Apple launches iPad Pro with OLED screen and M4
Other new features include a thinner casing, the new space black color and the new 13-inch display size.
Apple has kept its customers waiting a whole 19 months for new tablets from the Pro series. Some will see the fact that they are the first devices to feature the M4 chip as small compensation. This is all the more remarkable given that the M3 chip only made its debut in November 2023 and not all the expected variants are even on the market yet – the M3 Ultra is still missing.
As before, the chip has up to four performance cores, but now six efficiency cores, whose clock rates Apple has probably increased further, but is keeping quiet about this. What is new is that the iPad versions with 256 or 512 GB of memory have slimmed-down CPUs with only 3 performance cores. The number of graphics cores has remained at 10 compared to the M2, but the improved architecture (already with the M3) now allows ray tracing on an iPad for the first time. Apple specifies the size of the RAM as 16 GB across the board. Previously it was 8 or 16 GB, depending on the model.
In addition to the previous size, the large iPad Pro is now available with 13 instead of 12.9 inches. The casing is now significantly thinner (5.3 mm instead of 5.9 mm for the 11-inch model and 5.1 mm instead of 6.4 mm for the 13-inch model) and it is now available in silver and space black instead of silver or space gray. The 11“ model weighs less than 450 grams, and the 13” model is almost 110 grams lighter than its predecessor.
New displays
However, a far more important innovation for many is likely to be the new displays, which now use tandem OLED instead of conventional LCD technology. The “Ultra Retina XDR Display” combines two panels into one screen. With OLED, each pixel illuminates itself and is not dependent on background light. This allows a deeper black to be displayed, which ensures higher contrasts. The number of pixels on the iPad Pro 11” has increased from 2388 × 1668 to 2420 × 1668 and on the large model from 2732 x 2048 pixels to 2752 × 2064. Apple is also retaining the variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz (ProMotion) and the extended DCI-P3 color space.
The new OLEDs are also said to emit up to 1000 nits (equivalent to candela/sqm), and up to 1600 nits for HDR content. A new feature is an option with an anti-reflective nano-texture. It can only be selected in the 1 or 2 TByte configurations and costs an additional 130 euros regardless of the screen size.
Apple has reduced the battery capacity of the large iPad from 40.88 to 38.99 watt-hours due to the thinner casing. In the 11-inch model, on the other hand, it even increased slightly from 28.65 to 31.29 watt-hours.
iPad Pro 11″ & 13″ (11 Bilder)
No more ultra-wide angle
Apple has also done away with the ultra-wide-angle camera on the iPad Pro. The main camera still has a meager 12 megapixels. The front camera is now located on the long side of the screen, which improves it for video chats in landscape format.
Wi-Fi 6E remains, which can already utilize the 6 GHz band if an appropriate router is available. USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, Face ID facial recognition and GPS in the model with 5G are back. Apple has done away with the SIM card slot for mobile communications and now only offers the eSIM.
A new Pencil and new keyboards are new additions to the iPad Pro range, which we will report on separately.
The new iPad Pros with 11“ and 13” will be available with 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TByte or 2 TByte. The entry-level prices have risen from 1049 to 1199 euros for the 11-inch model and from 1449 to 1549 euros for the iPad 12.9/13”. The surcharge for mobile communications capabilities (nano SIM slot and eSIM) is now 250 instead of 200 euros. Apple also announced new models of the iPad Air at the same time.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new information becomes available. (jes)
