iPad Pro 2024 hands-on review !!

The new iPad Pro 2024 is a big deal.

The new iPad Pro, announced at Apple’s “Let Loose” event, is slimmer than its predecessor and features an OLED display and the Apple M4 processor. The latter is remarkable not just for Apple’s claims of increased performance and efficiency, but also for its AI capabilities.

I had a quick hands-on with the 13-inch iPad Pro 2024 and was impressed by Apple’s premium tablet. The reduced weight and smaller profile (even thinner than an iPod Nano) were instantly noticeable. This isn’t the large, hefty iPad Pro of the past. In fact, I’d like to rename this the iPad Pro Air because of how lightweight it feels.

The new OLED display especially impresses with its 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, as the intense blacks and whites dropped my mouth to the floor. The pricing is also unbelievable. The iPad Pro starts at $200 higher in both sizes than the previous version.

Based on what Apple has stated about the iPad Pro 2024 and my experiences with the device, the company’s tablet appears to be a winner. The smaller design, OLED display, and touted M4 performance might make this one of the greatest tablets to date.

See what I thought at first about the iPad Pro 2024 in that article.

IPAD PRO 2024:

SPECS

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

Pre-orders for the new iPad Pro begin today, with the device set to be released on May 15.

The iPad Pro starts at $999 and has an 11-inch Ultra Retina XDR Display, 256GB of storage, Wi-Fi connection, and an M4 processor with a 10-core CPU and GPU. The M2 iPad Pro starts at $799, so this is $200 higher than that. If you want a model with nano-texture glass, you’ll need to upgrade to 2TB, which costs up to $2,099. Adding Wi-Fi + Cellular costs an extra $200.

The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299 (which is $200 more than the previous edition). This variant has a 13-inch Ultra Retina XDR display, 256GB of storage, Wi-Fi connection, and an M4 processor with a 10-core CPU and GPU. To acquire a nano-texture glass display, you must upgrade to 2TB, same like with the 11-inch model.

Finally, there are some peripherals. The new Apple Pencil Pro costs $129, while the Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro costs $299 for the 11-inch device and $349 for the 13-inch version.

Apple did not raise the entry-level pricing of the iPad Pro M4, which is welcomed. Unfortunately, you’ll have to pay a lot of money for nano-texture glass because it’s only available with models with 2TB of storage.

DESIGN

Apple emphasizes that the new iPad Pro is not a makeover, but rather a “all-new” device. Though it seems to be a conventional iPad Pro at first glance, having it in your hands demonstrates that Apple is not deceiving us. This is a brand-new iPad Pro, and the design is really beautiful.

I’ve been using the iPad Pro M2 since it was released, and I instantly noticed a change when I handled the new iPad Pro. The slate is so tiny and light that I nearly mistook it for the 13-inch iPad Air 2024. This 13-inch tablet weights 1.28 pounds, yet it seems lighter due to its great weight distribution.

Another significant difference from the previous generation is that the front camera is now landscape-oriented rather than portrait-oriented. Most people use tablets in landscape mode, so it’s fantastic that Apple has finally shifted the front camera (as it did with the iPad 2022). Not only will this help you stay focused during video conversations, but it should also make using FaceID easier. I like the relocated front camera.

DISPLAY

People have been waiting for an OLED iPad Pro for a long time, and now it’s officially available. The new look is good, but the Ultra Retina XDR display (as Apple calls it) might be the tablet’s most appealing feature for some people. It’s pretty stunning.

We’ll need to get the iPad Pro into our testing lab to determine if it can achieve the 1,000 nits of regular brightness and 1,600 nits of HDR brightness that Apple boasts. To my eyes, the screen is both bright and colourful. The contrast between dark and bright elements is astounding, resulting in stunning images and films.

I’m a professional writer, but even I have trouble expressing how wonderful the iPad Pro’s OLED display looks. This is perhaps the nicest OLED display I’ve seen on a tablet. You have to see it to believe it.

M4 POWER

Instead of the M3 chip that many expected, the iPad Pro has the new Apple M4 chip. This piece of Apple silicon employs the newest 3nm technology, allowing it to pack more functionality into the same space. This enables the business to create a slimmer iPad Pro without losing performance.

The M4 is a system-on-chip that has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a Neural Engine, sometimes known as an NPU. Apple claims its GPU is based on the architecture initially unveiled in the M3. As a result, M4 introduces hardware-accelerated mesh shading, ray tracing, and dynamic caching to the iPad platform for the first time. This should lead to improved game and rendering performance.

An NPU’s performance and utility as an AI device are measured in TOPS (trillion operations per second). Apple’s new M4 Neural Engine is rated at 38 TOPS. To put that into perspective, the new Intel Core Ultra CPUs have NPUs that normally offer 10-11 TOPS, but Qualcomm claims the new Snapdragon X Elite has NPUs capable of 45 TOPS.

Of course, the figures are much less important than whether or not you can see the results on screen. During my time with the iPad Pro, there were no AI picture generation demos, but I did witness Diablo 4 operating on the tablet. The ray-traced reflections and many particle effects brought the horrible realm to life. Even better, the game performed smoothly with no noticeable lag. Demos of rendering applications like Octane astonished me with how easily 3D pictures can be manipulated in real time.

After putting the M4 chip through our battery testing, we’ll have a better idea of what it’s capable of. But based on what I’ve seen, I don’t believe we’ll be dissatisfied with the outcome. The M4 chip should be a powerful CPU.

APPLE MAGIC KEYBOARD AND APPLE PENCIL PRO

To get the most out of your iPad Pro, you’ll need two essential accessories: the Apple Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil. Thankfully, both have gotten updates that improve the iPad Pro experience.

The Magic Keyboard, palm rests, and touchpad now have a metal surface that resembles a MacBook. Similarly, the bigger touchpad reminds me of an Apple laptop, as does the new Magic Keyboard’s flatter hinge. As a plus, this accessory seems lighter than previously and adds no weight to the iPad Pro.

The Apple Pencil Pro, as it is known, looks and feels similar to the Apple Pencil 2, but it has several additional functions that make it more helpful. This features rollover to intelligently switch pen modes, haptic feedback, and squeeze to control input in novel ways. The new barrel roll function is particularly interesting since it allows you to adjust the width of a line simply by rotating the pen’s orientation.

The Outlook

I’ll need more time with the iPad Pro M4 to make a definitive decision, but for now, I believe it’s the tablet to beat for hardcore users.

The tablet checks all of the appropriate boxes, including a smaller and lighter design, a fast CPU, and a stunning OLED display. Are all of these enhancements worth the additional $200?

Stay tuned for a the full review of the iPad Pro M4!