Apple's Latest iPad Lineup: A Refreshing Update?

Apple recently held a 30-minute event to announce its latest iPad lineup, and it was clear that they had something special up their sleeve. After a long time without any significant updates, Apple finally delivered on the promises made by fans of the iPad. The new lineup consists of two iPads, an updated iPad Air, and a revolutionary new iPad Pro.

The New iPad Air: A Spec-Bumped Upgrade

The newest addition to Apple's iPad lineup is the iPad Air, which follows the script of bringing some things down from the previous iPad Pros. This includes a more powerful chip, 128 gigs of storage, and a larger webcam now located in the landscape bezel where it belongs. The new iPad Air also boasts faster Wi-Fi and comes in two sizes: 11 inches and 13 inches. But what's most notable about this upgrade is its price point, which starts at $599 for the smaller model and $799 for the bigger one.

However, as the reviewer noted, the new iPad Air doesn't stray too far from the previous models, with a spec bump being the main difference. The design and features are similar to the old Air, making it difficult to tell the two apart just by looking at them. Although there is a slight increase in screen size for the larger model, the overall shape of the device remains largely unchanged.

The New iPad Pro: A Game-Changer

In contrast to the new iPad Air, the updated iPad Pro is where Apple really pushes the limits of the iPad. The reviewer described it as "ridiculous" due to its thinness, with the 11-inch model measuring only 5.3 millimeters thick and the 13-inch model coming in at 5.1 millimeters thin – thinner than even the iPod Nano ever was. This new device also boasts a weight reduction, making it feel like an "impossible sheet of metal" in your hand.

But what's truly impressive about the new iPad Pro is its hardware. Apple introduced the next generation of Apple silicon with the M4 chip, which is only available on this latest model. The reviewer noted that this chip offers even more power in a smaller physical and thermal envelope, making it a significant upgrade over the previous M2 chip. With a CPU core that's 50% faster than the M2, a GPU that's four times faster, and an improved neural engine, this new chip provides unparalleled performance without increasing power consumption.

The M4 Chip: A Powerhouse of Efficiency

One of the most exciting aspects of the new iPad Pro is its M4 chip. According to Apple, this chip offers even more efficient performance than before, with the ability to do the same output as the M2 with half the power. This means that Apple has managed to squeeze out even more power from a smaller battery, making it an incredibly efficient device.

The reviewer noted that this new chip is "basically the same battery life as the last iPad Pro," which suggests that Apple has managed to retain its battery life while reducing its size and weight. This achievement is all the more impressive given the significant reduction in physical battery size, making it a testament to the power of modern technology.

Apple's Form Factor Revolution

The new iPad Pro's M4 chip has enabled Apple to create an incredibly thin and light device that still packs a punch. The reviewer described holding the 11-inch model as feeling like "impossible," due to its sheer weightlessness. This is a testament to the innovative design and engineering that went into creating this device, which allows it to be both powerful and portable.

