Bummer! New report claims Apple won’t redesign the iPad Pro for years

iPad Pro M5 — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

It might be years before the iPad Pro gets a significant redesign. That’s according to Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital (via Apple Insider), who claims that the high cost of the iPad Pro’s OLED panel, along with slow sales after the last redesign, have made Apple decide to hold off on another design change for the foreseeable future.

While we might not see a new iPad Pro design, that doesn’t mean Apple will stop releasing future iterations of its premium tablet. The report says we’ll still get chip updates even if the slate’s design remains unchanged. If that’s the case, the new spec bump is likely to be an M6-powered iPad Pro.

What the future holds

For those keeping track, the iPad Pro last received a major update in 2024, where Apple delivered the first iPad with an OLED panel. The iPad Pro M4 featured an M4 chip, and it got a follow-up with the iPad Pro M5 the following year. Other than the processor, it received no major redesign. If this recent report is correct, it seems this is what we can expect from future iPad Pros.

Besides a spec bump, the iPad Pro can still receive software updates via iPadOS. As we’ve seen with iPadOS 26, Apple’s premium tablet is now more MacBook-like, thanks to a new UI and folder options meant to help you be more productive. Likewise with Apple Creator Studio, the iPad Pro is also getting many new creator-friendly features. In short, future iPad Pros might look like the existing 2025 model, but they could function very differently.

Outlook

As someone who reviews iPads for a living, hearing this news is a bummer. That said, this is still very much a rumor. Given that, I’ll reserve hope for new design elements, such as even thinner bezels and better cooling. But even if that doesn’t happen, I can’t complain too much since the current iPad Pro design is so great.

Again, take this alleged leak with a healthy dose of skepticism. If we hear any updates on this story, we’ll let you know, so stay tuned for more!

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Tony is a computing writer at Tom’s Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much time on X/Twitter. His non-nerdy pursuits involve attending Hard Rock/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such as Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and various independent gaming sites.

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