Apple launched on Tuesday iPad event with a feat related to another of its product lines: the MacBook Air, which the company claimed was the world's best-selling 13-inch and 15-inch laptop.
When Apple began announcing the new iPad Air and Pro, it was easy to tell why the tech giant led with the MacBook victory: The new iPad models are bigger, more powerful, and more MacBook-like than ever.
The iPad Air gets a bigger screen
The iPad Air has been upgraded to a 13-inch screen for the first time and runs on the M2 chip, which has AI features. For example, the ML Enhance tool in the Photomator app uses AI models trained on 20 million pro images to enhance photos, according to Melody Kuna, director of iPad product design.
iPad Air. Credit: Apple
The front camera resembles a laptop more than an iPhone now, moving from the vertical side of the iPad Air to the horizontal side.
Horizontal camera for Zoom calls. Credit: Apple
The storage space of the iPad Air starts at double the previous one, at 128 GB. The price is STILL $599 for the 11-inch Air and $799 for the new 13-inch model.
The iPad Pro gets a new M4 AI chip
The iPad Pro has many of the same changes as the Air, with a new 13-inch version and a horizontal front-facing camera. He uses one brand new M4 chipwhich Apple's vice president of platform architecture Tim Millet called an “incredibly powerful chip for AI.”
“The neural engine in the M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any neural processing unit in any PC with AI today,” Millet said, stating that the M4 had the same performance as the M2 at half the power.
The M4 also offers the same performance as a processor chip in a PC, but uses a quarter of the power, Millet said.
Apple emphasized the brilliance of the new iPad Pro and said it was the thinnest Apple product ever, thinner than even iPod nano. The 11-inch model is 5.3mm thin and the 13-inch model is 5.1mm.
The brilliance of the iPad Pro. Credit: Apple
The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999 and the 13-inch starts at $1,299. The new iPad lines are available to order now for delivery next week.
Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil get haptic feedback
New accessories also appeared, with improvements to the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil.
The Apple Pencil still pairs, charges, and stores magnetically, but now users can squeeze the pencil to activate shortcuts.
The Magic Keyboard has a new control panel at the top, with options to control the screen brightness and other aspects of the iPad, and a larger keyboard with haptic feedback.
“So the whole experience is felt only like using a MacBook,” said John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering.
The same users who “are loving” the MacBook Air, as Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event, may also love the new iPads that match it in screen size and power.
Apple's new Magic Keyboard with added control panel on top. Credit: Apple
An increase in interest in iPads would serve the company: iPad shipments fallen 30% last year; Apple last released a new iPad Air in 2022.
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Apple will wait another event next month, the Worldwide Developers Conference.