The 2024 Apple iPad Pro has received a complete makeover, copping a super-slim design and a swathe of ergonomically-minded upgrades. In an event at the tech company’s Cupertino headquarters, Apple officially launched the new iPad Pro device in both 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, promising “breakthrough” display capabilities and “outrageously fast” performance. With a strong focus on AI, machine learning capabilities and a powerhouse new chipset leading the way, Apple has undoubtedly stepped up its game in the portable tablet arena, but how does the new offering measure up?
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After a stagnant few years in the iPad space, Apple has placed a renewed focus on the iconic lineup and while there are a few design upgrades on display, the real focus is on the hardware. In fact, in and official press release, John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering described the latest iPad Pro as the “Ultimate iPad experience”.,
“iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience — with its combination of the world’s best displays, extraordinary performance of our latest M-series chips, and advanced accessories — all in a portable design,” Ternus said. “Today, we’re taking it even further with the new, stunningly thin and light iPad Pro, our biggest update ever to iPad Pro. With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there’s no device like the new iPad Pro.”
So, what does the 2024 iPad Pro bring to the table? Is it worth upgrading? Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Apple iPad Pro.
2024 iPad Pro Australian Release Date, Pricing and Storage Options
Before we bog you down with all the specs and features on offer, let’s first get the release date, pricing and storage out of the way. Now available to order in Australia via Apple’s official online store, the new Wi-Fi-enabled 11-inch iPad Pro starts at AUD$1,699 in Australia, while the 13-inch model starts at AUD$2,199. For cellular models, the price starts at AUD$2,049 and AUD$2,549, respectively. For the new iPad Pro, there’s no 128GB storage option and base models now come with 256GB of base storage and go all the way up to 2TB.
2024 iPad Pro Design and Display
The biggest departure from the 2022 model is the display and design of the new iPad Pro, which is now billed as “the thinnest Apple product ever,” according to the Cupertino giant. Available in two finishes, silver and space black, both models are ridiculously slim and lightweight. The 11-inch iPad Pro is 5.3 mm thick, while the 13-inch model is just 5.1mm thick.
Furthermore, the 11-inch model weighs less than 500 grams, and the 13-inch model is more than 100 grams lighter than its predecessor (roughly 590 gms), enabling “pro users to extend their workflows in new ways and in more places,” says Apple.
The 2024 iPad Pro ushers in a new era for the tablet with its stunning all-OLED display, a first for the iPad Pro lineup. Apple has replaced the 2022 model’s Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED LCD screen in favour of the innovative Ultra Retina XDR display, which uses two OLED panels in tandem, delivering exceptional brightness – reaching 1,000 nits for SDR/HDR content and a peak of 1,600 nits for HDR.
Beyond brightness, OLEDs are known to offer superior contrast and deeper blacks, resulting in a far more vivid and immersive viewing experience compared to LCDs. Furthermore, the 1TB and 2TB 2024 iPad Pro models offer a nano-texture glass option to further reduce glare and retain Apple’s ProMotion technology with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
2024 iPad Pro M4 Chip and AI Features
The new iPad Pro’s biggest talking point is likely the super-fast M4 chip, Apple’s most powerful silicon yet. The new chip delivers a whopping 50% CPU performance boost compared to the M2-powered model, making it a beast for demanding tasks. Notably, the 1TB version steps it up a notch with an even more powerful 10-core M4 chip and is the first time Apple is offering performance upgrades within the lineup. Despite the increased power, Apple claims the M4 is still remarkably efficient, using only half the energy of the previous M2.
Apart from CPU improvements, the M4 also comes with a significantly more powerful Neural Engine, which is now 60 times faster than the one introduced in the 2017 A11 Bionic chip. This translates to a staggering 38 trillion operations per second, making it a machine-learning powerhouse. The new iPad Pro also gets an upgraded GPU, now featuring hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. The M4 chip also debuts Dynamic Caching on iPad, which optimizes memory usage for each task, thus delivering a significant performance boost for professional apps and demanding games.
As per Apple, “combined with next-generation ML accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS, the Neural Engine makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for AI. With iPad Pro with M4, users can perform AI-enabled tasks even faster, like easily isolating a subject from its background in 4K video with just a tap with Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro. With this advanced level of performance, the Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.”
