Apple’s next iPad Pro will reportedly get two front-facing cameras
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Apple’s next iPad Pro will reportedly get two front-facing cameras
The new iPad Pro will have a second front-facing camera. The new M5 chip will make it easier to use the camera in portrait mode. Apple is also expected to update its MacBook Pro, iMac, and iWatch with new chips.
Compared to the previous iPad models, the upcoming iPad Pro with Apple’s latest silicon removes the guessing game of where the front-facing camera is. In the past, iPad models only had one front-facing camera alongside the portrait edge, but Apple decided to shift this to the landscape side in 2024 with the iPad Pro M4. iPad Pro owners who mostly use their devices in landscape mode welcomed this change, but those who preferred holding it vertically found it was trickier to unlock through Face ID.
Beyond the new front-facing camera, the new iPad Pro should have slight performance upgrades and better power efficiency thanks to the improved M5 chip. Besides the iPad Pro, Apple is reportedly looking at upgrading its Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac with its next-gen chips.
M5 iPad Pro might tackles Face ID’s biggest weakness
Apple’s 2025 iPad Pro will reportedly sport dual front-facing cameras and Face ID scanners to address a major limitation in the previous version of the tablet. Last year, the company repositioned the front camera on the M4 iPad Pro to a landscape orientation, which solved some problems but caused others. Apple will allegedly solve this problem with the M5 iPad Pro coming later this year. Besides the second front camera, the only other notable upgrade will seemingly be a new M5 chip.
Last year, the company repositioned the front camera on the M4 iPad Pro to a landscape orientation, which solved some problems but caused others. Apple allegedly has a solution, though.
2025 iPad Pro could get a second front camera
Apple revamped the iPad Pro last year with a slim new design and a beautiful OLED display. As part of the redesign, the company moved the Face ID and front camera setup to the long edge of the screen. This new location introduced several benefits, including more natural eye alignment during FaceTime calls and Face ID working in landscape orientation.
However, this move introduced another problem. Face ID does not work reliably with the iPad Pro in portrait orientation. It’s easy to accidentally cover the scanners with one of the hands holding the tablet. Apple will allegedly solve this problem with the M5 iPad Pro coming later this year.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reveals Apple will fix this problem by adding a second camera and set of facial scanners. It will position these along the short edge for portrait use. This should improve both Face ID performance and bring another benefit: the video calling experience will improve when holding the iPad vertically.
M5 chip might be the only other real upgrade
All signs point to this year’s iPad Pro refresh being a somewhat modest upgrade. Besides the second front camera, the only other notable upgrade will seemingly be a new M5 chip. Still, it’ll be the first device of any kind with Apple’s new chip, even beating out MacBooks.
Still, the tablet will supposedly look the same and won’t have other changes. That should not be surprising, considering last year’s iPad Pro brought significant design upgrades.