New iPad Pros are likely coming before the end of 2022, but they will lack one significant upgrade

The latest rumors suggest that Apple will release new iPad Pro tablets in 2022, but that the expected improvement in performance and specifications may be less than expected.

In the fourth quarter of 2022 (i.e., October, November, and December), the new iPad Pro models will enter mass production, according to the well-known (and usually accurate) Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Yet Kuo adds that Apple supplier TSMC won't have its 3nm chips ready until 2023, so the iPad Pro will continue to use a 5nm chipset. The smaller that size, measured in nanometers, is, the more power a processor can pack into its circuits.

According to Kuo, the iPad Pros will be updated with new chipsets (the current models use the M1 chip), but they will maintain the 5nm architecture used by the previous generation. The newly released M2 chip is also a 5nm processor, so it's possible that it will show up in the next generation of iPad Pros.

The situation is about the same for the updated MacBook Pro models we anticipate seeing before the end of 2022. We can expect an updated M2 Pro or M2 Max chipset to debut in 2023, followed by a new generation of Apple computers.

So, while this year's iPad Pros will be faster than last year's, the performance boost won't be quite as dramatic as it would have been with a switch to 3nm (see also the iPhone 15). The decrease to 3nm should also improve battery life by making the chips significantly more power efficient.

The 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 were introduced as the fifth-generation iPad Pros in April 2021. A lot of people have been guessing and speculating since then about what Apple has in store as a sequel.

An increase in performance is anticipated, as mentioned above, but whether Apple will opt for the newer M2 processor or an upgraded M1 Pro/M1 Max is still unknown. In addition, there is a possibility that internal storage and RAM will expand.

It appears that not only are the fundamental specifications shifting, but also the connectors used to attach peripherals, which could necessitate purchasing a new Magic Keyboard. We wouldn't be shocked if Apple brought the iPhone's MagSafe charging technology to the iPad Pro.

The full disclosure will not come for a while, though. It has been speculated that the iPad Pros will be unveiled in October, after iPadOS 16 has been released and the iPhone 14 has been announced.