Instead of new Macs, Apple will reportedly use the next iPad Pro refresh as the debut device for its M5 chip. The new tablet could launch “as early as October.”
It’s also working on an M4 iPad Air refresh and iPhone 17e for a possible early 2026 launch.
M5 chip may launch with 2025 iPad Pro refresh
Since the Apple silicon transition in late 2020, Apple unveiled each new M-series chip alongside a Mac refresh every year. The M4 SoC was an exception, debuting on the slimmer 2024 OLED iPad Pro instead.
It seems Apple will follow the same strategy with the M5 chip. The M5 MacBook Pros will reportedly only launch early next year. But before that, the company will supposedly take the wraps off the M5-powered iPad Pro. It’s coming this autumn, as expected.
As for the M4 iPad Air refresh, Bloomberg reports it will land in March or April next year. A refreshed $349 base iPad with a faster processor should also launch alongside the new Air. Both tablets will get a minor spec bump, with no major design changes planned.
Apple’s early 2026 roadmap is anything but quiet
That’s not it, though. Apple will seemingly have a busy early 2026, as it plans to launch the iPhone 17e next year. It “will look similar to the 16e model but include the A19 processor to match this year’s iPhone 17 line,” says the report. The company will apparently adopt a yearly refresh cycle even for its budget iPhone going forward.
Apple supposedly plans to launch a new Studio Display refresh early next year as well. Plus, it’s working on a MacBook Air refresh, likely with the M5 chip. The report says they will also launch in the “first half of next year.”
Not to forget, Apple’s long-rumored smart home device hub is in the pipeline, too. But it will only launch once the new Siri makes its public debut.
