iPad Pro (2024) preview: what’s coming? M3? OK, you and who else? – Ultra-Sim

iPad Pro (2024) Intro

OK, so software aside, what are we expecting from the hardware of potential new iPad Pros? Well, and upgrade to the next generation Apple M3 chip for one — not that it’s necessary at this point. But also a possible change in display tech — rumors insist that Apple is moving to OLED with both the iPad Pro 11″ and iPad Pro 12.9″, meaning it would be ditching the whole Mini LED experiment. Interesting.

New expected features in iPad Pro (2024)

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iPad Pro (2024) Specs

The king of the slabs

The iPad Pro always has supercharged hardware — enough to run desktop-class apps and console-grade games. Literally, with games like Resident Evil and Assassin’s Creed: Mirage already out for or headed for iPads with any M-class chip. Nothing is official yet and we don’t have exact specs, but here’s an educated guess of what the iPad Pro (2024) models will pack:

If you’ve been following closely, you probably know that the iPad 10th gen is the only Apple tablet to have the selfie camera on the right side of the frame… basically it becomes the top frame when the tablet is in landscape position. And, since er are getting keyboard for these things and exceedingly using them for video chats in landscape — people love that change. The Center Stage mode of the iPads is cool and all, but when your selfie camera is off to the side, it does look a bit awkward in the video feed.

So, that’s one thing that might change. We imagine that it may require the magnets for the Apple Pencil to move, so you dock it on a different part of the iPad Pro (2024). And, since we are on accessories, we have also heard that a new Magic Keyboard — one with function keys — may also be in the stack. Now… these are separately-bought accessories, and we are very curious to see if the OG Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil 2 would work with the new iPads.

Apple seemed set on not going to OLED tech for its premium tablets — instead, it gave us the Mini LED panels in the iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) and iPad Pro 12.9 (2022). It’s a fantastic piece of tech that kind of mixes the worlds of conventional LCD and OLED — the screen still has a backlight (like LCD), but it’s hundreds of thousands of small LEDs firing up separately, making it a backlight divided in multiple zones.

It generally looks good and has the deep blacks and stark contrast of AMOLED panels. However, when viewed in the dark, there is a small amount of bloom around any objects on screen that are surrounded by darkness.

We don’t know if that one inevitable “issue” has made Apple rethink its course, but right now — all reports point towards the iPad Pro (2024) models having OLED screens.

In reality, people don’t hold up tablets to take photos out in the park or at a show… thankfully! So, cameras are not where tablets — the iPads included — usually put a lot of focus. A good enough rear camera is required for the occasional shot or document scan. And a good enough selfie camera is required for video calls and conferences. 

The iPads, in particular, all have ultra-wide lenses on the front cameras, which enables the Center Stage software feature — when enabled, it zooms in on your face and follows you around, which sounds a bit ridiculous, but we’ve found it to be quite useful after years of use.

Also, the Pro iPads have the LiDAR sensor on the back — a Time of Flight camera, which enables accurate environmental scanning and placing virtual objects in your space. It gives you a better virtual ruler and better-performing AR apps and games. Though, we haven’t seen the AR trend explode, so this is still a very niche feature.

Let’s be real — a potential refresh of iPad Pros right now will mostly be about performance — that jump to the new Apple M3 chip. But also, let’s be honest — it probably doesn’t need it. We still use M1-equipped iPad Pros in the office and they are perfectly fast, snappy, and productive. We do have the M2 units, too, but they mostly rest in their boxes, simply because we don’t see the need to reach for them often.

So, an M3 refresh will be welcome for new buyers who are looking to get the most headroom, the most future-proofing. But if you have an M1 or an M2? Maybe it’s not time to dream for an upgrade just yet. Of course, there’s plenty of room for Apple to prove us wrong on this! Sight unseen, this is what we expect right now.

iPad Pro (2024) OS version

No question, if new iPad Pros launch right now, they will come with iPadOS 17 right out of the box. This means the new Journal app, a Weather app facelift, new iMessage features that make group chats easier to navigate and participate in, and new Apple Music features for shared playlists. Plus, some minor facelifts across other apps. Stage Manager is of course a huge feature here, as it gives you a desktop-ish environment to multitask and work in, when you connect an external monitor via the Thunderbolt port.

With all of its mobile devices, from laptops to phones to tablets, Apple aims for a comfortable 10-hour screen-on time. Anything extra is a bonus, anything less than that is not ideal. Our experience with the “normal-sized” iPads thus far is that yes, medium load like video streams and multi-app use will drain the battery at a speed of 10% per hour. If you game a lot, or do video editing, the overall on time can fall to 8 or even 6 hours, if you are really squeezing it dry.

We expect a very similar performance from the 2024 iPad Pro units. Of course, we are open for pleasant surprises, Apple!

Well, there are no haptics on Apple’s tablets, unlike Samsung’s Galaxy Tab devices. We can’t say we miss them — it’s a bit weird when you have a whole tablet vibrating with your taps and swipes.

Both ecosystems are well-developed, and both systems have their quirks, so it’s hard to say which one is definitively better. We’d say the Samsung tablets work a bit better as straight-up laptop replacers, as you can launch into DeX without needing an external monitor (which the iPad needs for Stage Manager). But, ultimately, your choice of smartphone and computer may also dictate which tablet you go for.

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