Apple says the new iPad Pro delivers even faster performance for AI-enabled tasks. For example, the Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro will allow isolating a subject from the background in a 4K video with just a tap. The iPadOS also offers “advanced frameworks” like Core ML, making it easy for developers to “tap into the Neural Engine to deliver phenomenal AI features locally, including running powerful diffusion and generative AI models, with great performance on device.” Additionally, the 2024 iPad Pro supports cloud-based solutions for powerful productivity and creative apps that utilize AI, such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.
2024 iPad Pro Audio, Cameras and Connectivity
Matching the 2022 model, the new iPad Pro comes with a quad-speaker system and four microphones, that will perfectly complement the new OLED display for an immersive entertainment experience. For video calls, Apple has cleverly repositioned the TrueDepth front camera to the longer edge, making landscape mode more comfortable. The new iPad Pro retains its 12-megapixel f/1.8 rear camera and features a new adaptive True Tone flash for eliminating shadows during document scanning.
“Using AI, the new iPad Pro automatically identifies documents right in the Camera app, and if a shadow is in the way, it instantly takes multiple photos with the new adaptive flash, stitching the scan together for a dramatically better scan,” says Apple.
For connectivity, the iPad Pro features a high-performance USB-C connector supporting Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4. This will unlock a vast ecosystem of high-performance accessories, including connecting external displays like the Pro Display XDR at its full 6K resolution and external storage using high-speed cables and docks.
Wi-Fi connectivity gets a boost with Wi-Fi 6E for super-fast speeds, ideal for “pro workflows on the go,” according to Apple. Cellular models add 5G connectivity and utilize eSIM8, “a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device.”
2024 iPad Pro Accessories
Additionally, Apple also announced a few key additions to the iPad Pro accessory lineup, most notably; a new Pencil Pro. The focus here is clearly on creativity and design, following the brand’s recent push into the creative arts.
Apple Pencil Pro
No iPad Pro launch is complete without a new Apple Pencil, and this year is no different. The new Apple Pencil Pro comes with a whole suite of innovative features that will appeal to both creative professionals and casual note-takers. Priced at AUD$219, the Apple Pencil Pro looks more or less the same design-wise but now gets a new sensor in the barrel that can “sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colours, all without interrupting the creative process.” There is also a whole suite of innovative features to elevate the digital drawing experience.
First, a new custom haptic engine provides a satisfying tap to confirm user actions, like squeezing, double-tapping, or snapping to a Smart Shape. The Apple Pencil Pro also includes a built-in gyroscope, letting you roll the Pencil for precise tool control, with the barrel rotation mirroring the orientation of the shaped pen and brush tools, just like traditional art supplies. Additionally, the new Pencil Pro’s hover features allow users to visualize the exact tool orientation before making a mark. And for even more control, a new squeeze gesture lets you select shortcuts without ever touching the screen. For added peace of mind, the Apple Pencil Pro now has Find My support for the first time, so you can locate it with ease if misplaced.
New Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio
Completing the package for the new iPad Pro are the all-new, thinner, and lighter Magic Keyboard and the Smart Folio. The new Magic Keyboard not only has a slimmer design but also now includes a function row for convenient access to features like screen brightness and volume controls. The trackpad has also been enlarged, further enhancing the MacBook-like experience.
Available in two colour options, you can choose between a black Magic Keyboard with a space black aluminium palm rest or a white one with a silver aluminium palm rest. Apple also launched a new Smart Folio for the iPad Pro. This magnetically attached cover now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. The Smart Folio is available in black, white, and denim.
2024 iPad Pro Tech Specs
- Brand: Apple
- Model: iPad Pro
- Sizing: 11-inch/13-inch
- Capacity: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
- Weight: 444 grams (11-inch) / 579 (13-inch)
- Dimensions: 249.7mm x 177.5mm x 5.3mm (11-inch) / 281.6mm x 215.5mm x 5.1mm (13-inch)
- Display: Ultra Retina XDR display Tandem OLED
- Resolution: 2420-by-1668-pixel resolution at 264 ppi (11-inch) / 2752-by-2064-pixel resolution at 264 ppi (13-inch)
- Chipset: Apple M4 chip
- Camera: 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture
- TrueDepth Camera: Landscape 12MP Ultra Wide camera ƒ/2.4 aperture
- Battery: Built-in 31.29-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery (11-inch) / Built-in 38.99-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery (13-inch)
What’s In the Box?
- iPad Pro
- USB-C Charge Cable (1 metre)
- 20W USB-C Power Adapter
- Polishing cloth in nano-texture display glass option
