Apple is refreshing its iPad lineup on Tuesday, which is a bit overdue, as the previous iPad Air was announced more than two years ago. The most important addition to the new iPad Air is that it now comes in two sizes: 11 and 13 inches. This display is still an LED display; if you […]
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Three years after Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPad, sales reached an all-time high. According to Canalys, iPad shipments hit 26 million in the last quarter of 2013. With those numbers, Apple secured more than one-third of the tablet market. As a category, tablets represented a hair under 50% of the entire PC market for […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Apple just updated its two high-end tablets: the iPad Air and the iPad Pro. While the entry-level iPad didn’t receive an update, the company lowered its price, too. And of course, yes, the iPad mini is still around.
So we thought it would be a good opportunity to look at the iPad lineup and understand what makes them different. Maybe it’ll help you choose your next iPad if your existing iPad is so old that you can’t get the latest updates for your favorite apps anymore.
The 10th-generation iPad that is simply called “iPad” wasn’t updated during Tuesday’s Let Loose event. But it’s still a solid entry-level tablet with a 10.9-inch display; the A14 Bionic system-on-a-chip that was originally released for the iPhone 12 lineup; and a USB-C port. It comes in blue, pink, yellow and silver.
Before now, the iPad cost $449; Apple is now lowering the price to $349 for 64GB of storage. Upgrading to 256GB is a tad expensive, as the price jumps to $499. This also means that the ninth-generation iPad is now gone from the lineup.
Image Credits: Apple
What is the iPad Air? The line between the iPad Air and iPad Pro isn’t as clear as it used to be. But Apple’s SVP, Hardware Engineering tried to define what the iPad Air is. “iPad Air is designed to deliver advanced features pioneered on iPad Pro and make them available and even more affordable price,” he said.
That’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the iPad Air now comes in two screen sizes, 11 and 13 inches. Apple now uses its M2 chip to power the iPad Air and has moved the front-facing camera so that it is now located along the landscape edge of the tablet.
The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599, and the 13-inch model starts at $799. If you pick a model that supports cellular connectivity or if you’d like to add more storage, it’ll add up pretty quickly.
Image Credits: Apple
As the name suggests, the iPad Pro packs the best components available right now. And the new iPad Pro isn’t an exception, as it now features an OLED display and a brand new M4 chip.
Essentially, everything is better in the iPad Pro. There are four speakers, a lidar scanner, a new adaptive true-tone flash and a USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt 4. But whether these features are necessary depend on your use cases and the role of your iPad in your computing world.
It’s also an expensive machine: The iPad Pro starts at $999 for the 11-inch model. The 13-inch version costs $1,299. And the iPad Pro doesn’t come with a keyboard or a pencil in the box, so you often end up paying more than the price of a MacBook Air.
Apple didn’t mention the iPad mini at all but it’s still here. With an 8.3-inch display, this device is bigger than a smartphone but smaller than what people typically call an iPad.
It would have been nice to update the chip on Tuesday, but at least the iPad mini remains in the lineup.
Now, this is where it gets a bit complicated: Some accessories work with some iPad models but not with others.
Let’s start with the pencils. All iPads support pencils now. Apple sells a basic $79 USB-C Apple Pencil that works with all models and is the cheapest option. It can magnetically attach to the tablet but you have to use a USB-C cable to charge it every now and then.
Image Credits: Apple
The entry-level iPad also supports the first-generation Pencil with a dongle (the one that doesn’t magnetically attach to the tablet). But if you don’t have one, you should choose the basic USB-C Apple Pencil.
If you have an iPad mini, you can also buy a $129 second-generation Apple Pencil. What’s nice about the this one is that it supports wireless pairing and charging as well as a double-tap shortcut to change tools.
And if you’re about to buy a brand-new iPad Air or iPad Pro, Apple essentially updated the second-generation Apple Pencil and rebranded it to the Apple Pencil Pro. It still costs $129 but it adds a couple of quality-of-life features, such as the ability to open a tool palette using the pencil.
As for the keyboard, it’s a bit more straightforward as each model has its own Magic Keyboard. The design of the Magic Keyboard Folio for the entry-level iPad isn’t as nice as the keyboard you can get with the iPad Air or iPad Pro — it’s essentially a $249 keyboard cover.
For the iPad Air and iPad Pro, the pricing of the keyboard depends on the size of the iPad. The Magic Keyboard for 11-inch models costs $299, while the Magic Keyboard for 13-inch models cost $349.
Of course, if you don’t plan to type long documents on your iPad, you can just get a Smart Folio to protect the display and use it as a stand. The versatility of the iPad ecosystem makes it more flexible than a laptop.
So far, the biggest surprise about May 7’s “Let Loose” event is that it’s happening at all. We’re just over a month out from Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, and yet the company determined there was enough news to warrant a stand-alone event, which kicks off tomorrow at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET. iPads (including the iPad Pro and iPad Air) will be the focus, while the long-neglected Apple Pencil is finally getting some love. It was, after all, the focal point of the event’s invite.
Rumors have also begun swirling around a potential M4 announcement. If true, it would represent a key change to Apple’s silicon release cadence, though that hasn’t exactly been consistent over the years. The likeliest reason for the change is Microsoft’s expected release of first-party, ARM-based silicon at its Build conference at the end of the month. Speculation has it that Microsoft’s AI-focused silicon will smoke Apple’s M3 chips.
