Apple introduced a major update to the iPad Pro during Tuesday’s “Let Loose” event. Promoting the new iPads as AI-capable tablets, the new 13-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro Have several upgrades over the models they replace—with a higher starting price to go with them.
At the heart of the iPad Pro is an M4 System on a Chip, a big leap in silicon from the M2 chips they replace. The M4 has a 10-core CPU, with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, and Apple claims that the M4 is 1.5 times faster than the M2 in CPU performance. The M4 has a new display engine that is 50 percent faster than the M2, and a 10-core GPU that is four times faster. The iPad Pro has 8GB (256GB or 512GB SSD models) or 16GB (1TB or 2TB models) of RAM.
The M4 also has a 16-core NPU, which Apple calls its “most powerful Neural Engine ever.” It is capable of 38 trillion operating per second, which is 60 times faster than the original Neural Engine that was in the A11 Bionic chip. Apple claims that the “Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.”
Another major upgrade to the iPad Pro is the display. Apple has replaced the LED and mini LED technology on the previous iPad Pros with a new display it calls Ultra Retina XDR, which is an implementation of OLED technology that offers deeper blacks, better details in shadows and low light, and better response to motion. Apple uses two OLED panels in an implementation it calls Tandem OLED to address the brightness concerns of a single OLED panel. The Tandem OLED generates 1000 nits of SDR/HDR brightness and 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness. Apple also offers a nano texture glass option for $100 more than the standard glossy glass (though you’ll need to get a model with at least 1TB of storage).
The third major change is with the cameras. The front-facing camera is now on the longer side of the iPad Pro for use in landscape mode and the rear 10MP ultra-wide camera is gone. The 12MP main camera now has an adaptive True Tone flash that works while scanning documents, which uses AI to sense shadows when scanning and uses the flash to fill in the spot, and multiple photos are taken and stitched together to create the best scan.
Apple calls the new iPad Pro the thinnest Apple product ever. The 11-inch model is 5.3mm thick and weighs 0.98 pounds (444 grams), while the 13-inch model is 5.1mm thick and weighs 1.28 pounds (582 grams). Like the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, the iPad Pro is available in Silver or Space Black. They start at $999 (11-inch) and ($1,299), $200 more than the M2 models:
- iPad Pro 11-inch Wi-Fi (2024): $999/£999
- iPad Pro 11-inch Cellular (2024): $1,199/£1,199
- iPad Pro 13-inch Wi-Fi (2024): $1,299/£1,299
- iPad Pro 13-inch Cellular (2024): $1,499/£1,499
The new iPad Pro is now available for pre-order now with shipments beginning next week.
