Apple plans to introduce vapor-chamber cooling in the next iPad Pro, which will feature the M6 chip, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. This upgrade aims to enhance cooling and performance for demanding tasks on the larger tablet device.
The vapor-chamber system has already appeared in the iPhone 17 Pro models, where it contributes to improved cooling and overall performance. In the context of the iPad Pro, the tablet’s larger surface area compared to an iPhone facilitates greater heat dissipation. This design element allows the device to handle intensive applications more effectively, including gaming sessions that generate substantial thermal loads, professional video editing workflows requiring sustained processing power, and AI-driven applications that demand high computational resources without throttling due to overheating.
Gurman anticipates that Apple will leverage the vapor-chamber cooling as a marketing feature to distinguish various iPad models in its lineup. This approach builds on prior enhancements to thermal management in the iPad Pro series. For instance, the M4 generation incorporated a new copper heat sink, which elevated the cooling efficiency of that model over its predecessors.
The vapor-chamber technology draws from implementations in competing smartphones produced by Samsung and Google. Notably, Samsung integrated a comparable liquid-cooling system into its Galaxy Tab S9 tablet, released in 2023. This system employs vaporization principles to transfer heat away from critical components, maintaining operational stability during prolonged use.
Gurman projects that Apple will adhere to its standard 18-month product refresh cycle for the iPad Pro. Consequently, the version equipped with the M6 chip and vapor-chamber cooling is slated for release sometime in 2027, providing users with advanced heat performance capabilities at that time.
