Apple today announced its next-generation iPad Pro, which includes updates to its design, display, and performance.
Those in the market for a new tablet with a wide range of powerful capabilities now have two new options. Apple’s first major event of 2024 was focused squarely on the iPad, including an update to their mid-range iPad Air. That lineup received a few updates, including the M2 chip, new colors, and a second, larger model. However, the meat of the presentation was saved for the next-generation iPad Pro.
A refreshed design with a stunning display
The iPad Pro’s hard refresh includes a new design that’s thinner than any previous iPad model at 5.3mm thick for the 11-inch model and 5.1mm for the 13-inch model. As Apple explained, the new iPads are even thinner than an iPod Nano. Apple also, finally, moved the front-facing camera to be more in-line with a Macbook’s placement to enable better video conferencing for business use cases.
However, the most stunning change to the iPad Pro’s design is its display. Dubbed the Ultra Retina XDR, the iPad Pro launches with what Apple is calling the world’s most advanced display. The new models use a state-of-the-art technology called tandem OLED where two OLED panels combine their light to provide full-screen brightness. This allows the iPad Pro to display up to 1600 bit peaks of brightness for HDR, enable millisecond control over the color and luminance of each pixel, and home in on specular highlights in photos and videos to provide more detail.
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A giant leap for performance
Powering the iPad Pros are not the recently developed M3 chips available in current Macbook models, but the new M4 chip. Bult with a new display engine, the M4 is equipped to take advantage of the new Ultra Retina XDR display. It’s also powerful enough to enable powerful features like Dynamic Caching, and, more importantly, for gaming, ray tracing.
Apple’s been making big pushes to make its platforms more appealing for AAA game developers, including tools that make it easier to port games to MacOS, iPhoneOS, and iPadOS. Last year saw the release of Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Village, Death Stranding Director’s Cut, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage across Mac, iPhone, and iPad devices containing advanced chips.
Pricing and accessories
The iPad Pro launches on May 15 with the 11-inch model starting at $999 and the 13-inch model at $1299 with Wi-Fi only. New accessories for the device include the Apple Pencil Pro ($129), the new Magic Keyboard ($299 for the 11-inch model; $349 for the 13-inch model), and the new Smart Folio ($79 for the 11-inch model; $99 for the 13-inch model).
