We knew the iPad Pro was going to get a processor bump, but this is ridiculous. Apple has given the new iPad Pro the M4 chip, making it the most advanced device in the company’s lineup. Sounds crazy but it’s true.
The second-generation 3-nanometer M4 features a new display engine to drive a radical new OLED display. More on that in a moment. The new CPU has up to 10 cores, while the new 10-core GPU builds on the M3 by bringing Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading to iPad for the first time.
The M4 has Apple’s fastest Neural Engine ever, capable of up to 38 trillion operations per second. Apple says that’s faster than the neural processing unit of any AI PC today.
“The new iPad Pro with M4 is a great example of how building best-in-class custom silicon enables breakthrough products,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies.
“The power-efficient performance of M4, along with its new display engine, makes the thin design and game-changing display of iPad Pro possible, while fundamental improvements to the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and memory system make M4 extremely well suited for the latest applications leveraging AI. Altogether, this new chip makes iPad Pro the most powerful device of its kind.”
Despite all this horsepower, the new iPad Pro is the thinnest product Apple has ever made with the 13-inch model just 5.1mm thin while the 11-inch model is just 5.3mm thin.
Now to the display. Apple calls it the Ultra Retina XDR display.
It features tandem OLED technology that uses two OLED panels, combining the light from both to provide extra brightness. The new iPad Pro supports 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1600 nits peak for HDR. Tandem OLED technology enables sub-millisecond control over the colour and luminance of each pixel.
Apple says highlights appear brighter and there’s more detail in shadows. A new nano-texture glass option is now available to cut down on glare.
The tandem OLED technology is very interesting. It’s also available on both pro models.
Apple’s also updated the cameras on the new iPad Pro. The 12MP back camera has improved colour capture, improved textures, and detail in low light. It also now features a new adaptive True Tone flash that improves document scanning.
The front TrueDepth camera system moves to the landscape location. The Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage improves video conferencing in landscape orientation.
iPad Pro supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4, giving up to 40Gb/s connectivity. Thunderbolt supports external displays like the Pro Display XDR at 6K and external storage.
iPad Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E connection and there’s a new Apple Pencil Pro.
But one of the really interesting accouncements was about software. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, will be released soon and it promises a lot. Live Multicam is a new feature that allows your iPad to view and control up to four connected iPhone and iPad devices wirelessly.
Backing up Live Multicam is a new capture app for iPad and iPhone. Final Cut Camera gives users control over options like white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, along with monitoring tools like overexposure indicators and focus peaking. Final Cut Camera works as a standalone capture app or with Live Multicam. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 also allows users to create or open projects from external storage.
I’ve become a regular user of Blackmagic Camera App, but it’s great Apple is bringing us a native app with ‘professional’ controls but please note, it’s not free.
In fact if you watch the keynote, in the end credits you’ll notice that Apple again shot the whole event on iPhone and edited it on iPad. Another big production statement from Apple.
Logic Pro for iPad 2 is available on 14 May.
We’ll have more coverage from today’s keynote shortly on Image Matrix Tech and Sky News Australia Weekend Edition this Sunday.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers can order the new iPad Pro with M4 starting today, 8 May, at apple.com/au/store, and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including Australia, with availability in stores beginning Wednesday 15 May.
- The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
- The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at RRP A$1,699 inc. GST for the Wi-Fi model, and RRP A$2,049 inc. GST for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at RRP A$2,199 inc. GST for the Wi-Fi model, and RRP A$2,549 inc. GST for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Additional technical specifications, including nano-texture glass options, are available at apple.com/au/store.
- For education, the new 11-inch iPad Pro is available for RRP A$1,529 inc. GST and the 13-inch iPad Pro is RRP A$2,029 inc. GST. Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted university students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all levels. For more information, visit apple.com/au-hed/shop.
- The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for RRP A$219 inc. GST. For education, Apple Pencil Pro is available for RRP A$199 inc. GST.
- Apple Pencil (USB-C) is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for RRP A$139 inc. GST and RRP A$119 inc. GST for education.
- The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available in black and white finishes. The new 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for RRP A$499 inc. GST and the new 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for RRP A$579 inc. GST, with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for RRP A$469 inc. GST and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for RRP A$549 inc. GST.
- The new Smart Folio is available for RRP A$129 inc. GST in black, white, and denim finishes for the new 11-inch iPad Pro and RRP A$159 inc. GST for the new 13-inch iPad Pro.
- Logic Pro for iPad 2 is available on 14 May as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it is available on the App Store for RRP A$7.99 inc. GST per month, or RRP A$59 inc. GST per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/au/logic-pro-for-ipad.
- Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is coming soon to the App Store for RRP A$7.99 inc. GST per month, or RRP A$59 inc. GST per year, with a one-month free trial.