Today, just a month ahead of their annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple held a new event to unveil its new iPad Air and iPad Pro models in a new presentation. The 7th generation of the iPad Pro and the 6th generation of the iPad Air were revealed, making for the first update of the tablets since 2022. As expected, there are plenty of updates to love with the new iPad models, including a new M4 chip, updates to the Apple Pencil, and other features that are sure to boost your iPad experience, if you choose to buy one (or both) of the new tablets. With that being said, let’s go through everything Apple announced today for the iPad Pro 7 and the iPad Air 6.
iPad Pro 7th Generation
Apple iPad Pro 7
Price: Starting at $999 (11-inch) & $1,299 (13-inch) | Release Date: May 7 (Online Orders) & May 15 (In-Store Orders)
Colors
Apple iPad Pro 7 Camera close up
The 7th generation iPad Pro models are available in two colors, silver and space black.
Size
Apple iPad Pro 7 Thin Profile
The iPad Pro 7 comes in two sizes, an 11-inch and a 13-inch model. The new iPad Pro will also be Apple’s thinnest product ever. The 11-inch model is just 5.3 mm thin and weighs less than a pound, while the 13-inch model is even thinner at 5.1 mmm and checks in at 1.28 pounds.
The New M4 Chip
With the iPad Pro 7, Apple takes a leap from the M2 chip to the M4 chip. M4 is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology that’s even more power efficient. The new chip also introduces pioneering technology that serves the precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. The new CPU grants up to four performance cores and six efficiency cores, with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators, for up 1.5x faster CPU performance compared to the M2 chip in the previous-generation iPad Pro. Other features of M4 include:
- The 10-core GPU includes features like Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing on the iPad for the first time ever.
- Pro rendering apps like Octane will see up to 4x faster performance than M2 thanks to the above and a higher unified memory bandwidth
- According to Apple, M4 also delivers “tremendous gains and industry-leading performance per watt.”
- M4 offers the same performance with half the power compared to M2 and a quarter of the power compared to the latest PC chip in a thin and light laptop
- A new and advanced Media Engine supports AV1 decode and allows for more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video experiences from streaming services
Display Screen
Apple iPad Pro 7 Ultra Retina XDR Display
The new iPad Pro 7 debuts the Ultra Retina XDR, heralded by Apple as “the world’s most advanced display.” The Ultra Retina XDR display features “state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology” backed by two OLED panels. The light from both are combined for “phenomenal” full-screen brightness. To get into the specifics, the iPad Pro supports 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1600 nits peak for HDR. The tandem OLED technology allows sub-millisecond control over color and luminance of each pixel, making the XDR even more precise.
Camera
Apple iPad Pro 7 Cameras
The iPad Pro cameras feature four studio-quality mics that help to make the iPad Pro even more versatile, allowing users to shoot, edit, and share all on the same device. The new iPad Pro’s front camera moves to the landscape edge. Backed by the Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage, video conference calls or Facetimes with friends or family look better.
AI Capabilities
With help from the new M4 chip, the new iPad Pro features Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine ever. Next-generation ML accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS make the iPad Pro 7 a powerful device AI as AI-enabled tasks are done even faster. Running powerful diffusion and generative AI models can also be done with ease and great results.
For example, with AI, the new iPad Pro can automatically identify documents in the camera app. If a shadow is in the way, multiple photos are instantly taken with the new adaptive flash and stitched together for a new and improved scan.
Other Features
Apple also introduced a new thinner and lighter Magic Keyword for the iPad Pro 7. The floating designs that Apple users love is still present, and now, there is a function row on the keyboard to control the screen brightness and volume controls. There’s a larger trackpad with haptic feedback, making it feel more like using a MacBook. The Magic Keyboard connects magnetically with a Smart Connect that automatically connects to the iPad without needing Bluetooth. Finally, there is a USB-C connector for charging and the new Magic Keyboard comes in two colors: black with a space black aluminum palm rest, and white with a silver aluminum palm rest.
Logic Pro 2 for the new iPad Pro will be available starting on May 13. It features studio assistant elements like Session Players, which expand on popular Drummer capabilities in Logic to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks; and Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will arrive later this spring. It includes Live Multicam, which transforms an iPad into a mobile production studio and lets users view and control four connected iPhone and iPad devices wirelessly thanks to Final Cut Camera. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 also allows users to create and open projects from an external storage device.
iPad Air 7th Generation
Apple iPad Air 6
Price: Starting at $599 (11-inch) & $799 (13-inch) | Release Date: May 7 (Online Orders) & May 15 (In-Store Orders)
Colors
Apple iPad Air 6 Colors
The 6th generation iPad Air models are available in four colors: space gray, starlight, purple, and blue
Size
Apple iPad Air 6 Sizes
The iPad Air 6 comes in two sizes — the redesigned 11-inch and the new 13-inch model.
Display Screen
Apple iPad Air 6 Screen & Stage Manager
Both models of the iPad feature advanced displays with a Liquid Retina design, an anti-reflective screen coating, True Tone technology, high brightness, and support for P3 wide color which allows for rich and vibrant onscreen content and text that remains that way in all lighting conditions. The 13-inch iPad Air grants 30 percent more screen space than the 11-inch model, allowing users to do more at a time with apps like Freeform and take advantage of Split View in iPadOS.
Cameras
Apple iPad Air 6 Camera
Just like the iPad Pro 7, the iPad Air 6 also comes with landscape front-facing camera. The Ultra Wide 12MP camera features Center Stage makes it optimal for video conference calls and FaceTime with family and friends. The iPad Air also features a 12MP Wide back camera which delivers high-resolution photos and detailed 4K video with support for 240-fps slo-mo, as well as dual microphones that work in unison with the camera.
AI Capabilities
With a more efficient 16-core Neural Engine combined with ML accelerators in the CPU, a powerful GPU, and Apple silicon’s unified memory architecture, the iPad Air 6 promises “exceptional” AI performance. As a result, users can enjoy intelligent iPadOS features such as Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, or Live Text. Core ML taps into the Neural Engine to deliver powerful AI features right on the iPad Air 6. Between the Auto Enhance tool in Photomator, Onform and its motion tracking capabilities, and the ability to tap into apps that take advantage of the creative power of AI, like Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly, there’s plenty to be done on the iPad Air 6 with help from AI.
Apple Pencil Pro
Apple iPad Pro 7 & Apple Pencil Pro
Lastly, two new features that will be available for both the iPad Pro 7 and the iPad Air 6 is the new Apple Pencil Pro and new Apple Keyboard. The Apple Pencil Pro comes with a new sensor in the barrel that allows a user to squeeze and, for example, bring up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors without interruption. A custom haptic engine gives a light tap to the user to confirm a user’s squeeze, double tap, or snap have been received. A new gyroscope lets users roll the Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of a selected tool. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of the pen, pencil, and other brush tools, just like it would on a piece of paper or a canvas. The Apple Pencil Pro also supports Find My allows users to easily find it if it’s misplaced.