Apple last updated the iPad Pro in 2018 with the introduction of the current completely flat design on the back. The design language will likely continue for another year or two before a radical design upgrade, as the company only updated the iPad Air to feature a similar design last year. The current generation iPad Pro was released in March 2020 and Apple is due to release an upgraded model sometime very soon.
The 2020 iPad Pro brought an upgraded A12Z Bionic chip in place of the A12X chip found on the 2018 iPad Pro model. The only difference between the A12X and the A12Z is reportedly the extra GPU core in the newer A12Z Bionic chip. Apple has also used the A12Z Bionic chip in the Developer Transition Kit (DTK) Mac mini to show the strength of the chip used in an “iPad”.
Newer internals, old external
The upcoming iPad Pro will use a newer A14 modded chip, specifically tuned for the iPad. Apple unveiled the A14 Bionic alongside the iPad Air at its September event last year and since then, launched new iPhones powered by the same chip in October 2020. The next iPad Pro will very likely be powered by an A14X Bionic or A14Z Bionic chip.
The iPad Pro is already a very capable device with all the best tech such as a 120Hz high refresh rate display with a high resolution, modern design, and more. The upcoming iteration of the same will likely not be much different but with minor changes in the type of RAM (memory) technology, CPU technology, and other newer generation internals for faster compute.
Apple could also bundle a higher wattage charger with the next iteration of the iPad Pro. The current generation iPad Pro ships with an 18W charger whereas the cheaper iPad Air ships with a 20W charger.
