Now that Apple has finally launched the completely redesigned iPhone X, fans of the company are naturally curious about how the company will update the rest of its devices. Presumably, the iPad Pro is up next, and we have already seen plenty of rumors swirling around about the next edition of the tablet. It will probably be a few months before we hear anything official, but earlier this week, an industry source gave us another hint about the next iPad.
Citing industry sources, Chinese website MyDrivers reported on Tuesday that Apple’s upcoming iPad Pro models will feature octa-core processors built on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) 7 nm process.
Following the naming convention of previous chips, the new SoC will purportedly carry the name “A11X Bionic.” The sources claim that the chip will feature three high-powered “Monsoon” cores and five efficient “Mistral” cores. Like the A11 chip in the iPhone 8/X, the A11X is also said to feature TSMC’s integrated fan-out wafer-level packaging.
Additionally, the A11X chip should include an updated M11 motion coprocessor, as well as a neural engine capable of performing more advanced artificial intelligence tasks. After all, a recent report from Bloomberg suggests that the next iPad Pro will steal some of the iPhone X’s best features, including Face ID.
If Apple does plan to bring the technology that makes the iPhone X such a radical step forward to the iPad Pro, the look of the iPad Pro will inevitably change. In addition to Face ID, rumors also point to the 2018 iPad Pro shrinking the bezels on the tablet and removing the Home button. If Apple wants to sustain the momentum that the iPad picked up in 2018, making a faster, sleeker device with innovative new features would certainly make sense.