In conclusion, Apple's latest iPad lineup has delivered on promises made by fans of the brand. The new iPad Air offers an upgrade in performance and features at an affordable price point, while the updated iPad Pro is a game-changer in terms of design and hardware. With its revolutionary M4 chip and incredible thinness, this device sets a new standard for what's possible in tablet technology.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(bright music)- Okay, so Apple had a niceshort little 30 minute eventtoday announcing just abunch of new iPad stuff.Now, this was thelongest they've ever gonewithout updating anything iPad related,so they had some cooking to do.But the thing is,and I feel like we've beensaying this for years,it kind of doesn't matter howpowerful they make the iPad.It's still an iPad,right? It's still iPadOS.And we've seen giganticimprovements in the M-series chipsand these iPads are likethe most powerful chips ever on paper,but they're still iPads.So the last thing weneed after all this timeis just another spec-bumped iPad, right?Well, let me introduceyou to the newest iPads.So first up, there's a new iPad Airwhich follows the script ofbringing a few things downfrom the previous iPad Pros,and, of course, youknow, making it availablefor this lower price.So it graduates from theM1 to the M2 chip inside,it starts up at 128 gigs of storage now,and it moves the webcamto the landscape bezelwhere it belongs.It gets faster wifi,and for the first timethere is a larger one now,so they're calling it the11-inch and the 13-inch iPad Air.I had to clarify it just becausethe last one was 10.9 inches;so are they just simplifying the name,like is it actually bigger?And turns out, yeah, there is justa little bit more screen here.Great. But other than that,it's pretty predictable.It's a spec bump. Like this issticking to the script here.I think I could hand youthe newest iPad right nowand you couldn't really tellthe new Air from the oldAir just looking at itother than if you'reholding the bigger one,or if you recognized thesuper exciting new colors.I mean, hopefully youcould hear my sarcasmthrough the screen, butthere's Blue, Purple,Starlight, and Space Gray.So it's 599 for the small oneand 799 for the bigger one.But then, we also got amore significant updateto the iPad Pros.This is where they pushthe limits of the iPad.This is where they wanna showtheir absolute best stuffand the best possible tablets.And, man, if we just ignorethe software for a second,these new iPads are ridiculous.So first of all, theystart off by revealingthat these new iPads, the11-inch and the 13-inch,are the new thinnest Appledevices ever made, ever.That's including phones,that's including likeold iPods and everything.The 11-inch is 5.3 millimeters thin,and the 13-inch is 5.1 millimeters thin;so that's literally thinnerthan the iPod Nano ever was.It's nuts. It just looks ridiculous.It's crazy to hold.It's also lighter, as you might imagine.It just kind of feels like thisimpossible sheet of metal in your hand.I don't know if anyoneever looked at an iPad Proand asked for it to be thinner,but that's what they went and did.What could possibly go wrong?Fun fact, this also nowmeans that the iPad Airis heavier than the iPad Projust to make sure we keep amess of an iPad lineup going.The new Pro also gets anew chip and a new screen.So Apple took this event to introduce usto the next generation of Apple siliconwith the M4 chip,and this iPad is the onlything that it's in right now.It's just the iPad with M4.So that gives it, stopme if it sounds familiar,even more ridiculous amounts of powerin such a tiny physicaland thermal envelope,especially since we came from M2.So it's a more powerefficient 3 nanometer chip.The CPU core is net out tolike 50% faster than M2.The GPU is up to four times faster.And they're saying that they can dothe same performance outputas M2 with half the power,so it's super efficient.There's an improved neuralengine. There's better cooling.Now, again, I don't know whowas asking for a thinner iPad,but there's kind of no denyingthat it's at least justphysically impressive to look at.And this is the type ofthing, this is the form factorthat is specificallyenabled by the M4 chip.Apple is quotingbasically the same batterylife as the last iPad Pro,and I have to assume that there'ssignificantly less physicalbattery in the thing'cause it's so much thinner.So that just basicallymeans Apple's going,\"Hey, we think that thatwas enough battery life\"in the last gen, so we'rejust gonna match that\"and that means we can goway thinner with less batterybecause the new chip is more efficient.\"So then, the new display,this is another thingthat is actually kind ofenabled also by the M4 chip.Sometimes it seems likethey're just saying that,but this is also true.So these are OLED iPads now.Both sizes, it's theexact same set of featuresacross both iPads, which kind of makesthe $300 price difference between thema little bit tougher.But yeah, OLEDs on both the new iPad Pros.And OLED is awesome, right?We already knew this. We'vehad OLED phones forever.The pitch black blacks, theindividually lit pixels,the super awesome vibrance.All of the OLED stuff is great,and we were excited to finally see itin a relatively giganticdisplay that is an iPad.But making a huge OLEDthat's also incredibly brightwas a challenge thatrequired just a little bitof extra engineering, alittle extra ingenuity.So they put togethersomething that they're callinga tandem OLED display,which honestly to me,I think this is maybethe most interesting partof the whole tablet event today.So you can basically think of it astwo different OLED displaysstacked on top of each other,and then the new display driver on M4can address both layers simultaneously.So that's what's allowing them to getreally high local brightness,and that's the spec now.That's 1000 nits of peakfull screen brightnessand 1600 nits of peak HDR brightnesson an OLED on an iPad sized screen.And in person, it looks,well, it looks like a really bright OLED.It looks super colorful,really bright, inky blacks.In this hands-on area I gotto spend like 30 minutes in,it's not gonna look its bestand there was crazy lighting everywhere;but I will be gettingmy hands on it to reviewand I intend to dive in and find outif there are any downsides,but it looks pretty great here.And then, also weirdly, they announceda Nano texture matteversion of the iPad Pro;so now there's a matte Pro display XDR.I would be very careful about orderingthis particular option,based on what I've seen.I can see here that itis definitely betterat dealing with reflectionsthan a normal display.That's awesome.But just like a desktopversion, that is at the expenseof a little bit of sharpness and contrast.You know, the blacks don'tlook nearly as black to meeven at zero