Will Apple equip the upcoming iPad (11th Gen) model with its first 3nm mobile processor?
Apple launched the iPad (10th generation) model in October 2022
Two of Apple's entry-level iPad models may be powered by an older chipset instead of the latest A18 processor, according to a report. The device in question is the iPad (11th Gen) whose purported variants are speculated to use the same chip as the iPhone 15 Pro models despite previously reported issues related to high cost of manufacturing and low yields. Courtesy of this newer chipset, the tablet may have support for Apple Intelligence — the company's latest software features that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
In the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman detailed information about the purported 11th generation iPad . It is expected to use the same A17 Pro chipset from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The device may become the second iPad in Apple's lineup to run on this processor, following the launch of the iPad Mini (7th Gen) in October 2024.
The two models — J481 and J482 — are speculated to debut with 8GB of RAM, which means it is expected to offer support for Apple Intelligence features, just like the more expensive iPad Mini model.
The journalist writes that Apple was expected to move away from the A17 Pro chipset due to issues reported in the past. TSMC, which is Apple's supplier of the SoC, was said to be struggling with the first generation 3nm N3B process due to high cost and low yields. Further, it did not offer a massive performance gain over its predecessor.
As a result, Apple was tipped to not use this feature in its high-volume products, such as the base iPad. Notably, the company refrained from using the said chipset in any of the iPhone 16 models and jumped to the A18 Pro chip built using the second-generation 3nm technology instead.
If Gurman's claims are accurate, it appears that Apple could make an exception for the purported iPad (11th Gen) model. While the iPad Mini (7th Gen) is reportedly powered by a binned version of A17 Pro with a 5-core GPU, it remains unclear if the same variant will be used in the purported base iPad too.
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