by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
Apple is refreshing its iPad lineup on Tuesday, which is a bit overdue, as the previous iPad Air was announced more than two years ago . The most important addition to the new iPad Air is that it now comes in two sizes: 11 and 13 inches. This display is still an LED display; if you want an OLED display, you’ll need to buy an iPad Pro .
“For the first time ever, iPad Air comes in two sizes: a redesigned 11-inch Air and the spectacular all-new 13-inch Air,” John Ternus, SVP, Hardware Engineering said.
Ternus also used Tuesday’s event to redefine what the iPad Air means in the overall iPad lineup. It is not as performant as the iPad Pro, but it packs more features than the basic iPad model. For instance, the iPad Air supports the second-generation Apple Pencil (the one that you can magnetically attach to the side of the tablet) and the Magic Keyboard.
“iPad Air is designed to deliver advanced features pioneered on iPad Pro and make them available and even more affordable price,” Ternus said.
Live: Apple iPad Event 2024, everything announced so far
The system on a chip in the device has been updated. The previous version came with Apple’s M1 chip; the company now uses the M2 for the iPad Air. The iPad Air supports Wi-Fi 6E, and customers can optionally get a model with 5G support.
Image Credits: Apple
Image Credits: Apple
The camera has also been moved so that it looks more natural when you hold the iPad in landscape. Both the front and back cameras feature 12MP sensors. For the aluminum body, there are four color options: blue, purple, starlight and space gray.
While the new iPad Air still comes with 128GB for $599 (or $799 for the 13-inch option), Apple is adding more storage options: 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. In other words, if you need a lot of storage, you no longer need to buy an iPad Pro.
The new iPad Air models are available to preorder Tuesday and they will be available next week.
Image Credits: Apple
Image Credits: Apple
by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
As anticipated, Apple’s iPad Pro was the star of Tuesday’s “Let Loose” event. The arrival of the 7th generation device marks the first major upgrade to the premium tablet since 2022.
“We’re not only going to push the limits of iPad,” Apple SVP John Ternus noted during the event, “we’re going to crush them.”
The new device distinguishes itself from the rest of the line – in part – with the addition of the newly announced M4 chip . In fact, it’s the first device to get it, representing a shift for the Apple silicon roadmap, which has favored Macs over iPads.
The new CPU promises “up to 50% faster performance” over the M2 chip in the last model, according to the company. The GPU has been upgraded, as well, including some key game boosting technologies like ray tracing.
Here’s everything Apple just announced at its Let Loose event, including new iPad Pro with M4 chip, iPad Air, Apple Pencil and more
The new neural engine features 16 cores, which the company says is “60x faster” than its first generation NPU.
The new Pro also debuts the long awaited OLED iPad display, further widening the gulf between it and other iPads. It tops out at 1,600 nits of brightness, courtesy of the new “tandem OLED” technology. Apple is refreshing to the new screen as its “Ultra retina XDR.” The new Pro also brings nano texture display tech to the iPad line for the first time.
The tablet arrives in both 11- and 13-inch sizes, weighing 0.98- and 1.28 pounds, respectively. Both models are getting the new OLED display.
The Pro includes a Lidar scanner and a new “Adaptive Flash.” The later recognizes when you’re attempting to scan documents.
Like the new Air, the Pro is shifting the 12-megapixel front facing camera to the side of the device . Naturally, the upgraded Pro is compatible with both the new Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard .
The 11-inch model starts at $999 and the 13-inch at $1,299. Both are up for pre-order today and start shipping next week.
by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
Apple announced new iPads — two iPad Air models and the iPad Pro with M4 processor — at its “Let Loose” event on Tuesday. However, one of the important updates for people who take a lot of video calls was Apple shifting the camera to the landscape edge.
Until now, the camera on the iPad was on the portrait edge, which meant you had to put the iPad in portrait mode while taking video calls. If you placed your iPad in landscape mode — like a laptop — it presented a weird and unflattering angle. The new iPad models solve this problem.
