Top Stories: Apple Event With New iPads, Apple Pencil Pro, and More

[MacRumors]

Apple's "Let Loose" event this week went off largely as expected, headlined by new iPad Pro and iPad Air models.

The updated higher-end devices are complemented by some new accessories, while Apple also tidied up the lower-end of the lineup a bit, so read on below for all the details!

Everything Announced at the Apple Event

Apple held its first event of the year this week to announce several new devices and accessories, including new iPad Pro models with OLED displays and the M4 chip, new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models, the Apple Pencil Pro, and a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro.

The event ran for nearly 40 minutes, but we have shared a video recapping the key announcements in just eight minutes. Check out all of our event coverage to learn more about the new products.

Apple Announces New iPad Pro With M4 Chip, OLED Display, and More

The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models feature the M4 chip, OLED displays with increased brightness, a thinner design, a new Space Black finish, a front camera/Face ID system moved to the landscape edge of the devices, and more.

In the U.S., the 11-inch iPad Pro now starts at $999, while the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299. The devices are available to order now and launch on May 15.

Apple Announces New iPad Air Models: M2 Chip, First-Ever 13-Inch Model, and More

The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air models feature the M2 chip, a front camera on the landscape edge of the devices, Wi-Fi 6E support, new color options, and a few other minor changes.

This is the first time that Apple has offered the iPad Air in two display sizes. In the U.S., the 11-inch model starts at $599, and the 13-inch model starts at $799. The devices are available to order now and launch on May 15.

Apple Pencil Pro Unveiled With New Squeeze Gesture, Haptic Feedback, Find My, and More

The rumored Apple Pencil Pro has arrived, and it includes several new features for the accessory.

You can squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro to bring up a tool palette, and a built-in gyroscope allows users to roll the Apple Pencil Pro's barrel for precise control of shaped pen and brush tools. You can also track the location of the Apple Pencil Pro in the Find My app if it is misplaced, and it supports haptic feedback for certain actions.

Apple Announces Redesigned Magic Keyboard for New iPad Pro Starting at $299

Key new features of the redesigned Magic Keyboard for the new iPad Pro include an aluminum palm rest, a larger trackpad, and a row of function keys with shortcuts for brightness, volume, and more.

The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro models with the M4 chip only. It is available in black and white, with U.S. pricing set at $299 for the 11-inch model and at $349 for the 13-inch model.

iPad 9 Discontinued, iPad 10 Now Starts at $349

While only the iPad Pro and iPad Air were updated this week, Apple did make some changes to the lower end of the iPad lineup.

First, Apple discontinued the ninth-generation iPad with a Lightning port. Second, Apple lowered the starting price of the tenth-generation iPad with a USB-C port to $349 in the U.S., compared to $449 previously.

There are no changes to the iPad mini.

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Article Link: Top Stories: Apple Event With New iPads, Apple Pencil Pro, and More

 

[ManBun]

Super Mid release. Zero reasons to upgrade if you already have a M chip ipad. Next question

 

[BigBellyBelcher]

Still waiting for OLED Studio Display. Damnit Tim I have $2k saved come take it!!

 

[soldano]

No Smart Folio keyboard, no care. If I want something the size of a MacBook, I’ll use a MacBook! Magic Keyboard = NO THANKS.

 

[NVDA]

Super Mid release. Zero reasons to upgrade if you already have a M chip ipad. Next question

My iPad Pro has the A12X Bionic and there’s still no reason to upgrade lmao

 

[RichHI]

Why do so many people post to tell us they do not wish to or cannot afford to upgrade their iPad. It is everyone's right to choose what they want to do but it is not going to affect others.

 

[Tigger92]

Super Mid release. Zero reasons to upgrade if you already have a M chip ipad. Next question

Respectfully disagree. This is the opposite of a mid release, it is a significant major change with an entirely new OLED display that well outperfoms mini-LED and this allows it to be much thinner as well as lighter. It has a major upgrade on the processor that is much higher performance with better AI capabilities.

I do agree that from an entirely computational performance, it might not be the best choice for someone if they do not use any of the more CPU intensive programs or don't care about AI performance.

But for many of us, the lighter weight and switch to OLED is extremely compelling and a game changer. And I agree with the comment wanting an OLED Studio Display...that would be awesome if/when they decide to do that.

In full disclosure, I did make some of the very first OLEDs in the world in grad school in the late 90's and have been chomping at the bit to get an iPad with one.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I won’t upgrade from my M1 iPad Pro. I usually keep my iPads for 6-7 years. But the new iPad Pro was anything but mid. One of the better new iPad Pro releases in a while. I can see why it may be important for others. Happy for those who will upgrade.

