The M5-powered OLED iPad Pro is tipped to launch before the end of 2025

iPad Pro 13-inch with M4 chip on a wooden table
The 2024 version of the iPad Pro (Image credit: Future)

  • Apple's next iPad Pro could appear in 2025
  • An M5 chipset upgrade is rumored
  • The M4 version of the tablet launched this year

Read our 13-inch iPad Pro (2024) review and you'll see that we've been very impressed with the tablet Apple launched back in May – but it seems that something even better is in the pipeline, and it might arrive sometime before the end of 2025.

This information comes from well-known tipster @Jukanlosreve, based on comments made by senior LG Display researcher Park Kyung-woo about an increase in the number of OLED panels being used in iPads next year.

There's another interesting prediction here, which is that these new iPad Pros will come running the as-yet-unannounced M5 chipset that's currently in development. The Apple M4 chip that powers the latest iPad Pros and Macs was also unveiled in May.

If we are getting an M5-powered OLED iPad Pro sometime in 2025, then that's a tight turnaround – so it's probably not going to show up before the second half of the year, and may well appear around October time (ready for the holiday shopping season in the US).

The future of iPads

The same tipster says there are "other signs" pointing to the appearance of this slate in 2025 – and indeed, noted Apple reporter Mark Gurman has previously said he expects the next iPad Pro, with an M5 chipset fitted inside, to land in late 2025 or early 2026.

However, it doesn't sound as though major changes are coming, besides that boost in processor speed. Apple gave the iPad Pro some design tweaks with the 2024 model, so it seems likely that the look of the tablet will stay the same for another generation at least.

Apple is certainly making up for lost time considering it didn't launch any new iPads at all during 2023. We've also seen a new iPad Air make an appearance this year, while the entry-level iPad is expected to be refreshed within the next 12 months.

However, don't hold your breath for a foldable iPad – plans for a launch have apparently been pushed back to 2026 at the earliest, and there's a decent chance that we're going to see a foldable iPhone arrive before Apple adapts its tablet line.

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David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.