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Posts tagged with "iPad Pro"

MacStories Unwind: Federico Visits Medium Ben→

This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and I discuss how Apple crushed it at its iPad event, and Federico lets loose in London.

Crushing It

Federico Lets Loose in London

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Apple Apologizes for Crush! Video

On Tuesday, Apple introduced its new iPad Pros with a video called Crush! that was meant to convey how much the device can do. The trouble was the way the video delivered the message, depicting musical instruments, books, a record player, paints, a TV, and many other creative tools being crushed by a hydraulic press. When the press opened, it revealed the new iPad Pro.

Crush! was widely criticized by the creative community, including actor Hugh Grant, director Reed Morano, and many others. Within hours, the story had spread beyond the tech industry to all corners of the mainstream media.

Today, as reported by The Verge, Apple vice president of marketing Tor Myhren made a statement to Ad Age, apologizing for the video saying:

Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.

Earlier today, Federico and I covered the firestorm caused by the video on MacStories Unwind+ for Club MacStories members. During the episode, which will be generally available tomorrow, Federico predicted this outcome, which I think is the right move given the widespread strong reaction to the video.

Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs Explains the iPad Pro’s Tandem OLED Screen and the M4 Chip→

Tandem OLED display panels were new to me when Apple mentioned them during the “Let Loose” event yesterday. I figured it was another marketing term like Ultra Retina XDR, but it’s not.

As Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs explains in his excellent video, tandem OLED is a technology that stacks two OLED displays on top of each other, creating more light, greater electrical efficiency, and longer-lasting displays. The catch is that tandem OLED displays are hard to make without losing a lot of the light they generate. There have been multiple proposed solutions as Quinn explains, but it’s not clear how Apple has solved the issue with the new iPad Pros. What is clear, though, is that the technology is a big deal.

Quinn also explains the differences between TSMC’s 3-nanometer chip processes and why the M4 ‘…is a necessary strategic leap. It’s not a computational leap.’ The entire video is worth watching a couple of times to understand the nerdiest bits and why they hold so much promise for Apple’s future hardware releases.

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Apple’s May 2024 Let Loose Event: All The Small Things

Apple’s presentation moved fast yesterday, and since the event concluded, more details have emerged about everything announced. We’ve been combing Apple’s product pages, social media, and other sources to learn more about everything announced, which we’ve collected below:

  • Chance Miller of 9to5Mac, reporting based on a memo sent to Apple Store employees that Apple will no longer include stickers in the boxes with the iPads introduced yesterday. Instead, retail stores will have a small number of stickers on hand for customers who ask for them.
  • One of the first things I noticed in yesterday’s video presentation was that Tim Cook’s shoes were different somehow. The detail wasn’t enough to identify them from the streamed video, but it turns out that they were Nike Air Max 1 ‘86’s that were ‘Made on iPad,’ which was embroidered on the tongue of the shoes. Apple has published a Reel on Instagram showing the shoes sketched on an iPad.
  • MacRumors reports that the new iPad Pros support lower refresh rates but not the iPhone Pro’s always-on feature. Nonetheless, the lower refresh rate support should help the iPad Pros extend battery life depending on how the iPad is used.
  • As I first learned from MKBHD’s iPad Pro first impressions video, the new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro includes a 60W USB-C charging port, which is a significant increase from the previous model.
  • As Dan Moren explained on Six Colors, Apple appears to be binning the M4 chips in the new iPad Pro models with the 1TB and 2TB storage tiers sporting an additional performance core.
  • The Verge reported that the new iPads have eliminated physical SIM cards in favor of eSIMs, which is likely a space-saving measure.

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Thoughts and First Impressions on the New iPad Pros from Apple’s Event in London

The new 13" iPad Pro.

The new 13” iPad Pro.

I just came back to my hotel from the media event Apple held earlier today in London at their Battersea Power Station headquarters. I had high expectations for the new generation of iPad Pros that Apple unveiled today – some of which were exceeded by reality (hardware), and others that were, regrettably but unsurprisingly, faced with the reality of the iPad platform (software).

