Apple’s next-gen iPad Pro will feature an upgraded cooling system designed to prevent overheating during processor-intensive tasks, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Specifically, Apple’s upcoming iPad will incorporate the same vapor chamber cooling system Apple debuted on this year’s iPhone 17 Pro lineup. While vapor chamber cooling certainly isn’t a new technology, Apple has finally shown intent to extend the feature to its other product lines over the next few years. Vapor chamber cooling, if you’re unfamiliar, is a clever way to manage thermals.
It’s essentially a sealed chamber filled with an incredibly tiny amount of de-ionized water. When heated, the water evaporates and spreads across the chamber, which distributes the heat evenly throughout the device and away from the heat source. Once the vapor reaches the cooler area of the chamber, it condenses into water, and the process begins again. As Gurman astutely points out, vapor chamber cooling becomes all the more vital now that Apple’s mobile chips “are nearly as powerful as laptop versions.”
What we know about Apple’s next-gen M6 iPad
Apple released a brand-new M5 iPad Pro earlier this month, which means we probably won’t see a new model for at least another year. Given that Apple historically releases new iPad Pro models every 15-18 months, an iPad Pro with a vapor chamber cooling system will likely arrive sometime in mid-2027. The device will ship with an M6 processor and an updated version of the C1X modem in the M5 iPad Pro. Gurman also writes that Apple’s M6 will likely be manufactured on TSMC’s 2-nanometer node. This is particularly interesting given reports that Apple’s A20 chip on next year’s iPhone 18 may be 50% more expensive due to the expenditure required to make TSMC’s 2 nm process a reality.
This is why we’ve seen reports pointing to Apple potentially increasing the price on next year’s iPhone Pro models. Apple’s latest M5 iPad Pro retails for $999, which is the same price as the 2024 M4 iPad Pro. While this might lead some to believe that Apple will keep the price consistent going forward, bear in mind that Apple, historically speaking, has never been afraid to increase the iPad Pro’s pricing. As a prime example, the fourth through sixth-gen iPad Pro models all retailed for $799 before Apple increased the price to $999 on the seventh-gen model last year. That said, it’s entirely plausible that by the time the M6 iPad Pro releases, the cost of chip production could have decreased.
