iPad Pro

Report: M5 iPad Pro to have dual front-facing cameras

Chance Miller | Jul 20 2025 - 6:43 am PT

With last year’s M4 iPad Pro, Apple made a long-awaited change to the design: it moved the front-facing camera from the top to the side.

According to Bloomberg today, Apple has another big change to the iPad Pro’s front-facing camera in store for the M5 update coming later this year.

Top comment by Hazen

Liked by 4 people

I really hope they have dual Face ID components. My one and only complaint about the M4 is the placement of the Face ID module. I’ve tried recreating my Face ID profile multiple times hoping a bad scan was the issue, but it’s just not as fast as the previous placement. I don’t use the Magic Keyboard (although I still kind of want one) because it doesn’t fold backwards like the old keyboard folio design and I can’t fluidly go from typing to drawing without swapping out the folio. I’m one of those rare iPad users who love the iPad for iPad things like touch and a hands-on approach to creation and not just as a mini Mac like the direction the product is going in, which introduced this problem in the first place.

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In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports:

Apple is apparently adding a second, portrait-side front-facing camera to the upcoming M5 iPad Pro, presumably so FaceTimers and selfie fans can use the device equally well in either orientation. This isn’t particularly revolutionary, but it’s a nice enhancement.

This change is seemingly meant to address complaints from iPad Pro users who were frustrated by Apple’s decision to move the front-facing camera from the portrait to landscape side of the device.

I’m a bit surprised that Apple is making this change, as I’ve not seen many iPad Pro users complain about the relocated camera on the M4 iPad Pro. Nonetheless, I guess there’s no downside to Apple adding a second front-facing camera to the iPad. It might look a bit awkward, but the front camera pretty much blends right into the iPad Pro’s bezels.

The M5 iPad Pro is expected to launch later this year. Other than the speedier M5 chip and front-facing camera changes, we aren’t expecting any major revisions. Notably, the iPad Pro will be Apple’s first M5-powered device, with the first M5 Macs set to launch in the first half of 2026.