Apple just took the wraps off the 2024 iPad Pro, the first with an OLED screen rather than a traditional LCD. If that wasn’t enough, a brand-new Apple M4 processor powers the tablet, which Cupertino says is the “thinnest Apple product ever.”
“We’ve always envisioned iPad as a magical sheet of glass,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, during Tuesday’s prerecorded “Let Loose” event. “And with this new design, that vision is brought to life more than ever.”
2024 iPad Pro goes OLED
The LCDs in previous iPad screens look great but Apple wasn’t content. The 2024 iPad Pro has an OLED display. With an organic light-emitting diode screen, each pixel glows on its own. This leads to a bright, even image with strong contrast.
And if one is good, two are better. The screen of the 2024 iPad Pro utilizes what Apple calls “tandem OLED” technology that stacks two OLED panels to provide greater full-screen brightness. That translates into 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1,600 nits peak for HDR.
“Specular highlights in photos and video appear even brighter, and there’s more detail in shadows and low light than ever before on iPad — all while delivering even more responsiveness to content in motion,” Apple says.
The new display type comes to both sizes of the iPad Pro: 11 inches and 13 inches (up slightly from the previous model). And, for the first time, Apple is offering a nano-texture display glass option ($100) on 1TB and 2TB models.
Apple’s thinnest product ever
Screenshot: Apple
The change to OLED let designers significantly slim down the tablets. The 11-inch version measures just 5.3 mm thick while the 13-inch model is even thinner at 5.1 mm.
“The new iPad Pro is even thinner than the iPod nano,” Ternus said, “which makes it the thinnest Apple product ever.”
The OLED iPad Pros are lighter than previous models, too.
“The 11-inch model weighs less than a pound, and the 13-inch model is nearly a quarter pound lighter than its predecessor,” bragged Apple. They weigh 0.98 pounds and 1.28 pounds, respectively. (The actual iPad Pro dimensions are 11.1 inches by 8.5 inches by 0.2 inches for the larger model, and 9.8 inches by 7 inches by 0.21 inches for the smaller one.)
Apple M4 processor is a surprise in 2024 iPad Pro
It has long been thought the 2024 iPad Pro would run on the Apple M3 processor in the latest MacBooks. But no — the OLED iPad Pros brought the debut of the Apple M4 chip instead.
“The new CPU offers up to four performance cores and now six efficiency cores, with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators, to deliver up to 1.5x faster CPU performance over M2 in the previous-generation iPad,” promises Apple.
The M4 is undoubtedly a surprise — and a shock to those who bought one of the M3-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models that have only been on the market for a few months.
The base model 2024 iPad Pro offers double the storage of its predecessor: 256GB. And storage tops out at 2 terabytes. Most versions come with 8GB of RAM, but the 1TB and 2TB models bump that up to 16GB.
Landscape camera means better video conferencing
The OLED iPad Pro makes a change tablet users have wanted for years: Apple moved the front-facing camera for better horizontal use.
In previous models, when the tablet is held horizontally — the way most people use it — the front-facing camera is way off to the left so users seem to be staring off to one side during video calls. For the 2024 iPad Pro, Apple relocated the front-facing camera to the long edge of the tablet. (Now you’ll know that those iPad Pro users really are paying attention during video calls.)
New Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro, too
Those who want to use their iPad Pro as a convertible notebook have a new option: a redesigned Magic Keyboard. It’s thinner and lighter, and has an all-aluminum exterior. Other changes include a row of function keys and a glass trackpad with haptic feedback.
Apple also added the Apple Pencil Pro to its iPad stylus lineup. It comes with a gyroscope, and users can squeeze the Apple Pencil Pro to open an on-screen menu. The stylus also adds Find My support for the first time.
On the software front, Apple also showcased new versions of Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro for iPad that take advantage of the M4 processor’s capabilities.
Order the 2024 iPad Pro now
Apple introduced the last iPad Pro in October 2022 — about 18 months ago. The new version offers a better-quality screen and a faster processor, and clearly Apple didn’t want to make users wait.
“With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there’s no device like the new iPad Pro,” said Ternus, Apple’s hardware SVP.
There’s no delay between today’s announcement and the 2024 iPad Pro going on sale: The tablet is available for pre-order now. It will reach customers next week on May 15.
The 11-inch OLED iPad Pro starts at $999, while the 13-inch model starts at $1,299. Both tablets come in either silver or space black.
Buy from: Apple
The redesigned Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro are also available for preorder, and will reach customers May 15.
Screenshot: Apple
And there’s more!
Don’t miss the 2024 iPad Air that Apple also just launched. It’s the first in that product line with a 13-inch screen.
