TL;DR
- Following months of rumors and speculation, Apple officially revealed the iPad Pro (2024) during its Let Loose virtual event.
- This premium tablet boasts Apple’s all-new M4 chip, an OLED panel, an even slimmer chassis, a landscape TrueDepth front camera, and more.
- Interested customers can pick between 11- and 13-inch variants, which start at $999 and $1,299, respectively.
The wait is finally over. After six years of incremental upgrades, Apple has completely overhauled its flagship tablet. For the first time, the iPad Pro (2024) packs the unrivaled M4 chip, a superior OLED display, an even sleeker design, and a repositioned TrueDepth front camera system that prioritizes landscape use.
iPad Pro M4 release date, pricing, and availability
Apple revealed the iPad Pro M4 on May 7 during its Let Loose virtual event. Customers can already pre-order it, with shipping and in-store availability to follow on May 15 in the US. Those interested can choose between 11- and 13-inch variants, which start at $999 and $1,299, respectively. Higher-end configurations with more storage naturally cost more.
Pricing for 11-inch iPad Pro (M4)
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (256GB, Wi-Fi): $999
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (512GB, Wi-Fi): $1,199
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Wi-Fi, standard glass): $1,599
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Wi-Fi, nano-texture glass): $1,699
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Wi-Fi, standard glass): $1,999
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Wi-Fi, nano-texture glass): $2,099
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (256GB, Cellular 5G): $1,199
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (512GB, Cellular 5G): $1,399
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Cellular 5G, standard glass): $1,799
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Cellular 5G, nano-texture glass): $1,899
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Cellular 5G, standard glass): $2,199
- 11-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Cellular 5G, nano-texture glass): $2,299
Pricing for 13-inch iPad Pro (M4)
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (256GB, Wi-Fi): $1,299
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (512GB, Wi-Fi): $1,499
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Wi-Fi, standard glass): $1,899
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Wi-Fi, nano-texture glass): $1,999
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Wi-Fi, standard glass): $2,299
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Wi-Fi, nano-texture glass): $2,399
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (256GB, Cellular 5G): $1,499
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (512GB, Cellular 5G): $1,699
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Cellular 5G, standard glass): $2,099
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (1TB, Cellular 5G, nano-texture glass): $2,199
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Cellular 5G, standard glass): $2,499
- 13-inch iPad Pro M4 (2TB, Cellular 5G, nano-texture glass): $2,599
iPad Pro M4 design
The iPad Pro (2024) is the slimmest Apple product yet, featuring 5.3mm and 5.1mm thinness for the 11- and 13-inch models, respectively. It is only available in Silver and Space Black finishes and expectedly misses out on the more colorful exterior options.
Besides the slimmer build, the iPad Pro M4 retains its predecessor’s overall boxed design. It features flat edges with round corners and incredibly thin bezels. Apple has also relocated the TrueDepth front camera system to the landscape edge to discourage use in portrait orientation.
iPad Pro (2024) display
With the 2024 model, Apple has finally switched to tandem OLED for the display. This enables users to view deeper, true blacks and more accurate colors. With a 1,600-nit peak HDR brightness, the iPad Pro M4 should still clearly display on-screen elements in outdoor settings. Otherwise, customers opting for the 1TB or 2TB models will get to opt for the nano-texture display glass variant.
Performance
With the iPad Pro (2024)’s launch, Apple introduced the all-new M4 chip. According to the company, it should deliver up to 1.5x better CPU performance when compared to the M2 chip.
M4 features up to 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. It also supports Dynamic Caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which first came to the Mac through the M3 chip.
Beyond that, the iPad Pro, like its predecessor, still caps out at 2TB of SSD, optionally supports 5G, and packs either 8GB or 16GB of RAM. However, the cellular-enabled model no longer offers a nano-SIM slot, limiting 5G users to eSIM. The iPad Pro M4 has also dropped the ultrawide rear camera, which its recent predecessors offer.
It’s worth noting that certain specifications are limited to specific storage variants. iPad Pro M4 models with 256GB and 512GB of SSD get a 9-core CPU and 8GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB variants get a 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. Otherwise, all models offer a 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 120GB/s memory bandwidth.
Accessory support
Along with the iPad Pro M4, the company also launched a new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard. The former supports new gestures, such as squeeze and barrel roll. It also integrates haptic feedback, Find My support and more. Budget users can opt for the existing Apple Pencil (USB-C) instead.
Meanwhile, the new Magic Keyboard features a function key row and backlit buttons for the first time. Unfortunately, Apple is no longer offering a Smart Keyboard Folio for those looking to spend less on a keyboard accessory.
