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To say that Apple’s new iPad Pro and iPad Air are impressive in person would be an understatement. The refreshed tablets are as thin and light as ever despite offering screens as large as 13 inches. We got to spend some time with Apple’s latest slates before they go on sale. Here are our early thoughts. OLED = WowThe big upgrade for the iPad Pro line is a move from mini LED to OLED for the display. Apple calls its tech “tandem OLED” because it relies on two OLED panels to produce up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness (HDR content only). The Pro still gets two models, one with an 11-inch screen and a second with a 13-inch screen. The smaller one has 2,420 by 1,668 pixels and the larger one has 2,752 by 2,064 pixels, both making for a pixel density of 264ppi.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The screens are simply dazzling. The richness of the color is eye-popping. The brightness will come in handy when working in bright environments and the HDR support is critical for editing photos and video. You can order the iPad Pro with nano-texture glass. It has micro dimples that scatter light and more or less cancel reflections entirely. It’s got an almost-matte look that some will surely find appealing. I’m not sure it’s for me.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The iPad Air sticks with its LED display, but now also comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. The resolution and pixel density are carried over from the previous generation Air, but brightness is improved to a maximum of 600 nits. They looked good, but not quite as the Pro’s OLED.Samsung has used OLED panels in its Galaxy Tab S line for years.So Thin, So LightApple’s iPads have never been beefy, but the company still found a way to trim them down. The Pro models measure 5.3mm and 5.1mm for the 11- and 13-inch models, respectively. They are crazy thin, but Apple says they are just as strong as the previous models. The smaller Pro measures 9.83 by 6.99 inches (HW) and the larger one measures 11.09 by 8.48 inches. These dimensions are about the same as the 2022 iPad Pro slates, but the tablets somehow still manage to feel smaller.
Left to Right: iPad Pro 11-inch; iPad Pro 13-inch (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The iPads also dropped some weight. The 11-inch weighs 0.98 pounds and the 13-inch weighs 1.28 pounds. Combined with the thinner chassis, the new iPad Pro models are impressive to hold and use. It’s something you have to experience for yourself.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
Believe it or not, the iPad Air is thicker and heavier, though still amazingly compact. The smaller Air measures 9.74 by 7.02 inches and the larger Air measures 11.04 by 8.46 inches. They are both 6.1mm thick (0.24 inches) and weigh 1.02 and 1.36 pounds, respectively. The Camera Looks DifferentThe design of the iPad Pro camera module has been the same for years, but Apple gave it a makeover for the new Pro.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The module’s shape is slightly different, but the primary difference is that the Pro loses a camera. Apple’s Pro iPads have featured a two-camera array for several generations with a main camera and an ultra-wide camera. Apple did away with the ultra-wide for this generation. On-site reps would not tell us Apple’s reason for making this change. Now the module features a single 12MP camera, an updated LiDAR sensor, a new multi-tone flash module, an updated microphone, and a new focusing module. Apple shot some 4K footage and the results look promising. (Though it still looks weird to use a tablet as a camera.)The real upgrade, though, is the user-facing camera. It didn’t get a visual makeover, but it is in a new position. The Face ID camera is now in the center of the long edge, which means you’ll no longer appear off-center when taking Google Meet or Zoom calls. Faster Than FastApple was sure to show off the new tablets’ ability to render video. Looking at some work in Final Cut Pro, the M4 made mince meat of rendering a 4-minute video in ProRes. The M4’s new neural engine gives apps like Final Cut Pro, Pro Logic, and others turbo speed to make edits. Critically, the new tablets can build projects from files stored on external hard drives. Everything Apple showed us was edited from footage stored on a separate drive. There was no delay when editing, even when scrolling through large multi-track projects.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
The 2022 iPad Pros have the Apple M2 chip inside, and it’s not a stretch to call them overpowered. Only the most demanding creators will be able to put the M4’s power to effective use. The new iPad Airs gain the M2 as their new processor, an upgrade from the M1 in the outgoing model. We saw some fast artwork on the Airs in person, but they can’t handle quite the same level of 4K video processing that the Pro can.Apple Pencil Pro Is for ArtistsApple spent much of its time showing us all the new features of the Apple Pencil Pro. The biggest changes are that Apple added two new gestures and haptic feedback.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
It looks and feels much like the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen, but you can now squeeze it above the tip to call up the pen-changing selector. From there, you can switch to different tools, choose colors, and even delete select actions. A gyroscope built into the Apple Pencil allows it to support rotating gestures. With this, you can spin the Pencil to get different effects when sketching or writing. The on-site demos were pretty impressive, particularly when combined with apps like Procreate that can take advantage of the new features. The Pro’s New Keyboard Is a Huge ImprovementWhat’s an iPad without accessories? Apple updated the Magic Keyboard for the new iPad Pro models and addressed many users’ complaints about the old one.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
Most importantly, the new keyboard is thinner and lighter than the outgoing model (which continues to work with the new iPad Airs). The drop in weight combined with the lighter frame of the iPad Pro itself means less to carry in your bag. The keys feel quite good thanks to the internal scissor mechanism. The trackpad is larger and felt somewhat more responsive. Importantly, Apple added a row of function keys (finally!), which allow you to adjust the screen brightness, navigate through music, and change the volume all from the keyboard. I particularly like the new aluminum palm rests that won’t get gunky like the soft material of the old keyboard’s palm rest. They Go On Sale SoonThe Apple iPad Air starts at $599 and the iPad Pro starts at $999. The former’s price is the same as the previous generation, but the Pro got a huge $200 price increase to offset the cost of the OLED panel, M4 chip, and other improvements. The tablets are already up for preorder and will reach stores on May 15. For more on the new tablets, check out everything Apple announced.
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