It’s only been roughly seven months since Apple announced a trio of M3 chips. That’s a quick turnaround for a replacement chip, but keep in mind, the company is believed to have been working toward a more staggered release schedule last year, only to have those plans gunked up by some ongoing supply chain issues. Perhaps this schedule readjustment could see additional M4 SKUs announced during WWDC in a month.
In the meantime, it’s possible that, for the first time, the latest chip could appear on an iPad first — specifically the iPad Pro. At the very least, the high-end iPad is due for a refresh. The latest model, which sports the M2 chip, was released toward the end of 2022. Apple has spent the past several years blurring the line between the iPad and Mac, so why not let the tablet get its hands on new silicon first for a change?
The other big change to the Pro is said to be the long-awaited upgrade to an OLED display. Bloomberg suggests that this can’t come soon enough, as the tablet category is “in a deep funk right now.” Certainly the days of the iPad, one of Apple’s superstar devices, seem mostly behind us.
Image Credits: Matthew Panzarino
The company continues to dominate the category, but the tablet had a rough 2023, giving Apple a big slice of an increasingly shrinking pie. Canalys says the overall market decreased by 10% last year. Given the Vision Pro’s slow start, Apple could really use a shot in the arm right now — though a redesigned iPad doesn’t really fit the bill.
A pair of new iPad Airs is said to be arriving in 11- and 12.9-inch versions. The current rumor still has the more accessible models receiving an M2 chip — if the M4 does arrive next week, however, perhaps they’ll get an additional bump as well.
For what remains a relatively niche device, the Apple Pencil is apparently ready for its close-up. The stylus is said to be getting a new squeeze detection feature (which was alluded to earlier in an iPad) update. Haptic feedback could be on the docket as well, along with interchangeable magnet tips. Find My support could arrive too — a welcome addition for an eternally misplaced peripheral. Talking of blurring the lines between the iPad and Mac, Apple’s latest Magic Keyboard makes the tablet look even more like a laptop than before.
Image Credits: Apple
As for Macs themselves, with the arrival of the M4, I wouldn’t be wholly surprised to see the company sneak a computer refresh or two in. It seems just as — or even more — likely that Apple is saving major additions to the Mac line for WWDC in June.
The event is an early one for you West Coasters, but you can watch it live here and follow TechCrunch for the news as it breaks.
So far, the biggest surprise about May 7’s “Let Loose” event is that it’s happening at all. We’re just over a month out from Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, and yet the company determined there was enough news to warrant a stand-alone event. iPads (including the iPad Pro and iPad Air) will be the focus, while the long-neglected Apple Pencil is finally getting some love. It was, after all, the focal point of the event’s invite.
Rumors have also begun swirling around a potential M4 announcement. If true, it would represent a key change to Apple’s silicon release cadence, though that hasn’t exactly been consistent over the year. The likeliest reason for the change is Microsoft’s expected release of first-party, ARM-based silicon at its Build conference at the end of the month. Speculation has it that Microsoft’s AI-focused silicon will smoke Apple’s M3 chips.
It’s only been roughly seven months since Apple announced a trio of M3 chips. That’s a quick turnaround for a replacement chip, but keep in mind, the company is believed to have been working toward a more staggered release schedule last year, only to have those plans gunked up by some ongoing supply chain issues. Perhaps this schedule readjustment could see additional M4 SKUs announced during WWDC in a month.
In the meantime, it’s possible that, for the first time, the latest chip could appear on an iPad first — specifically the iPad Pro. At the very least, the high-end iPad is due for a refresh. The latest model, which sports the M2 chip, was released toward the end of 2022. Apple has spent the past several years blurring the line between the iPad and Mac, so why not let the tablet get its hands on new silicon first for a change?
The other big change to the Pro is said to be the long-awaited upgrade to an OLED display. Bloomberg suggests that this can’t come soon enough, as the tablet category is “in a deep funk right now.” Certainly the days of the iPad, one of Apple’s superstar devices, seem mostly behind us.
Image Credits: Matthew Panzarino
The company continues to dominate the category, but the tablet had a rough 2023, giving Apple a big slice of an increasingly shrinking pie. Canalys says the overall market decreased by 10% last year. Given the Vision Pro’s slow start, Apple could really use a shot in the arm right now — though a redesigned iPad doesn’t really fit the bill.
A pair of new iPad Airs is said to be arriving in 11- and 12.9-inch versions. The current rumor still has the more accessible models receiving an M2 chip — if the M4 does arrive next week, however, perhaps they’ll get an additional bump as well.
For what remains a relatively niche device, the Apple Pencil is apparently ready for its close-up. The stylus is said to be getting a new squeeze detection feature (which was alluded to earlier in an iPad) update. Haptic feedback could be on the docket as well, along with interchangeable magnet tips. Find My support could arrive too — a welcome addition for an eternally misplaced peripheral. Talking of blurring the lines between the iPad and Mac, Apple’s latest Magic Keyboard makes the tablet look even more like a laptop than before.
Image Credits: Apple
As for Macs themselves, with the arrival of the M4, I wouldn’t be wholly surprised to see the company sneak a computer refresh or two in. It seems just as — or even more — likely that Apple is saving major additions to the Mac line for WWDC in June.
The event is an early one for you West Coasters. It kicks off at 7 a.m. PT/10 a.m. ET. You can watch it live here and follow TechCrunch for the news as it breaks.
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