The MacRumors Show: M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air Are Finally Here!

[MacRumors]

On this week's special episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Apple's newly announced iPad Pro, iPad Air, Apple Pencil Pro, and revamped Magic Keyboard accessory.

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We explore the updates to the iPad Pro's hardware, such as the introduction of the M4 chip, OLED displays, a landscape front-facing camera, an Adaptive True Tone flash, and a thinner design. The iPad Air is now available in a larger, 13-inch display size option and offers the M2 chip, a landscape front-facing camera, and Apple Pencil hover.

The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro now features an aluminum top case, a new trackpad with haptic feedback, and a function row, while the Apple Pencil Pro introduces the squeeze gesture, barrel roll, haptic feedback, and Find My integration.

We evaluate these new products and discuss the potential implications of the upgrades for users, including professionals who rely on the iPad out in the field. The MacRumors Show is now on its own YouTube channel, so make sure you're subscribed to keep up with new episodes and clips going forward:

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If you haven't already listened to the previous episode of The MacRumors Show, catch up for our predictions about Apple's "Let loose" event to see what we got right and wrong.

Subscribe to The MacRumors Show for new episodes every week, where we discuss some of the topical news breaking here on MacRumors, often joined by interesting guests such as Matthew Cassinelli, Brian Tong, Quinn Nelson, Kevin Nether, Jared Nelson, Eli Hodapp, Luke Miani, Mike Bell, Sara Dietschy, iJustine, Jon Rettinger, Andru Edwards, Arnold Kim, Ben Sullins, Marcus Kane, Christopher Lawley, Frank McShan, David Lewis, Tyler Stalman, Jon Prosser, Sam Kohl, John Gruber, Federico Viticci, Thomas Frank, Jonathan Morrison, Ross Young, Ian Zelbo, and Rene Ritchie.

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Article Link: The MacRumors Show: M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air Are Finally Here!

 

[erikkfi]

The rumor of Vision Pro support for the Pencil was alongside a rumor that it would optionally charge by USB-C. Otherwise how is a Vision Pro owner supposed to charge it?

 

[klasma]

The rumor of Vision Pro support for the Pencil was alongside a rumor that it would optionally charge by USB-C. Otherwise how is a Vision Pro owner supposed to charge it?

Place it on the top like eyebrows, and it will charge via previously unnoticed coils in the AVP.

 

[groove-agent]

Finally here? We didn't really know they were coming in the first place (other than rumours). Maybe it should have read "The MacRumors Show: M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air Are Here!"

 

[Polinsky]

Place it on the top like eyebrows, and it will charge via previously unnoticed coils in the AVP.

Huh? What coils are you talking about?? You can't charge the pencil with the AVP!

 

[GREEN4U]

The pencils are not compatible...come on guys...

 

[klasma]

@Dan Barbera @Hartley: According to Federico Veticci from MacStories, the iPad nano-texture uses a new chemical process and is smooth like the regular glossy display (no paper-like friction effect):

“According to Apple, they’re using a new chemical process to alter the glass with nano textures, which ensures the display keeps the same properties as the glossy one – same brightness, same contrast. […] What I wasn’t expecting when I grabbed the iPad Pro with the nano-texture display was that the display felt as smooth as the regular glossy one. […] If you were expecting this matte option to feel rough like paper, this is not it”.

(https://www.macstories.net/stories/...he-new-ipad-pros-from-apples-event-in-london/)

 

[klasma]

The pencils are not compatible...come on guys...

Positioning of the magnets and/or charging coils changed due to the landscape camera.

 

[twintin]

Place it on the top like eyebrows, and it will charge via previously unnoticed coils in the AVP.

Or maybe place it in your ear while wearing AVP to magically charge it ? 😄

 

[jouster]

Interesting content as ever, but hard to listen to in the car. Hartley was barely audible until I cranked the volume, at which point Dan's voice was at eardrum shattering levels.

 

[Johnny907]

Silly me, based on the headline I thought this would be a video comparing the Pro and the Air side by side and discussing the actual differences.
Skip.

 

[FlyGuyDEN]

@Hartley has a voice that should be used in a commercial setting. #timbre

 

[CharlieBoyWoof]

please, interesting people

 

[anthogag]

You guys claim you occasionally use your iPad Pros because keyboard and mouse is better on Mac. Right, because you are using iPad wrong. iPad is better using Pencil. Pencil is much better for handwriting, drawing, and picture editing.

Using Pencil is a combination of Pencil and onscreen keyboard, back and forth. Some apps are better with onscreen keyboard input (mostly because their Pencil implementation sucks) and other apps are better using Pencil. For example, Adobe or Retouch editing is much better with Pencil compared to keyboard + mouse.

If you need a keyboard and mouse on iPad use your Mac keyboard and mouse with handoff.

When the iPad is held the camera is used more often. In the keyboard case I rarely see iPad users using the camera.

Mac would be much better if I could use Pencil input easily and quickly whenever I need it. Using my Pencil on my iPad screen like it was a fourth input device for my Mac would be excellent. Four input devices: keyboard, mouse, Magic Trackpad, & Pencil on iPad screen surface.

Perhaps iPad keyboard users are just lazy and want to just sit there motionless with only the fingers jumping up and down.

 

[profdraper]

Here's something I'd really like to know, given Apple's ongoing hype about iPad/keyboard combos as a 'replacement' for a laptop in Job's 'post-PC' world: Can we yet actually use it on our laps? Prior models were hopeles, would overbalance & had poor egonomics in this respect. Of course there remains the onging limitations with the dopey iOS (vs MacOS).

But seriously, for all that vast amount of preice gouging, claims & promises: Can a 13" M4 iPad Pro with new keyboard and/or pencil in the lid really be used on one's lap or in other obvious 'on the go' locations? Or is it still confined to desktop use only, just like the models before it.