degrees off axis.And I also have to wonder about durabilitybecause the Pro display XDR is very pickyabout which microfiber cloth you use,and you can literally ruinit if you use the wrong one.And with this iPad, you know,I can feel the differencebetween the soft touchtexture of the Nano textureand the glossy bezels,and I just have a feelingthat you're only gonnabe able to use or rely onthe microfiber that comesin the box with this thing.And not only does it cost an extra $100to get the Nano texture;it's also only available on the 1 terabyteand 2 terabyte highest end models.So I think they know that peopleshouldn't just walk inthe store and just get it'cause it's on the base one.So yeah, just be careful with that one.But you know what probablymade the most headlinesout of all the stuff announced todayis a spec-bumped Apple Pencil.There's now a new Apple Pencil Pro,and it looks exactly the sameas the previous Apple Pencilbut with this new text on the backthat says Pencil Pro on it now.Unfortunately, that'sstill not the eraser.But yeah, this new Apple Pencil Prohas a haptic motor inside,so it supports Find My now.There's also a new squeezesensor in the barrel foractivating tools in differentapps that will support it,and a new gyroscope actuallymakes it rotation sensitive.And I was trying this,it's surprisingly precise,like really, really good.So if you're an artist, not like me,you know, maybe you're doing a barrel rollwith certain drawing appsor calligraphy applicationsfor the $129 that it coststo get one of these things.But another incredibly inconvenient note,this new Pro Pencil is only compatiblewith the newest recentlyannounced iPad Pro or iPad Air.Because when they moved thatwebcam to the long side,that's also where a lot ofthe magnets for lining upand charging a pencil were.So they had to redesignthe magnets up thereand that's now a different array,so it's only compatiblewith the newest iPads.Why didn't they just move itto the other side for charging?I don't know. Maybe thatmakes too much sense.There's also a new magic keyboard as well.Still ungodly expensive,but if you get the new one,it's also, it's lighterthan the previous gen,the track pad is bigger,and there's a wholefunction row at the top now,which actually that is super useful.And the pass throughcharging is even faster;apparently it's 60 wattsthrough the pins in the back.But all that being said, atthe end of the day, guess what?We just got another setof spec-bumped iPads.They are metal rectangleswith incredible powerand efficiency in our handsthat are just still iPads.And I don't know how manymore times I can say this,but like taking advantageof all of this poweris nearly impossible.There are a tiny sliver ofapps that actually make itfeel like worth upgrading.There's almost nothing these iPads can dothat my M1 iPad Pro can't do.And this isn't even todownplay the hardware'cause the hardware is actually amazing.That's where the difference comes from.It's got this super brighthigh resolution OLED displaywith pitch black blacks,this M4 chip with ridiculous power,and efficiency, new CPU, new,GPU better neural engine.I've never wanted an iPad to be thinner,but that line about them wanting the iPadto feel like a magic sheet of glassreally resonated withthis model in particular,even if you do feel likeyou could snap it in halfthe whole time.It's just the awkwardness of this onemainly comes from timing'cause I think we all know,well, it's already been announced.WWDC, their WorldwideDevelopers Conference,is right around thecorner, and we all knowand expect them to updateall of the softwareacross all their stuff:a new iOS, a new iPadOS,so I guess iPadOS 18.And whatever Apple is gonnadecide to do with thatis around the corner.So we've got these newiPads shipping next week,but all the new software,that could be awesome.Well, that's this summer.And this feels like it couldbe one of the biggest updatesyet to these iPads.You know, it's Apple showing their handat how many more AIfeatures they wanna build inand how many morefeatures people wanna addthat lets this be their primary computer,maybe more Siri improvements,all of this stuff.So in this awkward meantime, here we havethese really, really impressivespec-bumped iPad Pros,the most powerful iPads of all time,the thinnest Apple devicesliterally ever made;but the list of thingsit can do is the sameas my three-year-old M1, just saying.What a time to be alive.Speaking of announcements, though,Ridge and I have finally launchedour first product together.So it starts with the Ridge Wallet,you know, the minimal highquality industrial wallet,the more modern way tocarry cash and cards.Well, you might know I joined Ridgeas the chief creativepartner earlier this yearand we're finally releasingour first MKBHD gear together.So one of the first things we wanted to dois just make MKBHD versionsof some of the existing stuff.It felt too obvious, so that'sexactly what we're doing.So I love carbon fiber and matte black;I don't know if you knewthat about me already,but those are my base inspirationsfor these two wallets.So the MKBHD Carbon Fiber 3k,this is just a bunch of lightweight,ultra durable carbon fiber with the logo.And then, the MatteBlack Everything Wallet,this is just aluminum but it's got thisblack oil filled engravementprint, which is so sick.And then, these wallets also come witha deboss MKBHD money clipor you can do a cash strap.You can also attach these or detach them.You could also do anattachment for an AirTag,so just make sure you don't lose it.Or, you can do like a Find My card,which I've done as well.But yeah, I just carry thisin my wallet all the timeand I definitely won't lose it.And, of course, if you don'tlike my designs, that's fine.Ridge has like 50 plus otherdesigns in their catalog.They've got NFL licensed team stuffif you wanna rock your team.The store is endless.And if you even think itcould be time to upgrade,it's a great time to just trybecause if you don'tlove it after 99 days,you can literally send itright back, no questions asked.Pretty sick.And I'll let you in on a little secret.It's 30% off the new gear right now,but also any style if you order a walletand a key holder at the same time.So just the two together, boom, 30% off.And also 10% off whateveryou want at ridge.com/mkbhd.You're welcome.Yeah, I'm excited tobe launching this stuffand also a bunch morecoming up later this year.I won't say too much about it,but you can sign up at the same linkif you wanna get product updates.I've told them just to only email youabout that if you sign up.But yeah, let me know what you thinkof these new iPads in general.I mean, it's kind of anawkward waiting perioduntil we get all the new iOS 18 stuff,but let me know what you think,new thinner than ever iPads.Thanks for watching. Catchyou guys on the next one.Peace.\n"