Report: New iPad Air will get M1 chip like the iPad Pro

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iPad Air 4
iPad Air 4 (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • The iPad Air will reportedly come packed with the M1 chip.
  • The new tablet was previously thought to be upgraded with the A15 processor.
  • The new version is expected to be announced at tomorrow's "Peek Performance" event.

It looks like the new iPad Air is getting a bigger boost than we previously thought.

As reported by 9to5Mac the next generation of the iPad Air, which was previously thought to get upgraded to the A15 processor, may instead get bumped up even further to the M1 chip.

The M1 chip was originally packed into the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini when Apple announced its first Apple silicon processor for the Mac. It was then brought into the iPad Pro last year, a surprise move that few were expecting.

Previous rumors about the new iPad Air suggested that it would feature the A15 Bionic chip – the same one found in the iPhone 13 and the 6th generation iPad mini. However, it seems that Apple wants to close the gap between the iPad Air and iPad Pro even further, this time with the addition of a more powerful chip.Based on information seen by 9to5Mac, iPad Air 5 (codenamed J408) will have the same M1 chip that Apple uses in the 2021 models of the iPad Pro and also in the first generation of Apple Silicon Macs, which includes the 24-inch iMac and 2020 MacBook Air.

Green Iphone 13 Purple Ipad Air

Green Iphone 13 Purple Ipad Air (Image credit: Luke Miani/Apple Track)

In addition to the M1 chip, the next generation of the iPad Air is also expected to feature the new front-facing FaceTime camera that Apple brought to the iPad mini. The new camera will enable Center Stage, Apple's camera feature that tracks your movement so you can move around and stay in the frame on FaceTime, Zoom, and other apps that use the camera.

Apple is also expected to announce a new Mac Studio, external display, and iPhone SE at the event, which is set to kick off at 10:00 AM PDT tomorrow.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.