Apple Keynote 2024: All Of The Big iPad News Here!

Apple unleashed their latest Apple Keynote 2024, and in it, they revealed the next generation of iPad Air, the next generation of iPad Pro, and showed what’s under the hood for consumers.

After teasing for the past couple of weeks, the Apple Keynote 2024 is finally here, and it’s all about the iPad and add-ons for it. For 30+ minutes, Apple shared their upcoming devices with consumers from the iPad tablet line. While the impossible portable iPad Air was shown off, the brand-new flagship iPad Pro followed. The newest generation of iPad Pro is equipped with the brand new next-gen M4 chip, and Apple revealed what that means for the intrigued customer.

Apple Keynote 2024 – The New iPad Air

Apple kicked things off with their newest iPad Air product. Now available in two sizes for the first time, the 11-inch iPad Air is super-portable, and the 13-inch model provides an even larger display for more room to work and play. The device comes equipped with the M2 Apple silicon chip, which provides a much faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine than its predecessors. The Neural Engine gives iPad Air access to smart AI features, and when photo editing, it can even differentiate which layer of the background it is in.

The iPad Air is completely compatible with Apple Pencil Pro, which was also announced at the Apple Keynote 2024, and with the improved Apple iPadOS17 and M2 chip, the new iPad Air is better than ever before.

Apple Keynote 2024 – New iPad Pro

Billed by Apple as “the device that smashes the current generation of iPads,” the new iPad Pro features an all-new, super-thin design. It comes in two sizes, 11-inch and 13-inch, just like the iPad Air, and is a remarkable 3.5mm (for the 11-inch) and 5.1mm (for the 13-inch) thin. The new iPad Pro is thinner than the iPod Nano, and both devices weigh 0.9 and 1.2 pounds, respectively. The new iPad Pro display uses two OLED panels ; this technology is called Tandem OLED, and it allows the display to reach 1,000 nits of brightness (or 1,600 nits for HDR) and display with the full P3 wide color gamut, allowing photos to show more detail than ever in real time. Ultra Retina XDR, Apple’s most advanced display technology yet, is included in this new wave of iPad Pros.

The new iPad Pro leaps to the next generation of Apple Silicon chip, the M4 chip, for the new iPad Pro. Four performance cores and six efficiency cores allow the M4 chip to perform 52% better than its predecessors, with a total of 16 cores onboard. The M4 chip has a 4x faster rendering performance than the M2, and when compared to the latest laptop or portable chips, it provides the same strength, with 25% of the power used (Apple claims).

The neural engine included with the M4 chip is the next step forward for AI. Apple claims this neural engine is the most advanced for AI rendering yet. Advanced ray tracing capabilities, 10% faster speed than the previous generation of iPad Pro, and new thermal performance improvements of up to 20% make this the latest and greatest iPad overall.

Apple Keynote 2024 – Apple Pencil, Pro Apps & Magic Keyboard

Newly introduced Pro apps allow consumers to use the full extent of their devices, and Apple has introduced the new Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad Pro. These new apps are developed with touch in mind, letting creators get closer to their content than ever before. Final Cut Camera allows multiple Apple camera products (iPhones, iPads) to record one scene from different perspectives, and when sent to Final Cut Pro 2, consumers have the flexibility to edit these massive projects at their fingertips.

Logic Pro 2 has also been introduced at the Apple Keynote 2024, allowing creators to introduce new bass and keyboard additions to create a complete musical performance. The added instruments utilize AI to play sound as well, which can tailor fit the mood to the creator’s needs. All of the tools included in Logic Pro 2 allow users to feel like they’re in the studio, and with the power of the M4 chip, it is faster and more intelligent than ever.

The LiDAR scanner has also been introduced, and it uses AI on the camera side of the phone, so members can scan documents easily without focusing on lighting. To go with all of the new tech in the iPad Pro, Apple introduced the new Magic Keyboard. It comes in two colours to match the two colours of the iPad Pro. The keyboard makes the pro “feel like using a Macbook. ”

Apple then unveiled the latest version of the Apple Pencil, the Apple Pencil Pro. Haptic feedback is provided when squeezing the pencil, and rotating the pencil also allows it to perform differently—the Pencil Pro charges by connecting to the side of the iPad Pro or Air. With Apple Pencil Squeeze, artists can use this simple command to control each layer of their art with precision. Doing a barrel roll with the Pencil Pro changes its functionality as well.

Apple Keynote 2024 – Pricing and Availability

Everything revealed at the exciting Apple Keynote 2024 can be ordered today, and it will arrive by next week. The official release date for all of the devices revealed at the Apple Keynote 2024 event will officially launch on May 15. Below, consumers can find all of the pricing information on everything revealed.

• The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $799 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi model and $999 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model
• The 13-inch iPad Air starts at $1,099 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi model and $1,299 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model
• The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,399 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi model, and $1,679 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
• The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,799 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi model, and $2,079 (CAD) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
• The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the iPad Air and Pro. It is available for $169 (CAD) and comes in a USB-C version for $109.
• The new Magic Keyboard, available in black and white finishes for the new iPad Pro colours, is compatible with the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air & Pro. It can be purchased for $399 (CAD) for the new 11-inch iPad Air, and $449 (CAD)

Apple CEO Tim Cook claims , “This is the best iPad generation ever” and “the best industry-wide, by far, with the new M4 Chip; it truly is the biggest day for iPad since its introduction.” It’s worth mentioning that Apple has more exciting details to share with consumers next month at the WWDC, so consumers can fire up their calendars for that event, which runs from June 10 until June 14.