New iPad Pro with M4 Chip, iPad Air 13-inch, Apple Pencil Pro Unveiled

Apple's new iPad Pro models are the thinnest gadgets it has ever made with one of its most powerful chipsets.

Apple's Let Loose event stood out from its recent gatherings, clocking in at a brisk 35 minutes. The event's pace mirrored the expected performance of its new products, drawing parallels to its previous "Scary Fast" event, where it introduced the M3 chipset and updated MacBook Pro models with the first 3nm PC chipset. This time, the focus was entirely on the iPad line, which had not seen an update in over a year. Apple has also accelerated the pace at which it deploys new M-series processors, highlighting its readiness to compete with Intel and Qualcomm, who are launching new processors for the AI-PC era in collaboration with Microsoft's Windows. Qualcomm, in particular, seems to be in Apple's crosshairs, with its new Snapdragon X Elite chips set to debut in products within weeks. Apple's historical animosity with Qualcomm, which has led to lawsuits in the past, and the fact that Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, a startup founded by Gerard Williams III, the architect of Apple's M-series chipsets, could also be factors. Williams' departure from Apple was contentious, and Nuvia's technology is supposedly powering Qualcomm's challenge, something Apple is likely unhappy about.

The M4 Chip: A Countermeasure to Qualcomm and Intel

The M4, which debuts with the new iPad Pro, is a countermeasure to Qualcomm's plans and Intel's recently released Meteor Lake Core Ultra chipsets. As a result, the iPad Pro skips a generation of chips, bypassing the M3. It also addresses growing concerns about Apple's lack of involvement in the generative AI scene, serving as a prelude to the announcements expected at WWDC, which will likely feature significant Apple generative AI news. The M4 features a brand new NPU, an 16-core neural engine capable of handling 38 trillion operations per second. This will enable greater creative flexibility, such as the neural engine allowing video editors using Final Cut Pro to isolate a subject from the background quickly.

In addition to the ray tracing, dynamic caching, and mesh shading graphics support introduced in the M3 chipset, this chipset is made on TSMC's new 2nd generation 3nm process and has 28 billion transistors. It has a new image engine that enables the new display on the iPad Pros. There are 4 performance cores that are up to 50% faster than the M2-powered iPad Pro and 6 efficiency cores. The graphics performance is overall 4 times faster than the M2 iPad Pro models. Overall, Apple claims this new iPad Pro is 4 times faster than the previous model.

A Major Redesign for the iPad Pro

The bigger story, however, is that this marks the first major redesign of the flagship iPad Pro in over six years, with the last one occurring in 2018 at an event Apple hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. That event repositioned the iPad as a laptop replacement, and this one perhaps cements that notion. The new 11-inch model is slimmer at 5mm, while the 13-inch size measures 5.1mm. This is thinner than the iPod nano, making it the thinnest Apple product ever. Both screens have been upgraded with OLED technology, previously found on the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple is merging two OLED screens to give it greater brightness levels, which Apple called Tandem OLED, with standard brightness levels being 1,000 nits and peak brightness reaching 1,600 nits, which is unprecedented for a screen of its size. Apple calls this screen Ultra XDR. Apple is also going to offer nano-textured glass as an option. This is likely the best screen Apple makes.

The cameras on the iPad Pro have been updated with a new adaptive True Tone flash. The adaptive flash is helpful for scanning documents, making it great for capturing documents.

Updates for the iPad Air

The iPad Air is also receiving an update after two years, now featuring the 5nm M2 processor previously found in the iPad Pro. This means it is up to 50% faster than the previous generation model. It thankfully starts with 128GB storage and is offered in up to a 1 TB model as well. It comes in new sizes, including a larger 13-inch option and a smaller 11-inch model for the first time. These two iPads are backwards compatible with the new accessories Apple has launched, which will also work with the new iPad Pro models. The iPad Air also features new speakers that support Spatial Audio, with the larger model offering louder audio. Other updates include faster Wi-Fi. Apple has addressed a long-standing complaint about the positioning of the front-facing cameras, which have always been in portrait orientation, even though these devices are often used in landscape mode when paired with Apple's keyboard.

New Features for Creative Apps

Apple has announced new updates for its iconic creative apps Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad. They only debuted last year. Apple says rendering for Final Cut Pro is faster, and there is a new feature called live Multicam, as it can take in footage in real-time from different iPhone cameras via a new app called Final Cut Camera. This will also allow users to shoot professional-quality videos with more options to manipulate the frame that are not available on the stock iPhone camera app. Overall, 4 streams can be ingested in real-time, making the iPad Pro a powerful live video workstation. With Logic Pro, new effects take advantage of AI, sounding realistic. Remixing is also made easy, allowing one to separate the stems from different elements of the track, like vocals, guitar, and drums.

Improved Accessories

The new Magic Keyboard clamps onto the iPad like a laptop, improving its mobility and usability. It is also made out of aluminium which makes it sturdier. The keyboard now adds a function row, and the trackpad uses haptic technology like the MacBooks. Apple has also introduced a new Apple Pencil, a sequel to the Apple Pencil 2 launched in 2018 with the iPad Pro. Called the Apple Pencil Pro, it adds haptic feedback for more precise use and can also summon new functions and supports the Apple Vision Pro. Shortcuts can be activated by squeezing the Apple Pencil Pro, and the hover function can be leveraged on apps like Procreate. It also supports Find My, so if you have lost your Apple Pencil Pro, users will be able to locate it. It even works with the new iPad Air.

Pricing and Availability

The new iPad Pro models start at Rs. 99,900 in India ($99 in the US) for the 11-inch model with 256GB of storage, and Rs. 1,29,900 ($1,299) for the 13-inch model. The same models with cellular data connectivity cost Rs. 1,19,900 and Rs. 1,49,900 respectively. Nano-texture glass will cost Rs. 10,000 extra and is only available with the 1TB and 2TB storage options.

The iPad Air starts at Rs. 59,900 ($599) for the 11-inch model and Rs. 79,900 ($799) for the 13-inch model, with 128GB of storage. Those prices rise to Rs. 74,900 and Rs. 94,900 respectively if you want cellular connectivity.

The new Magic Keyboard is priced at Rs. 29,900 (11-inch) and Rs. 33,900 (13-inch) and the Apple Pencil Pro will cost Rs. 11900 in India. All products will be available for pre-order starting today and will be in stores next week.