Apple's impossibly thin iPad Pro packs an M4 chip and tandem OLED technology

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: Apple has formally taken the wraps off its new iPad Pro lineup, and there's a lot to get excited about. The tablets are powered by new Apple M4 silicon (M3, we hardly knew you) and are the thinnest Apple devices ever created – and that's just scratching the surface.

The new iPad Pro is offered in two variants, one with an 11-inch display and the other sporting a larger 14-inch panel. Both utilize the brand new M4 chip, although specs vary depending on the chosen storage configuration.

Models with 256 GB or 512 GB of storage ship with 8 GB of RAM and a nine-core CPU featuring three performance cores alongside six efficiency cores paired with a 10-core GPU. Buyers that opt for 1 TB or 2 TB of storage will get an M4 with 10 cores (four performance cores and six efficiency cores) along with the same 10-core GPU. All variants include a 16-core Neural Engine and 120 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The new M4 chip is built on second-gen 3-nanometer tech that's far more efficient than previous iterations. According to Apple, it can deliver the same level of performance as the M2 at just half the power, or match the performance of the "latest PC chip" in a thin and light laptop using just a quarter of the power.

The new Neural Engine, meanwhile, is capable of 38 trillion operations per second, making it 60 times faster than the first Neural Engine from the A11 Bionic SoC. According to Apple, the Neural Engine is more powerful than any NPU found in AI PCs currently on the market today.

At the heart of the new iPad Pro is the Ultra Retina XDR, described by Apple as the world's most advanced display. It features tandem OLED technology that literally combines two OLED panels to boost full-screen brightness to 1000 nits for SDR and HDR content, and up to 1600 nits peak for HDR.

Around back, you'll find a single 12-megapixel camera sporting a five-element lens with f/1.8 aperture and a True Tone flash. Another 12-megapixel shooter – an ultrawide with f/2.4 aperture – handles forward-facing duties.

Given all the new hardware and dual OLED displays, it's impressive that Apple managed to cram it all into its thinnest devices to date. The 11-inch model measures just 5.3mm thick while the 13-incher is even slimmer at 5.1mm.

Apple's new iPad Pros are available to pre-order today. Pricing starts at $999 for an 11-inch Wi-Fi only model, or $1,199 if you need cellular. The 13-inch iPad Pro commands $1,299 for a 256 GB model with Wi-Fi, or $1,499 for the cellular-enabled variant. Both are offered in your choice of silver or black finishes with 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, or 2 TB storage options. The 1 TB and 2 TB storage variants also have the option for nano-texture glass, which is precisely etched at a nanometer scale to reduce glare.

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Apple's impossibly thin iPad Pro packs an M4 chip and tandem OLED technology

 

[Shaitan]

I'll get one!
Just as soon as it has 3.5 mm headphone jack and USER REPLACEABLE BATTERY!
(that's never)

 

[yRaz]

I see 8GB of ram is still enough for Apple

 

[Hexic]

$1300 for just a tablet? That's gonna be a no from me, dawg.

 

[m4a4]

At this point, "thinnest" to me just means "wasted battery life potential". And "it's going to be easy to bend" lol

 

[themastergoose]

Glad to see that:
1) Apple don't understand currency conversion, it's £1299 ($1625) here for the 13 inch Pro.
2) A whole MacBook Air 13 inch is less than the iPad at £1099.

 

[yRaz]

Glad to see that:
1) Apple don't understand currency conversion, it's £1299 ($1625) here for the 13 inch Pro.
2) A whole MacBook Air 13 inch is less than the iPad at £1099.

Yeah, but it isn't an iPad. The macbook air basically tells everyone you're poor and dumb, all other Apple products are meant to tell everyone you aren't poor but are still dumb

 

[Watzupken]

While the hardware sounds powerful, it’s still severely hampered by the software. And the significant split in RAM config on a tablet also means the 8GB variant is not going to perform as well in some apps or games. Like the fairly recent Resident Evil release on iOS and iPadOS is a good example where the 16GB variants offers more fluid performance. Sad to say, Apple is slowly but surely declining because even in areas such as SOC where they used to dominate, they are falling behind. M4 don’t seem like it’s delivering any meaningful performance improvement over M3, just fluffy AI numbers that most people don’t care.

 

[daffy duck]

iPad OS is garbage and why I gave up on iPad for real work. Macbook Air much cheaper and has real OS< usb ports, mouse support and easily specced with 16GB RAM. Hell top tier iPad Pro is dearer than Macbook Pro once you throw in keyboard and pencil.

