On May 7, Apple is set to announce its new iPads. This conference is eagerly awaited by users of Apple’s tablets, as real updates have been rare on this family in recent times. But the wait could be worth it, according to Apple specialist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. For him, the announcement will shake up the market, as the next iPad Pro could in fact be directly equipped with the M4 chip, completely ignoring the M3. For the record, the M4 chip is due to arrive on Macs later this year, so the iPad Pro would be the precursor. There’s only one goal here: to get Apple on the AI bandwagon.
Will the iPad Pro relaunch Apple’s AI business?
The new AI capabilities for the iPad Pro are said to be totally linked to the M4 chip’s new and improved neural engine.
It’s unclear which AI features will be ready for spring, as most of Apple’s software announcements are scheduled for iOS 18 at WWDC in June. This year, we know that like everyone else, Apple will be talking a lot about AI during this WWDC. Perhaps this iPad Pro announcement could then come with a delayed availability. Apple fans could then cut their teeth on the new iPad Air range, this time offering a larger screen option but no doubt a more modest Apple Silicon SoC. In addition to the magic of AI, the next iPad Pros should benefit from a major display upgrade with the appearance of OLED. In other news, the next Apple Pencil is said to feature haptic feedback, a method that could simulate the textures and roughness of paper when drawing with the pencil.
So will Apple try to relaunch its iPad Pro by riding the AI wave? It’s hard to say, even if Mark Gurman is one of the most knowledgeable on the subject. In the event that his “prediction” proves true, Apple will have to come up with some truly revolutionary uses to justify switching to this new tablet.
