Next iPad Pro tipped to get the iPhone’s vapor cooling chamber, M6 chip

Macworld

The updated iPad Pro announced earlier this month isn’t exactly a groundbreaking launch: the design, color options, screen, camera, and price are all the same as on the previous model. Essentially it’s just a processor bump, with the tablet moving from an M4 to an M5 chip.

But the next model is set for something a little different. According to a new report, the M6 iPad Pro will get a new cooling feature along with its updated chipset.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman discusses the iPhone 17 Pro’s new vapor chamber, and its importance in tackling the overheating issues some users experienced with the titanium iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro when running processor-intensive apps. As touched on briefly in our iPhone 17 Pro Max review, this feature dissipates heat that could affect performance and greatly reduces the need for thermal throttling under heavy processing loads.

Given that the iPad Pro these days features a desktop-class processor and is targeted at creative pros multitasking and running extremely demanding software, Gurman points out that the vapor chamber would make even more sense on Apple’s pro tablet.

Sure enough, he reports, Apple is working on making this a reality. “Apple is now working on the feature,” he writes, “with plans to integrate it as soon as the next round of updates.” Based on the current 18-month cycle, Gurman adds, this is likely to happen in spring 2027.

This new feature, along with the M6 processor—a chip likely made using a next-gen 2nm processor, and boasting significant speed and efficiency upgrades on the M5—will give the iPad Pro its best chance yet at displacing the laptop as creative pros’ productivity tool of choice.