iPad Pro was one of three products that launched Apple’s M5 chip on October 15, 2025, alongside the 14-inch MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro. Every Apple silicon chip announced since, M5 Pro, M5 Max, M6 and M5 Ultra, has gone into a Mac. None has gone into an iPad.
iPad Air, meanwhile, moved to M4 on March 11, 2026, a full chip generation behind the M5 already running inside iPad Pro at that point for nearly five months.
Key facts on Apple silicon and iPad
| Chip | Announced | First product(s) | Ever shipped in an iPad |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5 | October 15, 2025 | 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Apple Vision Pro | Yes, iPad Pro |
| M4 | Earlier generation | iPad Air (11-inch and 13-inch), March 11, 2026 | Yes, iPad Air |
| M5 Pro / M5 Max | March 2026 | 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro | No |
| M6 | August 25, 2026 | Mac mini, September 22, 2026 | No |
| M5 Ultra | August 25, 2026 | Mac Studio, September 22, 2026 | No |
iPad Pro’s M5 puts it ahead of most current Macs, not behind
Because iPad Pro received M5 on the same day as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, it actually had the chip before the MacBook Air line did. MacBook Air with M5 did not arrive until March 11, 2026, the same day Apple gave iPad Air its M4 chip. For close to five months, iPad Pro was running a newer Apple silicon generation than Apple’s own MacBook Air. Apple’s Apple Intelligence device list still covers Mac going back to M1, which means plenty of Macs on sale today run three generations behind what iPad Pro has carried since last October.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
What separates M5 from M5 Pro, M5 Max, M6 and M5 Ultra
Apple’s live coverage of the September 9 keynote did not mention Apple silicon roadmaps at all, since the event was built around iPhone. Apple has kept every chip beyond plain M5 inside Mac hardware only. M5 Pro and M5 Max, announced in March 2026 for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, introduced what Apple calls Fusion Architecture, with unified memory Apple states at up to 64GB and 128GB respectively. M6, Apple’s first chip built on a 2-nanometer process, debuted in the Mac mini in August 2026. M5 Ultra, built from two fused dies, debuted the same month in Mac Studio. All four are Mac-exclusive so far, and Apple’s own product pages are the only place confirming that split, since Apple has issued no roadmap for when, or whether, any of them reaches an iPad.
The M4 iPad Air, a generation behind its own Pro sibling
iPad Air’s move to M4 came in blue, purple, starlight and space gray, and Apple’s own phrase for the price: "the same starting price as the previous generation," with no number attached to check it against. That M4 chip happens to be the exact floor for Apple Intelligence’s advanced tier, which requires "iPad (M4 or later) with 12GB or more unified memory" for features such as Siri voice customization and improved on-device Dictation. iPad Pro’s M5 clears that floor with room to spare on paper, though Apple has never published how much unified memory either model actually carries, so neither claim can be checked against a number Apple itself has printed.
| iPad line | Chip | Clears the M4-or-later Apple Intelligence advanced tier |
|---|---|---|
| iPad Pro | M5 | Yes, by chip generation |
| iPad Air | M4 | Yes, exactly at the floor |
| iPad mini | A17 Pro | No, no M-series chip |
| iPad (entry-level) | A16 | No, not on the Apple Intelligence list at all |
What Apple has not said
- A unified memory figure for iPad Pro, iPad Air, or any current iPad.
- Whether iPad Pro will ever receive M5 Pro, M5 Max, or a future Ultra-class chip.
- A timeline for iPad Air to move beyond M4.
As of today, September 12, Apple’s own product pages still list iPad Pro at M5 and iPad Air at M4, and neither the September 9 event nor the new A20 Pro chip it introduced for iPhone 18 Pro changed either figure, alongside the unrelated iOS 27 release arriving September 14. Checking Apple’s live tech specs pages remains the only way to confirm which chip a specific iPad shipped with.