ipad pro

m4-ipad-pro-review:-well,-now-you’re-just-showing-off

M4 iPad Pro review: Well, now you’re just showing off

11-inch iPad Pro, 13-inch iPad Pro, Apple, apple m4, Apple Magic Keyboard, apple pencil, Apple Pencil Pro, Features, ipad, ipad pro, oled, Reviews, tablet, Tech / /
The back of an iPad with its Apple logo centered

Enlarge / The 2024, M4-equipped 13-inch iPad Pro.

Samuel Axon

The new iPad Pro is a technical marvel, with one of the best screens I’ve ever seen, performance that few other machines can touch, and a new, thinner design that no one expected.

It’s a prime example of Apple flexing its engineering and design muscles for all to see. Since it marks the company’s first foray into OLED beyond the iPhone or Watch, and the first time a new M-series chip has debuted on something other than a Mac, it comes across as a tech demo for where the company is headed beyond just tablets.

Still, it remains unclear why most people would spend one, two, or even three thousand dollars on a tablet that, despite its amazing hardware, does less than a comparably priced laptop—or at least does it a little more awkwardly, even if it’s impressively quick and has a gorgeous screen.

Specifications

There are some notable design changes in the 2024 iPad Pro, but really, it’s all about the specs—and it’s a more notable specs jump than usual in a couple of areas.

M4

First up, there’s the M4 chip. The previous iPad Pro had an M2 chip, and the latest Mac chip is the M3, so not only did the iPad Pro jump two whole generations, but this is the first time it has debuted the newest iteration of Apple Silicon. (Previously, new M-series chips launched on the Mac first and came to the iPad Pro a few months later.)

Using second-generation 3 nm tech, the M4’s top configuration has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core NPU. In that configuration, the 10-core CPU has four performance cores and six efficiency cores.

A lower configuration of the M4 has just nine CPU cores—three performance and six efficiency. Which one you get is tied to how much storage you buy. 256GB and 512GB models get nine CPU cores, while 1TB and 2TB get 10. Additionally, the two smaller storage sizes have 8GB of RAM to the larger ones’ 16GB.

This isn’t the first time Apple has tied RAM to storage configurations, but doing that with CPU cores is new for the iPad. Fortunately, the company is upfront about all this in its specs sheet, whereas the RAM differentiation wasn’t always clear to buyers in the past. (Both configurations claim 120GB/s memory bandwidth, though.)

Can the M4 help the iPad Pro bridge the gap between laptop and tablet? Mostly, it made me excited to see the M4 in a laptop.

Enlarge / Can the M4 help the iPad Pro bridge the gap between laptop and tablet? Mostly, it made me excited to see the M4 in a laptop.

Samuel Axon

Regardless of the specific configuration, the M4 promises substantially better CPU and GPU performance than the M2, and it supports hardware-accelerated ray-tracing via Metal, which some games and applications can take advantage of if developers put in the work to make it happen. (It looked great in a demo of Diablo Immortal I saw, but it’s unclear how often we’ll actually see it in the wild.)

Apple claims 1.5x faster CPU performance than the M2 and up to 4x faster graphics performance specifically on applications that involve new features like ray-tracing or hardware-accelerated mesh shading. It hasn’t made any specific GPU performance claims beyond those narrow cases.

A lot of both Apple’s attention and that of the media is focused on the Neural Engine, which is what Apple calls the NPU in the M-series chips. That’s because the company is expected to announce several large language model-based AI features in iOS, macOS, and iPadOS at its developer conference next month, and this is the chip that will power some of that on the iPad and Mac.

Some neat machine-learning features are already possible on the M4—you can generate audio tracks using certain instruments in your Logic Pro projects, apply tons of image optimizations to photos with just a click or two, and so on.

M4 iPad Pro review: Well, now you’re just showing off Read More »

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Hands-on with the new iPad Pros and Airs: A surprisingly refreshing refresh

Apple, Features, iPad Air, ipad pro, Tech / /
Apple's latest iPad Air, now in two sizes. The Magic Keyboard accessory is the same one that you use with older iPad Airs and Pros, though they can use the new Apple Pencil Pro.

Enlarge / Apple’s latest iPad Air, now in two sizes. The Magic Keyboard accessory is the same one that you use with older iPad Airs and Pros, though they can use the new Apple Pencil Pro.

Andrew Cunningham

Apple has a new lineup of iPad Pro and Air models for the first time in well over a year. Most people would probably be hard-pressed to tell the new ones from the old ones just by looking at them, but after hands-on sessions with both sizes of both tablets, the small details (especially for the Pros) all add up to a noticeably refined iPad experience.

iPad Airs: Bigger is better

But let’s begin with the new Airs since there’s a bit less to talk about. The 11-inch iPad Air (technically the sixth-generation model) is mostly the same as the previous-generation A14 and M1 models, design-wise, with identical physical dimensions and weight. It’s still the same slim-bezel design Apple introduced with the 2018 iPad Pro, just with a 60 Hz LCD display panel and Touch ID on the power button rather than Face ID.

