Apple will announce new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models in "a matter of days," respected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman said today in his latest Power On newsletter.
The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch models, codenamed J617 and J620, will be the first update to the higher-end iPad since April 2021, where both models gained the M1 chip and a new 12.-9-inch mini-LED display. For their first update in a year and a half, the upcoming iPad Pro models are expected to gain the M2 Apple silicon chip, offering faster performance and possibly new charging capabilities.
For design, the new iPads will look like the current models, with no significant changes expected. Early rumors said that the smaller 11-inch model would gain a mini-LED display, currently only available on the larger 12.9-inch model, but that is no longer expected to happen.
The new iPad Pro models could also feature some form of MagSafe charging capabilities, as per previous reports. There is also the possibility the new iPad Pro models could feature reverse-wireless charging capabilities, allowing users to charge their iPhone or AirPods on the back of the iPad.
Given the incremental update expected for the upcoming iPads, Apple is no longer planning an event for October. Apple is expected to launch the new iPads and updates to the Mac lineup through press releases and updates on its website.
Alongside the new iPad Pro models, Apple is also expected to release iPadOS 16 later this month. Unlike in past years, this year's iPadOS and iOS updates were not released simultaneously. Instead, Apple delayed iPadOS 16 until later in the fall to allow it more time to refine the update and work on Stage Manager. Stage Manager is a new multi-tasking and windowing system for specific iPad models that continues to face bugs, despite iPadOS 16's release in just a few weeks.
