Apple’s next-gen M5 chip is coming soon, debuting in this fall’s new iPad Pro model. But despite this being the second year in a row the iPad gets an M-class chip first, this time will be different for two key reasons.
M5 chip debuting on iPad Pro will be different than last year’s M4
In May 2024, Apple did something it never had before: it debuted its next-gen M-class chip in an iPad.
iPad Pro was no stranger to M-class chips, but until the M4, every other chip had arrived on the Mac first.
Though Apple never officially defined it, the ‘M’ designation has long been assumed to refer to the Mac. M1, M2, and M3 all started on the Mac, and only hit the iPad later.
With M4, the iPad Pro benefited long before the Mac did. And rumors indicate Apple’s next chip is coming to iPad first too.
The next generation M5 is launching this fall with the new iPad Pro, and won’t come to the Mac until early 2026.
But there are two reasons this time will be different.
Shorter exclusivity window State of iPad software
#1: Shorter M5 exclusivity window for iPad
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