I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking immersive experiences of the future. See full bio
After a whole year where Apple 2024 now has four new iPads all at once. The newest models are here, and I've tried them all hands-on. Over a few hours at a series of meetings with Apple in New York, I got an early preview of the new iPads, and after spending time with them, I really appreciate their hardware. They also have a totally new, gyroscope-equipped, vibrating Pencil Pro accessory too.
Watch this: iPad Pro and iPad Air 2024: First Impressions
If you've been thinking getting yourself a nice iPad, and you have needs that include graphic arts, sketching or photo/video work, these new models look great. But they'll cost you. Even though the entry-level iPad Air starts at $599 (£478, AU$907) with 128GB of storage, the top-end iPad Pro starts at $1,299 (£981, AU$1,861). And then there's the nice new Pencil Pro for $129 (£103, AU$195), Magic Keyboard with new aluminum design and haptic trackpad for $299 (£238, AU$453) and $349 (£279, AU$528) and any extra storage you might want to tack on. The Pro models have 256GB storage to start, and ramp up to 2TB.
The new Pencil Pro looks exactly like the previous Pencil 2 but adds a few new features onboard for the same $129 price. You can squeeze the Pencil now to bring up pop-up menus on the iPad screen, with haptic vibrations that give a little click response. That's a nice little touch, but the more useful part to me was an embedded gyroscope that allows for Pencil rotations in-hand. The Pencil can rotate brush tools on the fly now, which feels in-hand more like using an actual brush.
Thanks to the over-iPad-display hover feature introduced on the 2022 iPad Pro, the Pencil previews brush tools in advance and then you can rotate the Pencil to adjust the brush position as needed before pressing down.
I do love the new additions to the Pencil Pro and am glad it doesn't cost more. Except it does. You need to buy a whole new iPad Pro or iPad Air to use it, since the new Pencil charges and connects only with these new models. That's a lot to pay for a few new Pencil features.
The new iPad Pro model seems similar at a distance from the iPad Air or even previous iPad Pro models. It's a big display with metal bezels, and honestly, all iPads have nice displays. Getting closer reveals some differences. Apple's made these Pro models even thinner than before. Why, you may ask? It isn't really needed, in theory, but if you live with a Magic Keyboard attached, you might feel differently.
It's the whole Magic Keyboard-on-iPad setup that the new Pro seems fine-tuned to, since the new aluminum-interior keyboard case and iPad Pro together now make for a thinner, lighter package overall. How thin and light? My demos were brief, but it seemed like it would fit a bit better in a backpack.
The new Pros have , which are a whole new chip Apple announced just half a year after the M3 debuted last Halloween. The M4 sounds very closely aligned with the M3, from its 3 nanometer architecture to its cores and GPUs. Apple has indicated that the M4 has better thermal design for thin devices like this iPad and also a new design to work with the upgraded OLED display. How much faster it is is unclear, since all of Apple's comparisons were stated in terms of the M2, not the M3. We'll know sometime soon, though.
The new display looks lovely. Apple finally moved to OLED for its iPads, something companies like Samsung have done long ago for tablets. Apple promises these are even better, calling them Ultra Retina XDR displays – they use a technology called Tandem OLED, which uses two OLED panels at once and increases brightness for HDR (1,000 in everyday use, up to 1,600 nits for HDR). There's also a fancy matte finish option (nano texture glass), similar to what Apple has for its high-end Studio Display, which made the screens I saw pop with far less glare.
Do you need them? Well, they look great, but Apple already has great displays in its other iPads. For anyone needing a particular bleeding-edge quality for film or graphics work, well, TBD. In any case, these screens seem like Apple's new display templates for Pro devices across all its products to come.
The iPad Airs have been favorites of mine for being middle-range picks for FancyPad shoppers. The 11-inch Air, at $599 (£478, AU$907), has an M2 chip and seems like the one to get. Apple doesn't have Mini LED on its new 13-inch larger-screened iPad Air model, starting at $799 (£639, AU$1,210), like the does, and the Airs don't have faster refresh rates (ProMotion) like the Pros do. The Airs don't have lidar sensors on the back or Face ID on the front: instead, there's a side Touch ID button, which some may prefer.
The Airs seem Totally Fine, though, and while thicker than the Pros, they're more affordable. They work with the new Pencil Pro, too. I don't have a lot to say them, because…well, I've seen these iPads before, sort of. The only question is: Are 2022 iPad Pros on sale for less? If so, get those over these Airs, because they're the same but slightly better.