So when Apple says the device has been “redesigned,” the company is mainly referring to the fact that the webcam is now mounted on the long edge of the tablet rather than the short edge. This makes its positioning more laptop-y when it’s docked to the Magic Keyboard or some other keyboard.

The most welcome change to the Air is the introduction of a 13-inch model (blessedly, no longer “12.9 inches”). It looks like the old 12.9-inch iPad Pro design from circa 2018 but with the simpler single-lens 12 MP camera and the Touch ID button rather than the Face ID sensor.

The new iPad Air.

Enlarge / The new iPad Air.

Andrew Cunningham

With the iPad Pro and the Air next to each other, it’s clear which has the superior screen—the 120 Hz refresh rate of ProMotion and the infinite contrast of OLED are definitely major points in the Pro’s favor. But if you’re just looking for a big screen for watching videos, reading books, or playing games, or if you’re just looking for a general-use laptop replacement tablet, Apple is still using a great 60 Hz LCD panel here. And the $799 price tag is considerably lower than any of Apple’s past 12.9-inch iPad Pros.

Like the 15-inch MacBook Air, it’s a way for people to get a bigger screen without paying for advanced screen technologies or faster processors if they don’t want or need them. It’s hard to find a downside to that, as long as you’re OK with iPadOS’ differences and restrictions relative to macOS.

Hands-on with the new iPad Pros and Airs: A surprisingly refreshing refresh Read More »

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New iPad Pros are the thinnest Apple device ever, feature dual-OLED screens

Apple, Apple event, Apple events, ipad, ipad pro, iPads, Tech / /

Apple spring event 2024 —

They also contain what Apple calls the fastest consumer AI computer you can buy.

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New iPad Pros are the thinnest Apple device ever, feature dual-OLED screens

Apple

Apple’s newest iPad Pro puts an M4 chip inside a thinner frame and is available in new 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, while also upgrading the screens on both to “tandem” OLED displays for more brightness.

Compared to the last iPad Pro, released in early 2022, Apple is highlighting how thin and light these new Pros are. The 11-inch model is 5.3 mm thick and weighs less than a pound, while the 13-inch is 5.1 mm, which Apple says is its thinnest product ever, at 1.28 pounds.

The tandem OLED design, dubbed Ultra Retina XDR, delivers 1000 nits at full-screen brightness, and 1600 nits at peak HDR, equivalent to a high-end Samsung TV. The screens are “nano-texture glass,” which is essentially a matte display finish.

What’s really big is the inclusion of an M4 chip, built from a second-generation 3-nanometer process. It’s the first time the iPad Pro has included a new Apple chip ahead of other devices. Apple is touting a 50 percent improvement over M2 performance and can deliver the same performance as M2 at half the power, or one-quarter the power in certain scenarios. Notably, the new iPad Air uses the M2; this year’s lineup puts more of a gap between the use cases and price/performance points of the various iPads, even if there is still some cross-over.

The chip’s neural engine got a very specific call-out; it’s capable of 38 trillion operations per second, and Apple says it’s the most powerful (consumer-level) AI computer sold.

The new iPad Pros get a 12 megapixel camera, along with LIDAR scanners and an adaptive flash that improves document scanning. Finally, the “selfie”/conferencing camera moves to the landscape position on the iPad Pro, making that ultra-wide 12MP camera far more useful and the iPad-as-laptop experience a good deal better. On that note, there are new Magic Keyboards, Smart Folios, and an Apple Pencil Pro available soon to attach to these new models.

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999, and the 13-inch starts at $1,299, with 256GB storage to start. They’re both available for order today, with delivery next week.

This is a developing story and this post will be updated.

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What to expect from Apple’s May 7 “Let loose” event

Apple, Apple M3, apple m4, apple pencil, Apple silicon, ipad, iPad Air, ipad pro, iPadOS, iPadOS 17.5, Tech / /
A colorful Apple log with an Apple Pencil inside it, with the copy

Enlarge / The promotional image for Apple’s May 7 event.

Apple

On May 7, Apple will host a product announcement event at 9 am ET. Labeled “Let loose,” we expect it will focus on new iPads and iPad accessories.

We won’t be liveblogging the stream, but you can expect some news coverage as it happens. Below, we’ll go over our educated guesses about why Apple might be doing this.

Why hold an event now?

