Has Apple begun building A14X chips for new Macs, or iPad Pros?

A very poorly mocked up A14X chip image

I’m a little confused at the latest claim from the leaker called Komiya, who states that A14X production “has already begun” – is it for Macs, or for an unexpected update to the iPad Pro?

‘The A14X production has already been started’

The claim is kind of a one liner, but we can’t vouch for its accuracy. Other than knowing:

1. Apple put an A14 Bionic chip inside the soon-to-ship iPad Air.
2. Apple is likely to pop an A14 chip inside its soon announced iPhone 12.
3. There’s a chance Apple may want to beef up Apple Silicon in Macs by using a ore advanced A14 chip in those.
4. And there’s even some chance it may put the new chip inside iPad pros, as at least one report suggests.

The thing is, while I can buy 1-3, I’m a little challenged accepting point 4, given that at present at least, the existing iPad Pro is more performant than the A14-powered iPad Air.

The other problem is that Apple only recently updated the iPad Pro range, and updating it again soon would likely annoy some of its important professional customers who only very recently invested in one of these devices. These people are already grappling with the idea that iPad Air hosts a more modern chip.

[Also read: iPad 2020 review: Apple’s entry-level tablet raises all the boats]

What’s going on?

Saying this, we’ve heard some claims of an incoming iPad Pro model equipped with a mini-LED screen, and we’ve also come across performance data to suggest the new chip may be on par with an Intel i9 processor, which makes for pretty good iPads.

But it also makes for pretty good Macs, and with Apple expected to introduce new Apple Silicon Macs pretty soon, it’s got to be possible these wires are crossed, and the A14X chips are for those, rather than for iPads. At the same time, perhaps the Mac chips will be yet another version of the chip with even more performance than the others.

I’m sorry I can’t provide more certainty, but this is where we are.

Still, all this speculation makes for an interesting fall for Apple as we enter the second wave of COVID-19 – at least these new machines should keep us entertained as we struggle through the coming months.

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