 iPad Pro just for the sake of portrait FaceTime calls.
Why do you think the M5 iPad Pro is getting two front-facing cameras? Let us know in the comments.
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