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.
