Apple set to reveal major iPad Pro revamp
For Apple, 2024 will be a key year for the iPad. The company hasn’t released any new tablets since the end of 2022, so it has a large backlog of iPad interest to fill, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Bloomberg
Apple revamped its iPad lineup during the tech company’s May event.
Today’s reveal was “the biggest day for iPad since it’s introduction,” Tim Cook said as the presentation began.
The iPad Air and iPad Pro got significant upgrades, and Apple also introduced a new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard for the devices. Apple also lowered the price on the existing iPad 10-inch, which will now start at $349.
Livestreaming of the event, called “Let Loose,” was available on Apple’s YouTube channel, as well as its website.
And we will be recapping the Apple event live at 12:30 p.m. ET today on USA TODAY’s YouTube channel and across our social media platforms.
Here’s what was announced at Apple’s May event:
Apple Pencil Pro
Apple introduced a new Apple Pencil Pro to pair with the new iPad Pro and new iPad Air devices.
You can squeeze the pencil to bring up a selected tool, and the pencil will have a gyroscope for precise control of the tool you are using.
The new Pencil Pro will also now support FindMy, so you can locate it in the Find My app if you’ve misplaced it. Similar to the previous Pencil, Pencil Pro carries and charges magnetically.
The new Apple Pencil Pro starts at $129, and will be available next week.
New Magic Keyboard
The Magic Keyboard has been redesigned to be thinner and lighter to work with the new, thinner iPad Pro, Apple says.
It will come in two colors to match the new Pro, and will have a function keys row and an aluminum trackpad.
The Magic Keyboard will come in two sizes, with the 11-inch starting at $299 and the 13-inch starting at $349.
New iPad Pro
The new iPad Pro, which will be available in silver and space black, will have a display using two OLED panels, which Apple is calling Tandem OLED.
Both sizes of the iPad Pro will feature the new display technologies.
The iPad Pro will also now have the new M4 chip — which was also introduced in the presentation — jumping all the way from the M2, which Apple says will make the device “four times faster.”
The camera has also been updated, which can help with document scanning.
The new iPad Pro models will be available next week, with the 11-inch starting at $999 and the 13-inch starting at $1299.
New iPad Air
The new Apple iPad Air will now come in two sizes: an 11-inch display and a larger 13-inch display. Both will have the updated M2 chip.
Other key changes: the front-facing camera will now be on the landscape edge and the iPads will have spatial audio.
New color options include blue and purple, in addition to the existing starlight and space gray finishes.
The iPads will work with the Magic Keyboard. For storage, they are adding 512MB and 1T options.
The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599, and the 13-inch starts at $799.
Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro updates
Creators rejoice! New updates to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro were also announced during the May event.
For Final Cut Pro, Apple introduced a live multicam feature, in which a user can connect up to four cameras. They also announced a new app for the iPhone and iPad — Final Cut Camera — which will allow users to connect four iPhones or iPads for video shoots.
Updates to Logic Pro include new drums and effects, and it can now use machine learning to model sound in detail.
More: Will Apple’s upgrades handle your multitasking? 5 things to know about the new MacBook Air
Today’s event comes about a month before the tech company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which will be online June 10 to 14. Apple often announces new features and updates for its operating systems across devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and more.
