The iPad , remember that ? It ’s been a hour since Apple unveil a fresh pill – about 807,690 second , to be a minute more precise – but all indication point to sword new models being roll out as part of anApple keynote next week , on May 7 .

A lot has happened in the intervening clip . Apple releasediPadOS 17 , theApple Vision Prowas foretell and transport , and the M2 processors have given way to theM3 – with the promise of more soon . Throughout all of that , the iPad Pro and 10th - contemporaries iPad have remained motionless and stable — and the iPad Air and iPad mini lines date back even further , to March 2022 and September 2021 severally .

So what do we expect from some brand - new iPads ? Can Apple move the phonograph needle significantly , or is the iPad computer hardware still so far out ahead of its computer software that we ’ll end up with a lot more horsepower but without too much to use it on ?

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Whether the chip in the new iPad Pro is an M3 or M4, the more impressive upgrade will be an OLED display.

Get the OLED out

The biggest betterment is likely to come in the form of young display technology for the iPad Pro line , which is expected to adopt organic light - emitting diodes ( OLED ) for all its models . That ’s a big difference from the previous two generations , which used different filmdom for the 11 - inch and 12.9 - column inch models : the smaller used typical LCD technology , but the big good example ’s Liquid Retina XDR used the more advanced mini LED , which provides much finer control over backlighting , thus meliorate the deepness of blacks and the max brightness ( up to 1600 nit when catch HDR content , as opposed to 600 nit for LCD show ) .

An OLED showing will prove even more significant there . The company has long used OLED technical school in its smartphones , starting with theiPhone X , and it ’s also been in the Apple Watch since its entry . Because each individual picture element provides its own backlighting and can be turn off , this allows for even mystifying Shirley Temple Black . collapse the iPad ’s use as a popular gimmick for video playback , this stands to make your idiot box display and film bet even better .

Of course , that will come with a sizable price tag . OLED displays still overtop a significant premium over traditional LCD and mini LED display , so do n’t be surprised if the new iPad Pros go up a hundred clam or more over the current prices . And here ’s skip that Apple finally form for that last ten percent of an inch on the larger model ’s presentation , simplifying all of our lives by offer 11 - inch and 13 - inch exemplar .

Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2021)

Whether the chip in the new iPad Pro is an M3 or M4, the more impressive upgrade will be an OLED display.

No anxiety about performance

Rumors this retiring hebdomad have suggest that thenew iPad Pro might skip right past the M3 and go to an M4 CPU . I do n’t find myself particularly convinced , given that Apple has n’t even finished rolling out its M3 Macs yet , but some machine have leave out processor generations before ( the iMac sat out the M2 , for representative ) .

Still , what is n’t up for dispute is that Apple will bring even more operation to the iPad production line with a speed rise between around 20 and 40 percentage , look on what fries it ends up using . While that certainly might finger like a prissy improvement for those using their iPads for fleshy lifting like video and audio editing , it ’s improbable to make a big dispute for those using the pad of paper as content - consuming equipment ; the OLED displays will make far more of a departure for your streaming shows .

Whether the chip in the new iPad Pro is an M3 or M4 , the more telling upgrade will be an OLED display .

Apple Pencil 2nd Gen

A new Apple Pencil seems to be coming on May 7.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Those M4 hearsay also suggest that the new iPad Pro might be positioned as a fireball for generative AI becauseit ’s all procreative AI nowadays . What that signify is anyone ’s guess : Apple ’s scrap have long built in a Neural Engine accelerator pedal specifically design for machine learnedness task , but give that the company has even pushed the late MacBook Air as “ the world ’s serious consumer laptop computer for AI “ , there ’s little doubt that Apple will at least market the novel iPad Pro as such , even if there ’s no hearty change to its silicon design .

Don’t forget to accessorize

Of course , with every unexampled iPad comes new accessories , and this time does n’t seem like any elision . Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman has already tipped anew Apple Pencilwith haptic feedback ( shit it potentially the fourth Apple Pencil the company sells ) , and there ’ve been indications that Apple will revamp its Magic Keyboard for the iPad as well .

The latter seems a near certainty , especially since the iPad Pro appear poise for a design refresh after six years . If the conjecture proves true , it ’ll shave almost a millimetre off its thickness , which is middling considerable for a twist that already measures in at a lithe 5.9 mm and 6.4 mm for the 11 - inch and 12.9 - column inch models respectively . A redesign keyboard could also situate some shortcomings with the previous model , such as adding map keys and peradventure even providing a gravid trackpad — but to do so , Apple would likely have to toss its cantilever figure for something more remindful of a traditional laptop grapple .

On the Pencil side , the big question will be whether or not a new designing will still offer not only magnetised adhesion but also magnetic charging . That ’s because the expectation is Apple will finally move the iPad Pro ’s front - face camera to the tenacious border , à la the 10th - propagation iPad , which does not support magnetized charging . suffer to plug in the Pencil via USB - C feels like too much of a regression for the Pro models , and it seems likely Apple will find a way to make do with the challenge , whether it means clipping the Pencil to the short boundary or squeezing the charging hardware in around the photographic camera somehow .

A new Apple Pencil seems to be coming on May 7 .

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All in , though , replacing your entire iPad Pro apparatus will be on the high-priced side , likely more than a comparable MacBook Air . But for those who appreciate the versatility of Apple ’s tablet and wonder“What ’s a computer ? ” , these update have been a retentive time coming and ca n’t arrive a moment too soon .