What follows is a loose collection of notes and impressions from the event, where I was able to try both iPad Pro models multiple times and spend some quality time with their accessories.

Let’s dive in.

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Apple’s May 2024 Let Loose Event: By the Numbers

Today’s Let Loose online Apple event was packed with facts, figures, and statistics throughout the presentation and elsewhere. We’ve pulled together the highlights.

iPad Pro

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

  • The new iPad Pro’s GPU is 10x faster than the original model and 4x faster than the M2 iPad Pro
  • The M4 chip is 50% faster than the M2
  • The M4’s 16-core Neural Engine is 60x faster than the original Neural Engine
  • The M4 uses a 2nd generation 3nm process
  • The M4 features 28 billion transistors
Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

  • Apple has improved the thermal performance of the iPad Pro by 20% compared to the previous model
  • The Neural Engine can handle 38 trillion operations per second
  • The unified memory bandwidth is 120GB/s
  • The iPad Pro display supports 1000 nits of brightness for SDR and HDR content and 1600 nits peak brightness for HDR
  • Storage capacities range from 256GB to 2TB
  • The Wi-Fi version of the 11” iPad Pro is .98 pound (444 grams), and the 13” model is 1.28 pounds (579 grams). Adding cellular adds 2 grams to the 11” model and 3 grams to the 13” version.
Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

  • The 256 and 512GB models have 8GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB models have 16GB of RAM
  • The new models support Bluetooth 5.3
  • The 11” iPad Pro is 5.3mm thick, and the 13” model is 5.1mm thick
  • It’s possible to spend $3,077 on a fully-spec’d 13” iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard for iPad

iPad Air

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

  • There’s a new 13” model
  • The M2 chip in the new Air is 50% faster than the M1 and 3x faster than the iPad Air with the A12 Bionic chip
  • The iPad Air can be configured with up to 1TB of storage
  • The front and back cameras both have 12MP sensors
  • There are 4 colors available, 2 of which are new
  • The 11” Air is 1.02 pounds, and the 13” model is 1.36 pounds, both of which are heavier than their iPad Pro counterparts
  • Both models are 6.1mm thick
  • The 11” iPad Air maxes out at 500 nits of brightness and the 13” model at 600 nits for a 100-nit difference

Accessories and Other

Look at that beautiful row of function keys.

Look at that beautiful row of function keys.

  • The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro has a 14-key function row
  • The price of the existing 10th generation iPad was reduced to $349
  • Apple paid 0 tributes to Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Apple Reveals New Keyboards and the Apple Pencil Pro

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Along with the iPad Pros, Apple today introduced new keyboards and an Apple Pencil Pro.

The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, at long last, has a function row of half-height keys similar to what you’d find on a Mac. The trackpad is bigger, the palm rest is aluminum, and the whole thing is thinner and lighter than before, which are all great additions. The keyboards come in black (with a black aluminum palm rest) and white (with a silver palm rest). What hasn’t changed is the cantilevered design of the keyboard, which some had predicted would be replaced by a more laptop-like hinge.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

There’s a new Smart Folio for iPad Pro, too. According to Apple’s press release:

The new Smart Folio for iPad Pro attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in black, white, and denim, it complements the colors of the new iPad Pro.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The new Apple Pencil Pro sounds as though it’s a big step forward. There’s a sensor in the device’s barrel so that, with a squeeze, users can summon a tool palette on the iPad Pro or iPad Air. The new Pencil also incorporates haptics, allowing it to provide a bit of feedback when a user squeezes the Pencil. There’s even a built-in gyroscope that senses when the barrel is rotated, which can be used to rotate brushes and onscreen objects. The rotation functionality is incorporated into the hover feature, allowing users to see the rotation of a brush before placing the Pencil on the screen, for example. The new model Pencil also supports Find My. As before, the new Apple Pencil Pro connects to the iPad Pro magnetically for pairing, charging, and storing.

I like the look of the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro a lot. The previous Magic Keyboard always felt too cramped, and it was frustrating to not have function keys. And, although I’m not a heavy Apple Pencil user, I’m excited to see how developers implement the new Pro features.

