After the launch of the iPad Pro and iPad Air earlier this year, we’re still expecting a new 11th-generation iPad and iPad mini before the end of 2024. Now, a new leak sheds some light on what they might be packing under the hood.
According to a reference in Apple’s backend code discovered by Nicolás Álvarez on X (via @aaronp613), the company is working on several new iPads that are expected to launch this fall, including:
- iPad15.7: iPad 11th generation (Wi-Fi)
- iPad15.8: iPad 11th Generation (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- iPad16.1: iPad mini 7 (Wi-Fi)
- iPad16.2: iPad mini 7 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
According to the identifiers, the 11th-gen iPad will feature an A16 processor, a decent upgrade over the 10th-gen model’s A14 Bionic, while the mini will get a newer A17 chip, also a two-generation bump. Apple could opt to put an A17 Pro in the mini if it wants it to run Apple Intelligence. Also found in the code are references to several apparently abandoned iPads that were once in development but never made it to production:
- iPad13.20: iPad “Base” A14 (Wi-Fi)
- iPad13.21: iPad “Base” A14 (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- iPad15.3: iPad Pro M3 11-inch (Wi-Fi)
- iPad15.4: iPad Pro M3 11-inch (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- iPad15.5: iPad Pro M3 13-inch (Wi-Fi)
- iPad15.6: iPad Pro M3 13-inch (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
The first two models on the list aren’t the 10th-generation iPad (which also has an A14, but is labeled “iPad13.18” and “iPad13.19”). Instead, it appears to be an A14 update coming to the 9th-generation iPad, which was retired in May and was the last iPad to feature a Home button.
Additionally, the leak shows that Apple was indeed working on an M3 iPad Pro that we expected to launch this year. However, at its “Let Loose” event in May, Apple instead surprised us by switching from the M2 chip to an all-new M4 chip in the new iPad Pro. This wasn’t the first time a new chip debuted in an iPad (the iPad Air got the A14 chip a month before the iPhone 12 due to Covid-related production issues), but it was the first time Apple chose to launch a new M-series chip in a non-Mac device.
Finally, there are 4 references to “iPad 17”, which seem to refer to the iPad Pro M5 which will likely launch in 2025 or early 2026.
