JAKARTA - A recent rumor says that Apple Inc. has no plans for a major redesign for the iPad Pro line in the near future, so the device will likely only receive gradual updates in the next few years.
On February 16, the Instant Digital leaker account on Weibo claimed that Apple would retain the current iPad Pro industry design and focus on regular chip updates, without significant physical changes. It was said that the high cost of OLED panels and limited sales growth after the last redesign were the main considerations.
Apple last made major changes to the iPad Pro in 2024, which was the first significant update since 2018. At that time, the company introduced an OLED screen, a thinner design, and the use of M series chips.
Then in October 2025, Apple released an M5 chip-based update that focused on performance and connectivity improvements, without any external design changes. The current iPad Pro line is already the tablet with the highest performance and screen quality in Apple's portfolio.
The use of OLED does improve contrast and color accuracy, but also increases production costs. Large-sized OLED panels are still more expensive than LCDs, so they can squeeze profit margins in a relatively mature tablet market.
Historically, Apple has often maintained device designs for several generations if performance and profitability remain strong. This approach allows the company to spread development and production costs over more units.
In the future, the iPad Pro is expected to get an upgrade to the M6 chip by the end of 2026 or 2027. Rumors also mention the possibility of using a vapor chamber cooling system, similar to the one rumored to be present on the iPhone 17 Pro, to improve sustainable performance without changing the outer design.
The current iPad line consists of the regular model, the iPad Air, and the iPad Pro. The Pro segment targets creators, developers, and professional users who generally maintain devices for three to five years, especially since the transition to the M series chips in 2021.
Longer hardware cycles are seen in line with iPad Pro's position as a long-term professional work tool, not a product that drives annual updates. The focus on silicon improvements and software optimization, including the development of iPadOS, is seen as more strategic than aesthetic changes.
However, this claim is still sourced from a single report and has not been officially confirmed by Apple, which has consistently not commented on unannounced products.
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