“We’ve also redesigned the iPad Air to put the front-facing camera on the landscape edge and a feature center stage that uses machine learning to keep everyone in the field of view automatically. So it’s perfect for connecting with friends and family over FaceTime or joining a video conference while using a keyboard,” Melody Kuna, Director of iPad Design, said.
The company is bringing similar changes to the new iPad Pro models powered by the M4 processor.
The new iPads are shipping next week, with the 11-inch model priced at $599 and the 13-inch model priced at $799.
by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
Yeah, you can put an OLED screen in an iPad, but then you lose the brightness that iPad Pro users are used to. What is a poor computer maker to do? You stack two of them, of course.
“We’ve always envisioned iPad as a magical sheet of glass,” said John Ternus, SVP, Hardware Engineering, during Apple’s iPad event in Cupertino on Tuesday. “And with the new iPad Pro, we wanted to give customers an even more remarkable visual experience.”
The company did that by bringing OLED to iPad for the very first time, suggesting that the technology helps get the light and color accuracy that iPad Pro owners want — but that it lacks the brightness. The company solved that by creating the Tandem OLED screen, which can support an incredible 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness for both SDR and HDR content, and 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness. The company says no other device delivers this level of display quality.
As a bonus of using OLED, it enables the company to deliver sub-millisecond control over the color and luminance of each pixel, which means that highlights in photo and video can appear brighter, while blacks can be deeper and more true, with a huge additional responsibility boost in moving content.
Together, the company calls it the Ultra Retina XDR, built into both brand-new 11- and 13-inch models .
Previously seen on the company’s high-end studio displays, the new iPad Pro also gets a nanotexture glass option to iPad Pro for the very first time: Nanotexture glass is precisely etched at a nanometer scale, maintaining image quality and contrast while scattering ambient light for even less glare.
by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
Shocking as it may seem, it’s been nearly a decade since the first Apple Pencil was announced, way back in 2015. The stylus hasn’t seen much in the way of updates since then. The most significant arrived in 2018 , bringing magnetic charging to the line. Last year, meanwhile, saw the arrival of a less expensive model with fewer features and USB-C charging.
The device has been overdue for a major upgrade, so much so that the company made it the focal point of invites for Tuesday’s “Let Loose” event .
Here’s everything Apple just announced at its Let Loose event, including new iPad Pro with M4 chip, iPad Air, Apple Pencil and more
Now the line is getting a Pro model. A new sensor adds a squeeze function to the device, that lets users swap between brushes. A haptic sensor has been added as well, bringing tactile feedback to the product.
The new version of the Pencil also brings Find My to the line — a welcome addition to a device that is easily lost between couch cushions.
The premium model is compatible with both the new iPad Pro and iPad Air . With the former, it takes advantage of the M4 chip , bringing new capabilities, including adjusting bokeh effects on the fly.
The Pencil Pro runs $129. It’s up for pre-order now and starts shipping next week.
by tyler | May 7, 2024 | Tech
At its iPad-focused event on Monday, Apple announced a new and improved Magic Keyboard, its keyboard accessory for iPad.
The Magic Keyboard has been “completely redesigned” to be much thinner and lighter, Apple says, and now includes a function row for quick access to controls like screen brightness, volume adjustment and play/pause. Beyond that, the new Magic Keyboard features aluminum palm rests and a larger trackpad. Plus it’s more responsive, Apple says, with haptic feedback and a USB-C port for charging.
It’s the first major revision of the Magic Keyboard since its launch in 2020. And — with the addition of the function row — it’s now on par, feature-wise, with its counterpart the Magic Keyboard Folio.
The new Magic Keyboard comes in two sizes — one for the 11-inch iPad Pro and one for the 13-inch model — and in two colors, black and white. It can be pre-ordered today for the same price as the previous-gen Magic Keyboard, $299 for the 11-inch and $349 for the 13-inch, and will be available in stores next week.
In other keyboard accessory news, there’s a new Smart Folio for iPad Air. It attaches magnetically and supports multiple viewing angles for “greater flexibility” than the old model.
The Smart Folio is available in charcoal gray, light violet, denim and sage and priced at $79 for the 11-inch iPad Air version and $99 for the 13-inch version.
