The upcoming 2024 iPad Pro is poised to make a significant impact in the world of tablets, offering a blend of powerful features and innovative design. Expected to be a substantial upgrade over its predecessors, this new iPad Pro promises to set new benchmarks in terms of performance, display quality, and user experience. Let’s dive into what we can anticipate from the iPad Pro 2024, including its release date, price, specs, and upgrades.
Refreshed Design
The 2024 iPad Pro is rumored to feature a refreshed design, possibly with a glass body, aligning with Apple’s trend of sleek and modern aesthetics. This new design could offer a more premium feel, potentially setting a new standard for high-end tablets and rivaling competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.
In 2022, the 10th-generation iPad introduced a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time in the iPad lineup. This orientation is more suitable for video calls, especially when the iPad is used with a Magic Keyboard. Rumors from as early as 2021 indicate that this redesigned camera placement might also be adopted in the iPad Pro models. If this change occurs, it would necessitate a new location for the Apple Pencil’s wireless charging components, currently situated where the proposed camera relocation would be.
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M3 Chip
The 2024 iPad Pro is expected to be powered by Apple’s new M3 chip, promising enhanced performance and efficiency. This chip is anticipated to be similar to the A17 Pro chip, produced using TSMC’s advanced 3nm technology. The A17 Pro has shown a 22% performance increase over its predecessor, the A15 Bionic, which is the basis for the M2 chip. Therefore, the M3 chip is also expected to offer comparable performance enhancements.
A notable feature of the A17 Pro is its redesigned GPU, which includes hardware-accelerated ray-tracing. This innovation significantly boosts gaming performance. The M3 chip is likely to include this feature, offering a substantial upgrade to the iPad Pro’s graphic capabilities.
4TB Storage Option
According to recent rumors from Asia, Apple plans to introduce OLED iPad Pro models with a 4TB storage option next year. The iPad Pro has offered various storage capacities since 2021, including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options.
Should Apple expand the storage capacity of the upcoming OLED iPad Pro to 4TB, it’s likely that the base storage will be increased to 256GB. This move would maintain five storage categories and enable all models of the seventh-generation iPad Pro to support ProRes recording in 4K at 30fps.
Furthermore, the iPad Pro’s RAM allocation varies with its storage capacity. Models with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage are equipped with 8GB of RAM, while those with 1TB or 2TB come with 16GB of RAM. It remains uncertain whether a 4TB iPad Pro would have 24GB or 32GB of RAM, though such an upgrade is within the realm of possibility.
OLED Display Technology
The next-generation iPad Pro models are expected to receive a significant upgrade with the introduction of OLED display technology. Currently, the 11-inch iPad Pro is equipped with an LCD display, whereas the 12.9-inch variant boasts a mini-LED display. Apple has already implemented OLED technology in smaller devices like the Apple Watch and iPhone, but this would mark its debut in larger devices such as the iPad Pro.
OLED displays are known for their lower power consumption, enhanced color accuracy, and superior contrast levels compared to LCD displays. This shift to OLED in the upcoming iPad Pro models is likely to be a key feature in Apple’s marketing strategy, highlighting it as a major enhancement.
Bigger Screens
The upcoming iPad Pro models are anticipated to feature larger display sizes, expanding from 11 inches to 11.1 inches, and from 12.9 inches to 13 inches. This change is expected to be achieved by reducing the bezel width, allowing the overall size of the devices to stay unchanged while enhancing the screen area. Although these modest size increments might not significantly enhance the device’s functionality, they are likely to offer a sleeker, more contemporary “all-screen” look.
Higher Prices
With the introduction of advanced features and upgrades, a price hike for the iPad Pro 2024 seems inevitable. However, Apple might balance this with a competitive pricing strategy to ensure the iPad Pro remains an attractive option in the high-end tablet market.
Improved Cameras
The iPad Pro 2024 is also expected to feature improved cameras, offering higher resolution and better low-light performance. This upgrade will enhance the device’s usability for photography, video conferencing, and augmented reality applications.
New Connector
A new connector type may be introduced with the iPad Pro 2024, potentially offering faster data transfer rates and better accessory compatibility. This could be a significant upgrade for professionals who use their iPad Pro as a laptop replacement.
Wireless Charging
In 2022, reports emerged that Apple was experimenting with a new iPad Pro design featuring a glass back, aimed at enabling wireless charging. However, later reports indicated that Apple might have abandoned this glass back concept due to concerns about its fragility. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Apple had created iPad Pro prototypes with an enlarged glass Apple logo, a design that would still facilitate wireless charging. One such prototype reportedly included MagSafe with stronger magnets than those used in iPhones, aiming to mitigate accidental disconnections, and was capable of higher wireless charging speeds than iPhone’s MagSafe. Despite these developments, there’s no certainty that an iPad Pro with a glass back or logo will be released. Nevertheless, the persistent rumors suggest that Apple is seriously considering some form of wireless charging for the next-generation iPad Pro.
Reverse Wireless Charging
Taking wireless charging a step further, the iPad Pro 2024 might also support reverse wireless charging, enabling it to charge other devices like the iPhone or AirPods, making it a versatile tool for Apple ecosystem users.
Redesigned Magic Keyboard
Apple is reportedly planning to update the Magic Keyboard, aiming to enhance the iPad Pro’s laptop-like appearance. This revamp, as suggested by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, includes a larger trackpad. While specific details are scarce, a bigger trackpad would be a significant improvement, especially for users with larger hands who find the current trackpad size limiting.
Third-Generation Apple Pencil
Lastly, the third-generation Apple Pencil is expected to accompany the new iPad Pro, offering improved precision and possibly new features to enhance the creative capabilities of the iPad Pro.
In conclusion, the iPad Pro 2024 is shaping up to be a substantial leap forward in tablet technology, combining a powerful M3 chip, OLED display, and a host of other innovative features. With its anticipated release date approaching, the tech community eagerly awaits what could be a game-changer in the tablet market.