The new Smart Folio comes in black, white, and denim and is $79 for the 11” iPads and $99 for the 13” iPads. The new Magic Keyboard comes in white and black and is $299 for the 11” iPad Pro and $349 for the 13” iPad Pro, with $20 off those prices for education customers. The Apple Pencil Pro is $129 and $119 for education customers.

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Apple Announces New 11” and 13” iPad Pros

At its Let Loose video event today, Apple introduced new 11” and 13” iPad Pros. Both models come in Silver and Space Black and feature OLED displays, the M4 chip, and more. Based on the specs Apple shared, both iPad Pro models appear to be significant upgrades over the existing M2 models.

The Design

Apple has made its thinest device ever with the iPad Pro. The 11” model is 5.3 mm thick, and the 13” model is 5.1 mm thick. That’s a remarkably thin device, achieved though a combination of new display technology and power efficiency, which allow it to use a smaller battery.

The Display

It’s not surprising that the new iPad Pros have OLED displays. That’s been rumored for a while. However, Apple says these are the most advanced OLED displays available.

The display, which Apple calls Ultra Retina XDR, is made from two OLED panels, allowing the device to achieve higher brightness than a single-panel setup. So in addition to the deeper blacks and high-contrast that OLED typically achieves, Apple says the new iPad Pros will support 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content and 1,600 nits peak for HDR.

A nano-textured display is also available for the first time in the 1TB and 2TB configurations of both iPad Pros.

The M4 Chip

The new iPad Pros are the first devices made by Apple to include the new M4 chipset, skipping the M3 generation altogether. Apple says that the M4, which is built with a second-generation 3-nanometer process, builds on the technologies found in the M3 chips, including features like Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing that were only available on certain Macs before.

The 256GB and 512GB configurations of the new iPad Pro include a 9-core CPU with three performance cores and six efficiency cores. Those models also have a 10-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. The 1TB and 2TB models add one performance core to the CPU but have the same GPU and Neural Engine.

Apple spent a lot of time talking about the M4 and its ability to handle difficult AI tasks, pointing out that the latest Neural Engine can handle 38 trillion operations per second. The company says that’s 60x faster than its first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip. Apple also claims that the Neural Engine is faster than any equivalent chip in PCs, implying that it’s the rest of the AI industry catching up to it and not the other way around.

Cameras

The front camera has been moved to the landscape side of the iPad Pro, which will make video conferencing less awkward. Plus, there’s a new Adaptive True Tone flash that removes shadows by taking multiple exposures of documents when scanning, and neither model includes an Ultra Wide camera anymore.

I’m excited about the new iPad Pro. It remains to be seen how the advances in hardware translate into everyday experiences, but it’s still good to see Apple pushing the iPad’s capabilities forward aggressively, which should encourage developers to push the boundaries of what is possible with a tablet.

The new 11” iPad Pro starts at $999, and the 13” model starts at $1,299. Both models can be ordered today and ship next week.

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage Is Coming to iPhones and iPads on June 6th

At last fall’s iPhone event, Apple and Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Mirage would be coming to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Today, Ubisoft confirmed with a press release that the game is coming on June 6th, just before WWDC. In addition to the iPhone, the game is coming to iPad Air and iPad Pro models with an M1 chip and later, which includes the 5th generation iPad Pros released in the spring of 2021 and later, as well as the current iPad Air.

According to Ubisoft’s website:

Developed by Ubisoft Sofia, these ports offer an intuitive, comfortable and engaging gaming experience with optimized touch controls and controller support. Cross-save and cross-ownership will also be available for players to enjoy the game between iPhone and iPad as they please.

The game will also be a Universal Purchase that will work across the iPhone and iPad and will be free to download and play for 90 minutes. The full version of Mirage will unlockable for $49.99. If you’re interested in pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed Mirage, you can do so now on the App Store.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage launched on consoles and PCs last fall to favorable reviews. I’m looking forward to giving it a try on the iPhone and iPad, but I’m a little disappointed that it’s not also launching on the Mac.