As Gurman points out, Apple last gave the iPad Pro a significant update in 2018, when Apple introduced a design with harder corners, an edge-to-edge display, and a USB-C connector. This update came about a year and a half after the release of the iPad Pro 10.5 in 2017.

"The new iPad Pro is also rumored to have a glass backing"

Apple is on track to repeat the same pattern this year, as it launched the most recent generation of M1-equipped iPad Pros in May 2021. A rumored launch date between September and November 2022 means Apple will spend anywhere between one year and four months and one year and six months prepping the new model.

During Apple’s “Peek Performance” event earlier this month, the company showed off its newest iPad Air but left out an updated model of the iPad Pro. Last year, Gurman predicted the iPad Pro would come with wireless charging capabilities and a glass backing. A report from 9to5Mac corroborates this claim, but its sources say Apple may have abandoned the glass back design, potentially opting for an aluminum back with a glass Apple logo instead.

There hasn’t been much information about the rumored M2 chip either, as it still hasn’t been confirmed by Apple. Gurman thinks the chip’s CPU will be slightly faster than its predecessor and come with the same eight-core architecture. He also expects Apple to add the M2 to both the new iPad Pro, as well as to the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and 24-inch iMac that are rumored for release later this year. Predictions for an M2 chip powering the redesigned MacBook Air are split — Gurman says it will include the rumored chip, while Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks it will come with the M1.