Apple Event Live Blog: New iPad Pro, iPad Air, and More

[Rafterman]

Thoughts:

- By saying it was the biggest day for iPad since it launched, they made people think that they would refresh the whole line, especially as the whole line was due an update. Why schedule an event for 2 hours and be done in less than half that?

- The Air getting the exact same screen sizes as the Pro now makes me think that the Air 5 will be recycled into the iPad 11.

- Every type of iPad user is probably varying degrees of annoyed.

If the Air goes to 13 and not 12.9, why does the Pro not get say 12 and 14 now? They’ve put significant amounts into changing the form factor by thinning it down, only to have to do so again to increase the screen sizes in the next cycle. Even the glass is now an extra - but at least it keeps the price increase down I suppose.

Extra storage options on the Air are welcome, as is the 13 for those wanting a bigger size, but it’s gone from being 1 generation behind the Pros to 2. I was seriously considering an Air and the 11 now feels meh. Promotion would have sealed the deal and I half expected it after the talk about it being a big day for iPad and Pro features trickling down onto the Air.

When the price cut came for the 10th Gen, everyone’s thinking that this is the new 9th Gen low cost option. Then instead of it perfectly leading into the announcement of the 11th, the event’s over.

They annoyed Mini users when they made the Air so much better than it (double the RAM, unexpectedly upgraded to M1 and only £90 more) so soon after the Mini came out and now they annoy them again by giving them nothing. No update, no price cut. While it still won’t be the longest wait between Mini refreshes provided it lands in September or October, I feel like even the Mini 4 had its capacity options adjusted by this point in the lifecycle. 64GB is ridiculous for something that’s supposed to be a mid tier device - the OS and system data are now 20GB.

Apple doesn't "do" price cuts.

 

[transmaster]

Just read that. Apparently to get the faster M4, you need to go with the 1 or 2TB model.

Chip

Apple M4 chip

• Models with 256GB or 512GB storage:
• 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
• Models with 1TB or 2TB storage:
• 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores
• 10-core GPU
• Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
• 16-core Neural Engine
• 120GB/s memory bandwidth
• 16GB RAM

Media Engine

• Hardware-accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
• Video decode engine
• Video encode engine
• ProRes encode and decode engine
• AV1 decode

 

[PsykX]

why?
its arguably more important product than all basic Macs

I have an A12Z on my iPad Pro and I've never been able to put the processor on its knees. I can't imagine having a processor 4X more powerful will actually change anything in my flow.

Powerful processors are more useful in computers.

 

[chetzar]

Media Engine

• Hardware-accelerated 8K H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
• Video decode engine
• Video encode engine
• ProRes encode and decode engine
• AV1 decode

I think I'm more interested in the Encode/Decode engines and how many it has compared to M3. Sounded like it was able to handle quite a few more streams of video to encode/decode than M3. Will be interesting to see if this results in an increase for M4 Pro and M4 Max as well.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

It will be entertaining to see how many people will say the M4 makes it a must buy. 😂 Yet, 99% that do will have no discernible difference beyond their imagination.

You fail to get it. Tech is always advancing, often rapidly. It is not about whether or not last year's tech is still adequate. The point is that if one is buying a new high tech device, it often makes sense to buy the latest tech, which will last longer than last year's tech. And forever provide added competence over last year's tech.

 

[MacHeritage]

I actually enjoyed this presentation for once, even though it wasn't about the Mac. Of course John is a great presenter.

 

[That70sGAdawg]

Where were you watching? I didn't see that on the YouTube feed.

On Apples website as always. I thinks the signing is ok - but make her video smaller or closed caption so viewers can concentrate on the content.

 

[CaptainBlue]

I feel your pain. I was hoping for the same thing. I know a lot of pilots with the mini, they love them, and I find it the best iPad for portable carry.

That's why I love my iPad mini 6th which I use on budget flights for easy use on seatback tables and for portability when travelling (combined with a SIM that works in most countries).