Apple’s upcoming M5 chip is set to debut in the new iPad Pro model this fall, marking the second consecutive year that an M-class chip will launch on the iPad before the Mac.
Historically, Apple’s ‘M’ series chips, long associated with the Mac, have always premiered on Mac devices before making their way to the iPad. This pattern was broken in May 2024 with the M4 chip, which first appeared in the iPad Pro, giving it a considerable head start over Mac devices.
The M4 iPad Pro was the sole device featuring the M4 chip for approximately six months, with the first M4 Macs arriving in November, half a year after the iPad Pro’s May shipment. For the M5 chip, this exclusivity period is anticipated to be much shorter. While the M5 iPad Pro is expected to ship sometime in the fall—potentially September, October, or November—the M5 MacBook Pro is projected to follow “very early” in 2026, according to Mark Gurman.
In the shortest possible scenario, if the M5 iPad Pro releases in November, the M5 would appear on Mac devices as early as January, resulting in a two-month gap. More likely, the wait will be three to four months, which still represents a significant reduction compared to the M4’s six-month delay.
The second crucial difference lies in the state of iPad software. When the M4 chip launched last year, there was considerable uncertainty about how iPadOS 18 would leverage its performance gains. Critics often pointed out that iPad software had historically lagged behind the rapid advancements in hardware capabilities, making the introduction of a cutting-edge chip with existing iPadOS features feel “a bit anticlimactic.”
This dynamic is expected to change drastically with iPadOS 26. For the first time, a new iPad Pro model will be accompanied by software designed to fully utilize its powerful hardware. Apple is set to deliver long-awaited features that will genuinely take advantage of the M5 chip’s capabilities. Powerful iPadOS 26 features, such as enhanced windowing capabilities and the ability to run numerous applications simultaneously, are specifically designed to benefit from the improved performance of the M5 chip.
This convergence of advanced hardware and optimized software is generating excitement among long-time iPad users. As one user noted, having used the iPad Pro as their primary computer for a decade, this marks the first time they remember being genuinely “excited about a new chip” due to the anticipated software improvements.
The M5’s arrival with the new iPad Pro will not be a surprise, but the integrated software experience is expected to be profoundly different and more impactful than previous generations.
