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Report: Apple to announce new iPad models this week, featuring upgraded chips

Via Supercharged, Apple is set to announce new iPad updates this week, likely on Tuesday October 17. 9to5Mac has corroborated the report with our own sources. (Update: It is looking more likely the announcement may be about the Apple Pencil.)

The iPad Air, iPad mini and the base model iPad are expected to be refreshed. These updates will likely comprise smaller spec bump updates rather than significant design changes.

Updates for iPad Air and iPad mini are indeed due, so the timing makes sense. This October refresh will update the tablets with newer-generation Apple Silicon chips. The news will be announced via press release.

The current-generation iPad Air was released in the spring last year, and currently sports an M1 chip. The Supercharged report says to expect that the iPad Air will be bumped up to the M2 chip.

The new iPad mini should sport an A16 Bionic chip, offering a small improvement over its current A15 Bionic chip. A report from earlier this week also suggested the new iPad mini will feature a new display controller to mitigate the impact of the jelly scrolling issue visible on current-generation iPad minis while scrolling content.

The base model iPad was last updated a year ago, making it the most recent of the lineup. The tenth-generation model brought a new thin bezel design, new colors and a Touch ID side button. It is currently powered by the A14 Bionic chip. It’s unclear exactly what the supposedly forthcoming 11th-gen model will use, but if the iPad mini is getting the A16, it is plausible that the base model iPad will also.

The iPad Pro lineup will stay the same for now. It was last updated in October 2022, and the next-generation models are not expected to be ready until later next year. The next-gen iPad Pros are expected to feature OLED displays for the first time.

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Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.


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