M4 iPad Pro to Apple Pencil Pro: Everything launched at Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ event

Apple recently announced a bunch of new products at its ‘Let Loose’ launch event. As expected, we got to see quite a few new iPad variants, along with some new accessories and more.

Here’s a quick look at all the new products Apple has launched, and all that’s new and exciting about them.

Apple iPad Pro 2024

The new iPad Pro 2024 continues to be available in two variants, including a 11-inch and a slightly larger 13-inch model that replaces the 2022 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Both the iPads are super thin, also making them the thinnest Apple product ever, even thinner than the iPod Nano.

As expected, both the new iPad Pro models now feature OLED display panels (dubbed ‘Ultra Retina XDR’). This not only helps the tablets offer the best contrast levels so far, but also be thinner than ever.

ALSO READ: Here’s why you need an Apple ID along with your Apple device

The tablets support 1000nits of brightness and 1600nits of peak brightness, along with XDR support. What this means is deeper blacks, punchy colours and the display is brighter than ever. The iPad Pro 2024 models also come with a new nano-texture glass, which uses a new design that scatters light for lower glare.

Coming to the performance, the 2024 iPad Pro models skip the M3 to go straight to the new 3nm M4 chipset. This also marks the debut of the chip, which hasn’t been used on any other Apple product yet. Built on a 3nm architecture, the M4 features 4 performance cores 6 efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU, the latter also supporting ray tracing for advanced gaming graphics. The new iPad Pro 2024 variants also use graphite and copper for an 30 per cent better thermal performance.

Apple also claims that the new M4 chip is so efficient, it can deliver the power of the M2 using just half the power, which means users will also be able to expect better battery life. The new M4 chip also comes with an improved NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that supports 38 trillion operations per second, for better on-device AI use cases, something that will be a bigger aspect once iPadOS 18 comes into the picture later this year.

The new iPad Pro models feature a 12MP main camera, while the LiDAR is still a part of the setup. An improved new TrueTone flash can adapt itself for better document scanning. The front camera also now moves to the landscape edge, along with a new Face ID implementation.

The Apple iPad Pro 11-inch Wi-Fi model starts Rs 99,900, while the 13-inch Wi-Fi model starts at Rs 1,29,900. Both models now start with 256GB storage and goes all the way up to 2TB storage.

Apple iPad Air

The new iPad Air 2024 comes in two variants, including a 11-inch model and a 13-inch model. This is the first time the affordable iPad Air comes in multiple display sizes. The new 13-inch iPad Air puts the model alongside the 12.9-inch iPad Pro as the largest display iPad you can get.

Both new iPad Air models now have the front cam alongside the longer edge, making landscape the default orientation. You also get features like Centre-Stage for video conferences.

Powering the new 2024 iPad Air models is the Apple M2 chipset, which also powered the 2022 iPad Pro models, making the new Air models significantly more powerful for the price. The new iPad Air models also support the Magic Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, the latter now also supporting hover features.

The iPad Air 2024 is available in four colours – including blue, purple, starlight and space grey. They also now start with 128GB storage now, and go all the way till 1TB storage. The prices start at Rs 59,900 for the 11-inch Wi-Fi model and Rs 79,900) for the 13-inch Wi-Fi model.

Apple Pencil Pro

Apple also announced a new Apple Pencil alongside the tablets, now called the Apple Pencil Pro. The Apple Pencil Pro features a built-in gyroscope and a new sensor that enables new gestures like a squeeze gesture that can bring up an on-screen menu. The accessory also now supports Find My integration, and can be located in the event of it getting lost.

A new barrel roll gesture also allows artists to roll the pencil sideways to get different outputs with, say, the same brushes, just like a real paintbrush. With ProCreate Dreams, Apple Pencil Pro users can also trace animations by using the barrel roll feature on the device.

The Apple Pencil Pro will work with iPad Pro models, as well as the iPad Air models. The new Apple Pencil Pro is priced at Rs 11,900.

Other announcements

Apple also announced the Magic Keyboard 2024 for the new iPad Pro. The new keyboard now includes function row for quick shortcuts, alongside a larger trackpad which now features haptic feedback. The new Apple Magic Keyboard is priced at Rs 29,900 for the 11-inch variant and Rs 33,900 for the 13-inch variant.

Apple also improved two of its key iPad apps – Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Final Cut Pro 2 offers faster rendering, and enables features like live-multicam, allowing creators to control multiple cameras at once. This works with an entirely new app called Final Cut Camera. With Thunderbolt connectivity, you can also pick and edit files straight from a compatible drive.

Meanwhile, Logic Pro 2 improves its drummer feature, adding more sounds and the power of AI for a more cohesive performance. Logic Pro 2 also allows creators to take any recording and extract voice, bass and other aspects in real-time, for quicker remix projects.

Those were all the new announcements from the Apple Let Loose event, including both new hardware and software. Apple’s next major event comes soon after, with its annual WWDC 2024 conference kicking off in June 2024. Meanwhile, stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for everything Apple, and more.