 

[lkrupp]

Why do so many people post to tell us they do not wish to or cannot afford to upgrade their iPad. It is everyone's right to choose what they want to do but it is not going to affect others.

It’s all about maintaining forum cred. If you’re not negative, disappointed, or dismissive you’re not relevant. Been that way for years around here.

 

[TechnoMonk]

It’s all about maintaining forum cred. If you’re not negative, disappointed, or dismissive you’re not relevant. Been that way for years around here.

Or talk themselves out of FOMO, internal struggle of wanting to upgrade for FOMo and not able to afford needs justification by thrashing a product.

 

[Realityck]

Waiting for the public release of IOS/iPadOS/tvOS 17.5, MacOS 14.5, Watch 10.5 on Monday the 13th. VisionOS 1.2 looks like it be slightly later as it is still beta 5 not RC.

 

[jjudson]

Continuing to pack more and faster tech into the iPad is useless without a major iOS overhaul. All it's doing is jacking up the price without adding anything of real value.

It’s like having the most sophisticated fighter jet in the world being forced to run on a version of DOS…

 

[NVDA]

Or talk themselves out of FOMO, internal struggle of wanting to upgrade for FOMo and not able to afford needs justification by thrashing a product.

Projection. Not everyone has dying FOMO for small incremental upgrades you know…

 

[con2apple]

Why do so many people post to tell us they do not wish to or cannot afford to upgrade their iPad. It is everyone's right to choose what they want to do but it is not going to affect others.

As long as no one is offended, criticism is important in order to reflect. This also includes the pain that it seems the majority of people at Macrumors don't crave the latest iPad.
Why do you want to communicate in a happy-hippo-fanboy-bubble?

Incidentally, Apple fanboys used to make this mistake. Consistently deleting and censoring everything that felt like criticism. And then wondered why Apple changed the products when (from their point of view) everyone was one hundred percent satisfied with everything from Apple.

 

[Realityck]

Continuing to pack more and faster tech into the iPad is useless without a major iOS overhaul. All it's doing is jacking up the price without adding anything of real value.

It’s like having the most sophisticated fighter jet in the world being forced to run on a version of DOS…

Thats probably the most interesting challenge Apple faces, is how to market a M4 iPad Pro that they claim is built for AI, when there isn't the operating system bundled with it to show that off? The rumor mill has been hyping for a last few months that the next OS's will see AI enhancements.

iOS/iPadOS/tvOS 18 all arrive in Sept even if they show the very first developer's seeding of iPadOS 18 June 10th at WWDC 2024. First public beta tester version of iPadOS 18 (usually beta 3) is not out until end of June thru Mid July.

Yes the updated versions of some Apple software does help to mitigate that, but note it doesn't require anything more then the current iPadOS 17.x and MacOS 14.x.

Apple today unveiled the all-new Logic Pro for iPad 2and Logic Pro for Mac 11, delivering breakthrough professional experiences for songwriting, beat-making, producing, and mixing. Powered by artificial intelligence, the new Logic Pro introduces incredible studio assistant features that augment the music-making process and provide artists help right when they need it — all while ensuring they maintain full creative control.

Apple today introduced Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, bringing huge updates that unleash the remarkable capabilities of the new iPad Pro and take creativity to the next level. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 transforms iPad into a multicam production studio with Live Multicam, giving users the power to speed up their shoot by allowing them to connect and preview up to four cameras all at once, all in one place.

New artificial intelligence features come to Final Cut Pro for Mac 10.8, giving editors the ability to rapidly customize the look of videos or photos in a single click and retime visuals more easily than ever.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Very disappointing. Still just a big phone.

 

[Fuzzball84]

A really nice bunch of upgrades to the iPad lineup and it finally has a good range of devices and prices for each budget and spec requirement.

But the really bizarre thing now is that the Air is the only device that has a keyboard without a function key row... its not really that big of a deal.. but still.. I wish they had forward planned this better. A function row key should have been on it from the very beginning... considering how useful it is on a Mac keyboard... and they have made those for... how long?

 

[Realityck]

A really nice bunch of upgrades to the iPad lineup and it finally has a good range of devices and prices for each budget and spec requirement.

But the really bizarre thing now is that the Air is the only device that has a keyboard without a function key row... its not really that big of a deal.. but still.. I wish they had forward planned this better. A function row key should have been on it from the very beginning... considering how useful it is on a Mac keyboard... and they have made those for... how long?

