The M4 iPad Pro has finally been announced. After months of rumors, Cupertino unveiled it during its Let Loose event. Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s high-end and priciest tablet.
Release date
Cupertino opened pre-orders for this tablet after the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled during Apple’s Let Loose event on May 7. It officially launches on May 15, 2024.
Design: Apple embraces OLED and calls it Ultra Retina XDR Display
After differentiating both iPad Pro models by their display (LCD for the 11-inch model and miniLED for the 12.9-inch version), Apple has unified them with tandem OLED technology, which means Apple applies two OLED panels on top of the other.
With 11-inch and 13-inch versions, this tablet offers everything you would expect from a high-end display and more. As anticipated by BGR, there are a ton of benefits with this Ultra Retina XDR panel. In addition, Apple continues to offer ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates from 10Hz to 120Hz, wide color (P3), fingerprinting-resistant oleophobic coating, standard brightness of 1,000 nits, and up to 1,600 nits for HDR content.
Nano-texture display comes to the iPad
Rumors were correct, and Apple added a nano-texture display option to the M4 iPad Pro. With that, Apple adds this technology to its tablets for the first time. Previously, it was only available for the Pro Display XDR and Studio Display products.
However, there’s a catch: Apple only offers nano-texture technology for models as an option for models with 1TB or 2TB of storage. Still, to add nano-texture, you need to pay $100 extra.
Matte screen protectors are very popular for iPads since they improve drawing and writing with an Apple Pencil. In addition, this nano-texture glass has a blue-light blocking technology to help protect the eyes while also reducing reflection.
These are the dimensions for the new iPad Pro
If you care about the details, these are the dimensions for the new iPad Pro:
- 11-inch iPad Pro: 249.7 mm x 177.5 mm x 5.1 mm / previously: 247.6 mm x 178.5 mm x 5.9 mm
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro: 281.5 mm x 215.5 mm x 5.0 mm / previously: 280.6 mm 214.9 mm x 6.4 mm
They also weigh less: 444 grams on the 11-inch model and 579 grams for the 13-inch option. Both weighs are for the Wi-Fi versions.
Landscape front-facing camera is here – but the back ultrawide lens is gone
With the tenth-generation iPad, Apple switched the front-facing camera from the top to the center of its right side. This change improves how users appear on a video call, as people have been using the iPad more in horizontal mode rather than vertical.
Thankfully, the new iPad Pro follows the trend, and Apple added a 12MP ultra-wide camera to a landscape orientation. It features ƒ/2.4 aperture, Portrait mode, Smart HDR 4 support, and 1080p HD video recording at up to 60 fps.
This change also means the TrueDepth sensor for Face ID is also in landscape mode, so users need to put the iPad in landscape orientation to set facial recognition up for the first time.
Besides that, Apple decided not to position the new iPad Pro as a capable video and photo recording tablet, as the company removed the ultra-wide lens and replaced it with the already-existing LiDAR Scanner. The main change is a new Adaptive True Tone flash, which Apple says is better for scanning documents.
Color options
The M4 iPad Pro is available in two colors:
- Silver
- Space Black
They match the colors of the M3 MacBook Pro models.
Apple took the leap, and the M4 processor powers the new iPad
While everyone expected Apple to unveil an M3 iPad Pro, the company has already decided to take the leap and introduce the M4 chip. It’s made of the second-generation 3nm technology, which means it has several benefits compared to the A17 Pro and the M3 processors.
It has a powerful new CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, with next-gen ML generators. Up to 50% faster CPU compared to M2. With a 10-core GPU, it offers Dynamic Caching and hardware ray tracing, with 4x faster performance than M2 iPad Pro. M4 can deliver the same performance as the M2 with just half the power. The Neural Engine comes with a 16-core design, with up to 38 trillion operations per second. 60x faster than Apple’s first Neural Engine.
Still, this data above is only for 1TB and 2TB iPad options with 16GB of RAM. Apple is taking some cores for the models with 256GB and 512GB of storage. Here’s what most users will get:
- 9-core CPU with 3 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores
- 10-core GPU
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 120GB/s memory bandwidth
- 8GB RAM
The main reason why Apple likely skipped the M3 processor is that the M4 is all about generative AI, which is rumored to launch with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 during WWDC 2024.
Here are the specs of the high-end iPad:
- 256GB with 8GB of RAM
- 512GB with 8GB of RAM
- 1TB with 16GB of RAM
- 2TB with 16GB of RAM
Accessories
Apple revamped the main iPad Pro accessories.
Magic Keyboard is getting a revamp
The newest Magic Keyboard is more thinner and lighter than ever before. It has a function row to access features like screen brightness and volume controls. It also features an aluminum palm rest and a larger trackpad that’s even more responsive with haptic feedback. The new Magic Keyboard attaches magnetically. It costs $299 for the 11-inch model and $349 for the 13-inch version.
Apple Pencil Pro could be the best update to this accessory ever
Apple Pencil Pro features powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors without interrupting the creative process.
A custom haptic engine delivers a light tap that confirms when users squeeze, double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape for an intuitive experience.
A gyroscope allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of the shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. With Apple Pencil hover, users can visualize the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.
This accessory also features Find My support. It costs $129.
iPadOS 17 powers the 2024 iPad Pro
iPadOS 17 powers the upcoming iPad Pro. Even though there are a few new features, this operating system doesn’t unlock the true potential of this hardware. Here are the main points of this system:
- New Lock Screen: iPadOS 17’s new Lock Screen resembles the one available for iOS 16. It also introduces Live Activities support and adds widgets to this screen;
- Stage Manager: It offers a more flexible layout when moving and resizing windows (especially with an external display), so you can set up your workspace just how you want. In addition, you can use the built-in camera in your external display for FaceTime and conference calls for the first time;
- Freeform: Adds new drawing tools, such as a watercolor brush, calligraphy pen, highlighter, variable-width pen, and ruler. With Shape Recognition, users can hand draw a shape like a square and watch a perfect version snap into place.
There’s so much more available with iPadOS 17, but more multitasking and generative AI features may come with the iPadOS 18 software update.
Battery
Apple says all models have up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video. They charge via a power adapter or USB-C to the computer system. The Cellular model offers up to nine hours of surfing the web using a cellular data network.
Price
The new M4 iPad Pro is the most expensive iPad Apple has ever released. Still, it has new perks, such as double the storage for the base model. Here are all the price configurations for this device.
M4 iPad Pro 11-inch Wi-Fi
- 256GB: $999
- 512GB: $1,199
- 1TB: $1,599
- 2TB: $1,999
M4 iPad Pro 13-inch Wi-Fi
- 256GB: $1,299
- 512GB: $1,499
- 1TB: $1,899
- 2TB: $2,299
You can add $199 for cellular connectivity and $100 extra for nano-texture on the 1TB and 2TB models.