 

[yRaz]

While the hardware sounds powerful, it’s still severely hampered by the software. And the significant split in RAM config on a tablet also means the 8GB variant is not going to perform as well in some apps or games. Like the fairly recent Resident Evil release on iOS and iPadOS is a good example where the 16GB variants offers more fluid performance. Sad to say, Apple is slowly but surely declining because even in areas such as SOC where they used to dominate, they are falling behind. M4 don’t seem like it’s delivering any meaningful performance improvement over M3, just fluffy AI numbers that most people don’t care.

Apple is holding onto 8GB while 32GB is quickly becoming the standard. I've been running 16gigs since 2018 and only recently made the switch to 32GB. I figure that'll last me another 6 years

 

[kiwigraeme]

I only glance at this and say samsung pro etc to see what will trickle down in say 3 years.

I would use these things so infrequently, as not worth the money.

With new OLED tech coming etc, Just want a cheap big HQ screen for media consumption, with great battery life. For books, magazines, graphic novels and the odd video/

I think with more competition in the SOC space OLED screen space. 12" is about right . Think 13" is closer to an A4. People pay good money for large eReaders , so why not a well priced simple SOC great screen tablet

 

[themastergoose]

iPad OS is garbage and why I gave up on iPad for real work. Macbook Air much cheaper and has real OS< usb ports, mouse support and easily specced with 16GB RAM. Hell top tier iPad Pro is dearer than Macbook Pro once you throw in keyboard and pencil.

Not wrong. Here in the UK:
- iPad Pro, M4, 13 Inch, with 2TB storage, Pencil and Keyboard, £3077
- MacBook Pro, M3, 14 Inch, upgraded to 2TB storage, £2299

Neither of these are a good value, but the pricing of that new iPad is standout especially given it's running a fork of iOS and locked to apps only. It's obscene even compared to their own laptop product stack. You can even bump that MacBook Pro up to the M3 Pro with 2TB and still come in at £2699 all in.

 

[Rudyduu]

Glad to see that:
1) Apple don't understand currency conversion, it's £1299 ($1625) here for the 13 inch Pro.
2) A whole MacBook Air 13 inch is less than the iPad at £1099.

Two things: a lot of US products just have their currency changed in the UK with the numbers staying the same, also VAT is included in the UK price while taxes are not included in the US prices.

I don't think there is a good reason to upgrade from an iPad pro from the past 4-5 years to the one that just launched. I don't think anyone asked for a thinner iPad, I'm pretty sure people would rather have a much larger battery and be thicker than to get a more efficient chip that then gets a smaller battery while leaving the battery life the same.

 

[Rudyduu]

Yeah, but it isn't an iPad. The macbook air basically tells everyone you're poor and dumb, all other Apple products are meant to tell everyone you aren't poor but are still dumb

I think it's dumb to tell people how they should spend their money.

 

[JuanDegr]

Apple Engineer: Hey, we charge over a 1000 bucks for this thing. Let's be a Mensch and drop another 8 GB into it

Marketing: Nah, let's make it thinner

 

[yRaz]

I think it's dumb to tell people how they should spend their money.

I think it's dumb to take satire seriously

 

[Watzupken]

Two things: a lot of US products just have their currency changed in the UK with the numbers staying the same, also VAT is included in the UK price while taxes are not included in the US prices.

I don't think there is a good reason to upgrade from an iPad pro from the past 4-5 years to the one that just launched. I don't think anyone asked for a thinner iPad, I'm pretty sure people would rather have a much larger battery and be thicker than to get a more efficient chip that then gets a smaller battery while leaving the battery life the same.

I feel it is good time for Apple to redesign the iPads because under Tim Cook, they have been recycling the same design easily 5 years before dragging their feet on offering a real redesign, and not some marginal change in material used, Dynamic Island, action button and some slightly changed edges. I do agree that marketing iPads as being very thin is very silly because there are compromises. Battery life is going to take a hit and you can also be sure the cooling is going to be a problem. So yeah, thanks but no thanks Apple.

 

[Rudyduu]

I think it's dumb to take satire seriously

How was that satire? "...uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to expose flaws in modern society" You called people who spent their money on Apple products dumb.

 

[yRaz]

How was that satire? "...uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to expose flaws in modern society" You called people who spent their money on Apple products dumb.

Oh, I get it now. It's not that you were taking satire seriously, it's that you're unable to understand it entirely. If you don't mind me asking, have you purchased any Apple products recently?