Interesting I failed to notice that, and even the Magic Keyboard Folio for the iPad 10th gen offers the function key row. They better hurry up and update the keyboard for Magic Keyboard as that is unappealing comparably.

 

[Tagbert]

A really nice bunch of upgrades to the iPad lineup and it finally has a good range of devices and prices for each budget and spec requirement.

But the really bizarre thing now is that the Air is the only device that has a keyboard without a function key row... its not really that big of a deal.. but still.. I wish they had forward planned this better. A function row key should have been on it from the very beginning... considering how useful it is on a Mac keyboard... and they have made those for... how long?

I think the challenge of adding another row of keys to the original Magic Keyboard was that the iPad needed to overhang that area due to the weight distribution. It didn’t leave much room for another row. Making the whole keyboard larger would make it larger than the ipad which would have sucked when they were folded together.

With the iPad Pro being lighter, they can adjust the hinge and cantilever to make more room for keys.

 

[Fuzzball84]

I think the challenge of adding another row of keys to the original Magic Keyboard was that the iPad needed to overhang that area due to the weight distribution. It didn’t leave much room for another row. Making the whole keyboard larger would make it larger than the ipad which would have sucked when they were folded together.

With the iPad Pro being lighter, they can adjust the hinge and cantilever to make more room for keys.

Indeed, this could have been motivation for the changes to ipad pro. But i still havent seen a direct side by side comparison.

Will be Interesting for sure to compare dimensions, weight distribution and key sizes… and see a teardown.

 

[triptolemus]

Why do so many people post to tell us they do not wish to or cannot afford to upgrade their iPad. It is everyone's right to choose what they want to do but it is not going to affect others.

Probably for the same reasons people post to tell us they are going to buy it.

 

[jjudson]

Apple today unveiled the all-new Logic Pro for iPad 2

Apple today introduced Final Cut Pro for iPad 2

While its great to see a couple of high-end apps on the iPad, I unfortunately see those as a bit niche for the average or even super-user of the device. As a fine art photographer, I have access to Photoshop and Lightroom on my iPad, but choose to work those on my Macbook Pro instead. The real estate and screen size make using those on an iPad a bit claustrophobic, which I would assume would also be the case with Logic Pro and Final Cut.

So I'm in a bit of a quandary. I love Apple pushing more into the iPad, but I wonder if it's really needed at all -- especially at the extortionate rates the new models demand. I would say literally 99% (professionally done mind-poll of myself) will never use the power of the M4. But many would still want a capable iPad Pro without that power. I know there's the Air, but then you do lose some of the yearned-for items like a better screen.

But I still can't get jacked about the OS even from a user standpoint on what I have. It's gotten so bloated that it acts very flaky from time to time. The interface to me seems childish after all these years. Multiple app management is terrible. It's stale and desperately needs a refresh just from the GUI perspective.

I'm sure I would have a completely different opinion of all of this if the high-end iPad Pro maxed out at $1500 or so. As it happens, I'll likely stick with my Gen 3 for now (although the battery life is getting atrocious).

 

[klasma]

Still waiting for OLED Studio Display. Damnit Tim I have $2k saved come take it!!

$2K won’t be enough for an OLED display that size from Apple. Luckily there will be a couple more years time to save up (is my guess).

 

[Johnnyponken]

I am on the fence whether or not I am going to buy the iPad Pro 11". To me it looks so dated. The design still hasnt changed since... 2018? So I am sitting here thinking of what they are going to do next year. Are they only going to put the M5 in it and call it a day?

I would love to see that they got rid of the bezels completely. And then with software you yourself can set what bezels you want. With Oled that is in fact possible. Imagine watching a movie and you get to actually use the whole screen And if you have it docked see the whole screen.

That, and I would like the next iPad to have a rounded edge like the iphone 15 pro to make it more comfortable to hold.

 

[newyorksole]

I am on the fence whether or not I am going to buy the iPad Pro 11". To me it looks so dated. The design still hasnt changed since... 2018? So I am sitting here thinking of what they are going to do next year. Are they only going to put the M5 in it and call it a day?

I would love to see that they got rid of the bezels completely. And then with software you yourself can set what bezels you want. With Oled that is in fact possible. Imagine watching a movie and you get to actually use the whole screen And if you have it docked see the whole screen.

That, and I would like the next iPad to have a rounded edge like the iphone 15 pro to make it more comfortable to hold.

I wouldn’t mind them holding off on major upgrades/features for another few years. let me enjoy my new Pro without having major FOMO lol.

I do wonder what a design change would look like. reduced/removed bezels would be dope even though unlikely because of how it’s held.