The Next iPad Pro Could Be More Like a MacBook Than Ever

Apple leads the way in the tablet market, holding a market share of nearly 40% last quarter, but overall iPad sales have declined in the past three years. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicts that Apple will overhaul the iPad Pro with an OLED display and an M3 chip next year in order to revitalize demand for the tablet.

The current iPad Pro has an M2 chip, which Apple says is fast enough to build augmented reality models, plus a display with custom designed mini-LEDs that allow for greater control over lighting than normal LEDs. It has an all-day battery life and it’s almost big enough to be a laptop, with display size options of 11 inches and 12.9 inches.

Even with these features, the rumored iPad Pro, which would supposedly come next year, would be a noticeable update to the product. A jump from mini-LEDs to OLEDs would align the iPad Pro screen to that of the iPhone, which has used OLED displays since the release of the X model in 2017. Gurman also notes that an OLED iPad Pro would be as bright as Apple's phones, which would alleviate a major concern, as OLEDs often have difficulty matching mini-LEDs on brightness. It could also be sleeker and lighter than ever, since OLEDs need less hardware to operate than mini-LEDs. OLEDs also draw in less power and create perfect blacks for heightened contrast. 

Earlier reports from Gurman showed that Apple intended to move away from OLED displays and towards its own microLED technology in devices like the Apple Watch. The purpose of such a move would be to decrease Apple's reliance on Samsung and other competitors for display components. 

Apple has yet to release a MacBook or iPad with an M3 chip, but Gurman reported earlier this month that Apple has begun testing new SKUs of the chip, meaning it's likely fairly far into development. The MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro were the first devices reportedly tested. If next year's iPad Pro release also runs on the same chip as the MacBook Air, that would follow the Apple playbook: Right now, the iPad Pro M2 and the MacBook Air 13 and 15 M2 share the same performance specifications and are comparably priced. 

Gurman also reports that Apple may be redesigning the iPad’s Magic Keyboard with a bigger trackpad, which could make the device look even more like a laptop. 

There may be drawbacks to these premium features in light of the current political landscape. Bloomberg News reported that tension between the U.S. and China could splinter Apple’s supply chain and potentially increase costs for Apple products. Higher-end models that require more sophisticated parts may be more expensive.

“The price of Apple products could indeed increase to reflect the potentially higher costs” of supply chain migration, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Steven Tseng said. However, Tseng noted that these cost hikes may not necessarily be reflected in the final sticker price for iPad Pros or iPhones if Apple worries that raising the price of the product could hurt demand.