Apple’s next major iPad push may be on the horizon. Just after the company introduced the iPad mini (2026) with an OLED display and the A20 Pro chip, a new report suggests Apple is preparing a wider refresh of the rest of its iPad lineup, with three new models expected to arrive in the first half of 2027.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the upcoming refresh will include a new entry-level iPad, an iPad Air with an OLED display, and a faster iPad Pro featuring vapor-chamber cooling. Gurman also reported that Apple does not appear to be planning any additional iPad launches in the second half of 2027, making the first half of the year the main window for future tablet updates.
The current iPad (2025), which launched in March last year, uses the A16 chip and comes with 6GB of RAM, which is not enough to support Apple Intelligence. Its successor is expected to fix that limitation. Specs leaked through Apple’s own code suggest the next standard iPad will bring an A19 chip, 8GB of RAM, Apple’s N1 networking chip with Wi-Fi 7 support, and the C1X modem for sub-6GHz 5G in cellular models.
The iPad Air 11 (2026) and iPad Air 13 (2026), released in March with the M4 chip and 12GB of RAM, still use 60Hz LCD screens. The next generation is expected to finally move to OLED, which matches earlier reports that Samsung Display will supply the panels. A chip upgrade to the M5 remains a plausible option, though it has not been confirmed.
For the premium segment, the iPad Pro 13 and iPad Pro 11 launched in October 2025 with the M5 chip. The upcoming iPad Pro is expected to add vapor-chamber cooling, which should help the device maintain higher performance during extended use. The same source previously reported that the 2027 iPad Pro would pair that cooling system with an M6 chip, making the possibility seem realistic now that Apple has already brought the M6 to the 14-inch MacBook Pro and iMac.
Source: Mark Gurman via Bloomberg