It’s unusual for Apple to host an event shortly before WWDC. New products debut at that event all the time, so if it’s just a faster chip and a nicer screen for the iPad Pro and iPad Air, why not wait until June?

We’re not completely sure what the answer is, but we can make educated guesses.

Apple has been criticized by commentators over the past few weeks for three things. First, iPads have not been selling well. Second: While the Vision Pro introduced a new product category that may grow over time, its initial launch didn’t sell that well. Lastly, Apple is perceived by many as way, way behind on generative AI tech, which is already transforming other companies. There have also been rumors that Microsoft might announce a new silicon that will be fiercely competitive with Apple Silicon for AI tasks, and Microsoft’s chips could be announced at a planned event between May 7 and the start of WWDC.

Given all that, our best guess is that Apple wants to focus its messaging—and the time window for that messaging—on the right targets without muddying the message by trying to address everything at once.

Talking about the iPad’s challenges while also preempting Microsoft with a new chip announcement could be Apple’s focus for this event. Getting those things out of the way now would allow WWDC and its new operating system announcements to focus heavily on AI, which is the bigger question the company is looking to answer.

What new iPads might look like

Given that an Apple Pencil is in the event’s promotional image—a much more explicit hint than Apple usually provides—there’s no question iPads will be a focus.

As is often the case these days, we have a plethora of leaks, supply chain reports, and, of course, insider reporting at sites like Bloomberg and The Information to give us a rough idea of what to expect from Apple’s new hardware.

iPad Pro

It’s likely that the star of the show will be a significant redesign of the iPad Pro for the 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes.

Both are rumored to get OLED displays, a huge step up over the LCD display in the current 11-inch iPad Pro. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro has a MiniLED display, which competes directly with OLED in the consumer TV space, so it won’t be as big a leap for that device, but we can still expect better contrast and richer colors.

What to expect from Apple’s May 7 “Let loose” event Read More »

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Report: Redesigned M3 iPad Pros, large-screened iPad Air now expected in May

Apple, ipad, iPad Air, ipad pro, iPadOS, Tech / /

the wait continues —

Next-gen iPads will be Apple’s first new tablets since late 2022.

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The M2 iPad Pro. The updated version will come with refined designs and new accessories.

Enlarge / The M2 iPad Pro. The updated version will come with refined designs and new accessories.

Apple

If you’ve been waiting for new iPads to come out, prepare to wait just a little longer: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that redesigned iPad Pros with Apple’s M3 chip, plus refreshed iPad Air models with the M2 and a larger-screened option, should now arrive sometime in “early May.” Gurman had previously reported that new iPads could arrive in March or April, not long after the updated M3 MacBook Airs.

Gurman suggests that “complex new manufacturing techniques” for the new iPad screens have “contributed to the delay,” and that Apple is also “working to finish software for the devices.”

The details of what the new iPads will look like hasn’t changed. The new iPad Pro models will shift to using OLED display panels for the first time and will have their designs tweaked for the first time since the 2018 iPad Pros introduced the current rounded, slim-bezeled look. Those new iPad Pros will also come with redesigned Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil accessories, though it’s unclear whether those accessories will be totally rethought or if they’ll just tweak existing designs to work with the new tablets.

The iPad Air refresh will be more straightforward. It should retain the current design, which is very similar to the 2018-era iPad Pro refresh but with a power button-mounted TouchID fingerprint sensor instead of a FaceID camera for authentication. But the new Airs will come with an M2 chip instead of the current M1, and a 12.9-inch variant will provide a less-expensive large-screened option for people who want to use their iPad as their primary computer but who don’t want to pay for the extra bells and whistles of the Pro.

Some rumors have suggested the iPad Pro could come with a price hike relative to the current-generation model, though the sources of those rumors can’t agree on how big a jump it would be. Gurman hasn’t mentioned Apple’s pricing plans in his reports.

There’s also no word about the other tablets in Apple’s lineup, all of which are at least a year or two old. The sixth-generation iPad mini and the $329 ninth-generation iPad were last updated in September 2021, while the awkwardly positioned 10th-generation iPad was released in October 2022.

New hardware is always nice to have, but it does continue to feel like the power of Apple’s M-series chips is a bit wasted on Apple’s tablets. The iPad’s relatively limited multitasking model, restrictions on third-party software and the general dearth of performance-intensive high-end apps in Apple’s app store mean that performance really isn’t a problem on current-generation iPads; there’s nothing an iPad can currently do that an M1 can’t handle with room to spare. Apple will announce new operating system versions at its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 10; it’s possible that iPadOS will get some new features that more fully leverage the power of Apple’s newer chips.

Report: Redesigned M3 iPad Pros, large-screened iPad Air now expected in May Read More »