It's official. Apple has announced the new iPad Air 2024 and iPad Pro 2024, and we have your cheat sheet for all the most important upgrades.
In a nutshell, the iPad Air 2024 adds an M2 chip for more power and a new 13-inch size. And the iPad Pro 2024 gets a new tandem OLED display for better visuals, a much speedier M4 chip and a new Magic Keyboard.
Plus, both the new iPad Air and iPad Pro support the new Apple Pencil Pro. Here's everything you need to know. And be sure to check out our iPad Pro 2024 hands-on review and iPad Air 2024 hands-on review for our first impressions of both tablets.
iPad Pro 2024
First up is the iPad Pro 2024, which is the thinnest device Apple has ever made yet at 5.1mm thick but packs a mighty new M4 chip. You still get two sizes with an 11-inch (from $999) and 13-inch (from $1,299) model, but there's a new "breakthrough" Ultra Retina XDR display with tandem OLED technology.
This screen uses two OLED panels and combines light form both to provide full-screen brightness of up to 1,000 nits for SDR content and up to 1,600 nits for HDR content. Apple says the tandem OLED technology also enables better highlights in photos and videos and more details in the shadows.
The other big highlight is the new M4 chip, which is built on a 3-nanometer process. You should expect up to 4x faster performance than M2 in pro rendering apps like Octane, and you can get the same performance at half the power than M2. In fact, Apple claims the M4 chip can deliver the same performance of the latest PC chip using a quarter of the power.
In addition, the M4 packs Apple's most powerful Nerual Engine yet with 38 trillion operations per second. This makes performing AI tasks much faster, such as isolating a subject from its background in 4K video with a tap.
Other highlights include a new landscape 12MP camera up front for easier video calls and support for the new Apple Pencil Pro, which offers squeeze gestures and haptic feedback.
Last but not least is a new Magic Keyboard that's thinner and lighter but includes a function row, aluminum palm rest and larger trackpad.
iPad Air 2024
Meanwhile, the new iPad Air 2024 is a mostly iterative upgrade of our best tablet for most people. The main highlights here are a larger 13-inch size and an M2 chip for improved performance.
The 11-inch model starts at $599 and the 13-inch version costs $799, so you can get a big-screen iPad for $500 less than the 13-inch iPad Pro.
So what do you get for the money? The new iPad Air's M2 chip is nearly 50% faster than the iPad Air with M1 and up to 3x faster than the iPad Air with A14 Bionic. You'll definitely feel a performance boost when playing intensive games.
The M2 chip also delivers better AI performance, whether you're using iPadOS features like Subject Lift or the Auto Enhance tool in the Photomator app.
Another key upgrade is the new landscape 12MP Ultra Wide front camera, which is in a more natural position for making video calls. And if you want better sound quality the 13-inch model offers double the bass.
The iPad Air also supports the new Apple Pencil Pro, as well as the older Magic Keyboard.
Outlook
The new iPad Pro is clearly the leader in terms of innovation, from its thin design and new OLED display to its M4 chip. So that's the choice for power users. But the new iPad Air could be a great value pick for those who want fast-enough performance at a good price. Stay tuned for our full reviews.
