Apple’s 2022 iPad Pro could see major performance, battery life boosts
Apple just released the brand new 2021 iPad Pro featuring the powerful M1 processor, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning out new iPad Pro 2022 news.
According to a report from Nikkei Asia, Apple will be one of the first companies to use chips built with a 3-nanometer production process by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), alongside Intel.
The processor packs in more transistors than the current 5nm process used for Apple’s M1 chip, thus generating more processing power along with increased power savings. TSMC suggests that the process will result in 10-15% greater processing output while lowering power consumption by 25-30%.
Apple is reportedly testing its next-generation chip design with TSMC’s 3nm process with an eye to launch them in next year’s new iPad models. Since the iPad Pro is typically the model with the most powerful system-on-a-chip inside, it’s believed to be the target of these advanced upcoming chips.
Devices running the TSMC chips made with the 3nm process are expected to roll out in the second half of 2022. Nikkei Asia suggests that Apple’s 2022 iPhone models will use a 4nm chip instead, due to scheduling reasons.
The most recent iPad Pro models are the first to use Apple’s M1 chip, which was first introduced with its MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini revisions launched in late 2020. The chip replaced Intel processors within Apple’s computers, delivering greater processing power as well as improved laptop battery life. Apple’s recently refreshed iMac desktops now also use the M1.
