new hits
New iPads introduced: Apple is further breaking down the barrier to the Macbook
The new iPad Pro is Apple’s thinnest product in the company’s history. In the 13-inch version it measures just 5.1 millimeters.
© Apple / PR
At its unusually late spring event, Apple presented its new iPad line-up. The iPad Pro in particular is powerful. But the secret star is someone else.
It was already clear what was coming when we were invited to the surprisingly late spring event. The motto “Let yourself be free” left a lot of room for speculation, but since the Apple Pencil was specifically visible, everything pointed to something new iPads. And then they came. But the new pen is still the star of the evening.
In total, Apple had not one, but four new iPads in its luggage: the iPad Air and iPad Pro were each presented in two new versions.
This is the new iPad Air
Two iPad Air? You read that right. For the first time, the larger 13-inch model is no longer just available as an expensive iPad Pro. The iPad Air is finally appearing with a larger display. Until now, you always had to pay a lot more for the extra screen space, which is ideal for creativity, games and media, but now the 13-inch is also available in the cheaper Air family. The small model of Pro and Air remains at 11 inches.
Other innovations of the new iPads are also already known from the iPad Pro. The camera has been moved to the long side, and the stereo speakers offer 3D spatial audio in horizontal mode. Apple has also given the tablet the fast M2 chip and offers 5G in the models with mobile communications.
The new iPad Air costs from 699 euros for 11 inches and 949 euros for the 13-inch model.
iPad Pro: Apple’s dream iPad
Apple is probably offering the new size because the price gap and technical differences between the iPad Air and Pro are even greater than before. For the first time, the two series of the same generation do not have the same chip. While the iPad Air is delivered with the M2 chip, the new iPad Pro is already equipped with the M4. The jump is also significant because Apple only introduced the M3 in the fall. And the iPads are getting the new chip for the first time even before Apple’s Mac computers.
The jump in performance is quite remarkable: While the difference between the M2 and the M3 was only in the low double-digit percentage range, the M4 chip in the iPad Pro is now said to be more than 50 percent faster. In terms of AI calculations, it is expected to improve significantly. This will become relevant: According to rumors, Apple is planning a real AI offensive for the WWDC developer fair.
There are also other significant differences between the two iPad series: Only the Pro models offer the premium displays, which Apple, as usual, calls Ultra Retina XDR. It is the “world’s most advanced display,” says Apple. The company has actually developed an exciting innovation for this: the first iPad with an OLED display uses not just one, but two OLED panels. Not only should it display colors better, but it should also deliver even higher brightness. Irritating: With a peak brightness of 1600 nits it is very bright, but other products also achieve this value. Only a test can show how much better the display is.
There are also differences in terms of comfort: FaceID facial recognition is also reserved for the top models; the iPad Air continues to rely on the TouchID fingerprint sensor in the power button. Despite all the new technology, the iPad Pro is, according to the manufacturer, the “thinnest product” in the company’s history. The 11-inch model of the iPad Pro is 5.3 millimeters thin and the 13-inch model is only 5.1 mm thin. Apple promises that both models are just as robust as their predecessors.
The new iPad Pro is anything but cheap. The 11-inch model costs at least 1,199 euros; the large 13-inch tablet starts at 1,549 euros.
The boundaries with Macbooks continue to blur
Especially with the Pro models, Apple is now making the boundaries of its Mac notebooks disappear even further. Apple emphasizes that the new aluminum-look keyboards make the tablets look like a laptop when they are unfolded. This is also helped by the fact that the iPad Pros have become even thinner and now actually just look like a display. And: With the M4 chip, the tablets are even more powerful than Apple’s current entry-level notebook line-up.
But the secret star of the evening is the new Apple Pencil Pro. The pen has been given a whole range of new sensors. It now recognizes when you press it harder and can then carry out commands. To show how hard you are pressing, it provides haptic feedback. And the pen now recognizes how precisely you are holding it. If it is rotated, you can also change the orientation of wedge brushes in drawing apps, for example. The Pencil Pro costs 149 euros, the simple Apple Pencil remains in the range for 89 euros.