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Apple’s “Let Loose” event in May 2024 marked a significant milestone for the iPad lineup, as the company introduced some of the most substantial upgrades since its inception. Read along to find out everything that Apple announced at this event.
The iPad Pro stole the spotlight at the event, and with good reason. Apple made the iPad Pro models thinner, with the 11-inch and 13-inch variants coming in at 5.3mm and 5.1mm thickness, respectively. More importantly, the new models finally get OLED displays with front-facing cameras on the landscape edge.
The new iPad Pro features not one but two OLED panels that work together. Apple calls this tandem OLED technology, where the light is combined from both panels to achieve a higher brightness. While the peak HDR brightness is still 1,600 nits, the full-screen brightness for both SDR and HDR content is now 1,000 nits compared to 600 nits on the older models.
SinceOLED displays have individual pixel control, unlike LCD panels, there should be no backlight bleed, and you will see true blacks while viewing a dark scene. If you often use your iPad outdoors, directly under the sunlight, you can also opt for a Nano-texture glass option, which greatly reduces glare. However, this option is only available with the 1TB and 2TB configurations.
The iPad Pro also packs the all-new M4 chip, whichApple claimsis 1.5x faster than the M2 chip in CPU performance. The GPU supports features such as hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Dynamic Caching. However, what’s more impressive is the M4’s Neural Engine performance, which is 60x faster than the A11 Bionic—Apple’s first chip with the Neural Engine.
The iPad Pro comes at a starting price of $999 for the 11-inch model and $1,299 for the 13-inch variant equipped with 256GB of storage. If you want the Nano-texture glass configuration, you’ll need to shell out an extra $100 on top of the cost of the 1TB and 2TB storage variants.
The iPad Air is now available in 11-inch and 13-inch screen sizes. Unfortunately, Apple retained the standard LCD panel instead of switching tothe Liquid Retina XDR displaywe’re familiar with on the older iPad Pro models. The Air now packs the M2 chip instead of the M1 chip, which should give you slightly better performance, but don’t expect an incredibly noticeable difference.
Like the iPad Pro, the iPad Air also houses the front-facing camera on the landscape edge, making video calls much more comfortable. Additionally, the iPad Air introduces a slightly different blue and purple color option alongside the unchanged space gray and starlight variants.
As for pricing, the 11-inch and 13-inch models start at $599 and $799, respectively. But unlike the outgoing models, the redesigned iPad Air comes with 128GB of base storage.
3Apple Pencil Pro
Apple added another Apple Pencil, dubbed the Apple Pencil Pro, to the lineup. It comes packed with several handy features to improve your experience. For instance, it can detect when you squeeze it to bring up more contextual options in apps, and it even gives you a little haptic feedback to confirm your actions.
Plus, it has a gyroscope that detects if you’ve rotated the pencil, allowing you to adjust pen and brush tools just like you would with a real pencil on paper. And if you ever misplace it, you’re able to usethe Apple Find My networkto track it down.
The Apple Pencil Pro costs $129, but remember, it’s only compatible with the 2024 iPad Pro and iPad Air models. Similarly, if you’re eyeing one of these iPads, be aware that your existing Apple Pencil (2nd generation) won’t work with them; you’ll need to buy the Apple Pencil Pro instead.
4Redesigned Magic Keyboard
Apple also introduced a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the M4 iPad Pro models. It now has an escape key and a function row, where you can adjust the brightness, control media playback, and much more—just like a MacBook.
The palm rest is now made of aluminum, but my favorite addition is the larger glass trackpad, which also has haptic feedback. With MacBook trackpads setting a high standard, it’s a welcome sight to see similar technology being integrated into iPad keyboards.
The new Magic Keyboard costs $299 for the 11-inch version and $349 for the 13-inch version. However, it’s important to note that it’s only compatible with the new iPads, which don’t work with the older Magic Keyboard.
With the release of these new iPads, Apple has discontinued the iPad (9th generation). So, the cheapest iPad you’re able to buy today is the iPad (10th generation), which now costs $349—$100 less than its launch price.
Apple also introduced new versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, with a whole suite of new AI features. This aligns with our expectations of AI taking the spotlight atthe WWDC 2024 event.