 

[einsteinbqat]

@Hartley Mood 😜

 

[anthogag]

You guys didn't talk about the purported special event in the UK right after Apple's presentation...oh wait...😂

 

[rwlombard70]

Firstly, love your show and really enjoy your discussions! So, I’m a longtime Apple devotee and my first Mac was the Mac Plus. I’m old enough to have a .mac email address! lol. I’ve also had nearly every iPad model since it’s reLease. Funny story about that, when the first gen iPad was actually delivered it was the day my second son was born. I saw that it had been delivered to my house and I had to run home to “take care of our dog”. I came back to the hospital with the iPad and the family was there to see the baby. Looking back I feel a little guilty that the iPad took attention away from my son but it sure did! One thing that I always find interesting is that people always want it to be a Mac. I’ve seen the Mac go through all of its evolutions and like iPadOS, it was far from perfect for a very long time. And it isn’t now either. But it is more mature because it’s had decades to get there. To your point, I believe iPadOs will get there too. I haven’t fought what the iPad is. It’s not a Mac and should never be one. It truly may not serve everyone’s workflow ever and that’s ok. No computing device does. And software takes time to grow up. Look at Apple Maps. A mess when it came out and everyone expected it to be Google Maps right away. Well flash forward several years and it’s pretty much the go to for the vast majority of Apple users. iPadOS is going to get there, but differently than MacOS, and that’s perfectly ok. Frankly, when I use my Macbook Pro now it feels dated. Sure, it does some things better. So does the iPad, and again to your point, look at how much more the iPad now does. Oh, and one of those things that is vastly important is that it has a cellular radio! I work in finance and use a PC a lot for it, but also my iPad for most of it as well. In fact, I’m trading in my M1 14” MacBook Pro for the new iPad Pro. I don’t want or expect it to be a Mac and honestly, Apple has never claimed it was or that it would be.

 

[CharlieBoyWoof]

Interesting content as ever, but hard to listen to in the car. Hartley was barely audible until I cranked the volume, at which point Dan's voice was at eardrum shattering levels.

agree, and some engaging presenters are needed, these are a nothing burger at best

 

[Mitochris]

I feel that Apple has missed the boat on AI and is now scrambling to catch up. The M4 chip is probably needed from a hardware perspective, but I have a feeling that they are nowhere near of having unique features on the software side. I wouldn’t be surprised if they will try to outsource AI development to the user. Removing a shadow from a scan is really newsworthy? App Store apps have been turning on the light during scanning for years.
I hope I’m wrong, but it feels they have been caught sleeping on the AI front.
and while I’m ranting. The cursor experience in the iPad is a mess because cause it is not consistent. In some apps it is right under the finger, in word it is about 4cm off to the side, the zoom window is not usable. The hold-and-select feature works half of the time. And the options section after selection only comes up half of the time. It’s a mess.

 

[bLackjackj]

Look at Apple Maps. A mess when it came out and everyone expected it to be Google Maps right away. Well flash forward several years and it’s pretty much the go to for the vast majority of Apple users.

Where did you get this nonsense? The last reports from 2023, show Google Maps reporting 72%, compared to only 11% for Apple Maps. Google Maps is far more advanced than Apple Maps will ever be,..sorry to bust your bubble.

 

[rwlombard70]

Where did you get this nonsense? The last reports from 2023, show Google Maps reporting 72%, compared to only 11% for Apple Maps. Google Maps is far more advanced than Apple Maps will ever be,..sorry to bust your bubble.

I am talking about Apple users: “As we saw earlier, 54.4–57.8% of U.S. adult iOS users use Apple Maps on a monthly basis, so this suggests that Apple might have another 23–25 million Apple Maps users on top of the 62–66 million adult Apple Maps users we saw earlier—which would give Apple Maps a total of 85–91 million U.S. users across all ages.”

Any particular reason you have to be rude in your reply anyway?

 

[bLackjackj]

I am talking about Apple users

As am I,..Apple Maps is not available on Android devices. Google Maps holds the key market share for every demographic in the whole mobile device industry, worldwide. To say otherwise is rediculous.

 

[Bazza1]

Putting a M-series into an iPad is like putting a Porsche engine into a Lada.

Apple is still trying to convince us that the device supplants a laptop, yet it's OS and the limitations that affords to any apps (and the connectivity issues with peripherals) tells us quite another story.
You would have thought the crash and burn of their "What's a computer?" ad campaign from a few years back would have informed them of this.
Regardless of M-series guts, the iPad remains an oversexed iPhone.

Meanwhile, they seem determined to dumb down their MacOS to match this. Definitely not taking advantage of the capabilities or of user's needs.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Putting a M-series into an iPad is like putting a Porsche engine into a Lada.

Apple is still trying to convince us that the device supplants a laptop, yet it's OS and the limitations that affords to any apps (and the connectivity issues with peripherals) tells us quite another story.
You would have thought the crash and burn of their "What's a computer?" ad campaign from a few years back would have informed them of this.
Regardless of M-series guts, the iPad remains an oversexed iPhone.

Meanwhile, they seem determined to dumb down their MacOS to match this. Definitely not taking advantage of the capabilities or of user's needs.

I think with the hardware they have now.. they really need to pull off something special with the next version of iPad OS. Certainly for the iPad Pro.

Unlikely they will have full Mac OS anytime soon on iPad (there could always be a surprise), but given the power of iPads hardware (even back to A12, even say A9 despite RAM limitations, where iPads essentially became as powerful as regular laptops), a lite version of Mac OS or a Samsung DeX is certainly technically possible, and something that they are likely to have worked on. I think Stage Manager is part of that journey.