According to a new rumor from China, Apple’s iPad Pro lineup may be left without an update for years to come. Leaker Instant Digital believes the current M5 generation iPad Pro 13 and iPad Pro 11 are not going to get significant updates anytime soon. This rumor makes sense as Apple tends to wait a hefty amount of time before bringing any drastic changes to its Pro tablets.
The iPad Pro received its first major redesign in 2018 with the Pro 11 (2018) and Pro 12.9 (2018) and then in 2024 with the M4 generation models.
According to the new rumor, there are several factors at play, with rising OLED panel costs and limited sales growth being the key issues. The latest M5 generation iPad Pros utilize Ultra Retina Tandem OLEDs, which feature two organic light-emitting layers instead of one as you’d find on regular OLED panels. This approach allows for higher brightness output and extends the panel’s lifespan, but also drives up its cost significantly.
In addition, Apple is reportedly not going into the battle of ultra-thin display bezels like rivals Samsung and Huawei. With that said, the iPad Pro is expected to get its next update either this year or in 2027. It will likely be a chip update once the M6 generation is out.
Source (in Chinese)