What to expect from iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini and basic iPad in 2022

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What to expect from iPad Pro, iPad Air and basic iPad in 2022
The iPad Pro might get a a couple of noticeable design changes in 2022.
Graphic: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple won‘t let the iPad languish in 2022. Most notably, some big improvements are reportedly coming to the display and charging capabilities of the iPad Pro line.

And the iPad Air and iPad won‘t be overlooked, either.

2022 iPad Pro with a notch?

The already-thin display bezels on the current iPad Pro line will get even slimmer in 2022, if a recent unconfirmed report is correct. That’ll require the inclusion of a screen notch, like the one seen on the iPhone and MacBook Pro.

A somewhat more reliable leak says the 11-inch tablet will get the same type of mini-LED display as the 12.9-inch version already has.

And Apple supposedly will bring MagSafe to the iPad Pro line. This might be the version from the iPhone, with the necessary all-glass back for the tablet. A MacBook-like MagSafe port is not impossible, though.

The Apple M2 processor is expected to debut in 2022. The current iPad Pro uses the M1, so a jump to the next chip is a reasonable assumption. The M2 isn’t expected before the middle if 2022, which means the tablet wouldn‘t arrive before then.

The 2021 iPad Pro came out in May, and Apple sometimes goes 18 months between refreshing this product line, so a late 2022 release wouldn‘t be out of character. There have not yet been any leaks revealing the launch schedule of the upcoming tablet, suggesting it won’t be anytime soon.

Looking to 2023 and beyond, there could be iPadOS models with titanium chassis. And possibly with 15-inch or even 16-inch screens, according to rumors.

Keeping iPad Air and iPad updated

So far, there have been no leaks pointing to big changes in the iPad Air, iPad mini or the basic iPad. But Apple redesigned all three of these in recent years, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they don’t get a dramatic revamp.

That said, the current iPad Air 4 came out in October 2020, so a version with a faster processor almost will certainly debut in 2022.

The ninth-gen iPad launched in September 2021, as did the sixth-gen iPad mini, so fresh versions aren’t likely to be imminent. But Apple introduced an updated basic iPad version every year since 2017, so a new one sometime in 2022 is a safe bet. On the other hand, iPad  mini updates are much more sporadic so there might not be a new one before 2023.

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