10 things to know about the Apple Pencil Pro and the new iPads

The new Apple Pencil Pro has a similar design to the old Second Generation Pencil but is a slightly heavier. It attaches magnetically to the longer side of the new iPad Air and iPad Pro (the only ones it’s compatible with so far), just like the previous generation. Another welcome piece of news: the price is the same as the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen.

Apple has upgraded the Pencil Pro with features usually found in the styluses used with drawing tablets. A gyroscope enables a “barrel roll” feature that turns objects and elements on the screen when users turn the pencil in their hands. The pencil can also recognize a squeeze gesture that opens a new tools palette. Moreover, Apple added the FindMy chip to the pencil to make it possible to locate it with the namesake app on other devices.

The new iPad Air and iPad Pro come with two new display sizes, 11” and 13”. While the Pros have always been available in two versions, this is a first for the iPad Air, which has always featured just one screen diagonal.

Apple has finally decided to move the camera from the short to the long side of the device as already done with the iPad 10th Gen in 2022. The company found a way to work around the problem of having the sensor and the magnetic attachment for the Apple Pencil in the same place. It’s just a detail, but it solves the annoying gaze-to-the-side issue when video calling with the iPad on a desk in landscape mode.

The iPad Air is powered by the M2 chip, the same Apple used on Macs before the M3. It’s an interesting choice, as the M2 has already been phased out from Macs since the introduction of the third generation of Apple Silicon. Nonetheless, it’s an extremely capable SoC that significantly boosts the new iPad Air compared to the previous models, especially regarding AI-based features, thanks to the M2’s Neural Engine.

The new iPad Pros feature an all-new design that draws heavily from the usual iPad Pro aesthetic but goes all-in on thinness. On the 13” model, the chassis is just 5.1mm thin, which is less than an iPod Nano. Apple says these are the thinnest products they’ve ever produced. They’re also way lighter than their predecessors. The new 11” iPad Pro weighs only 444g, while the 13” model weighs 618g, a hundred grams less than the previous model.

The new iPad Pro features the first Apple M4 chip, which comes as a surprise considering that Apple introduced its M3 family of chips about six months ago.  The M4 is 4X faster in rendering performance than the M2 of the previous generation iPad Pro and comes with an updated Neural Engine, a dedicated AI processor with a 16-core design, and about 38 trillion transistors.

As predicted by the latest rumors, the new 13-inch iPad Pro comes with a new “Tandem OLED” display. Apple calls it an Ultra Retina XDR Display; it has a full-screen maximum brightness of 1000 nits and 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness. Plus, with a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio and P3 wide color, it’s a prime candidate for photographers and color professionals. Apple also offers a paid-for upgrade to a nano-texture glass display that offers even less glare than the usual display.

The new 13-inch iPad Pro model is also compatible with a new Magic Keyboard with several interesting upgrades, such as an entire function keys row on top and a design that reminds me of the bottom chassis of a MacBook Air.  It’s clear that Apple is increasingly intending to position the 13” iPad Pro as a detachable 2-in-1 alternative to its entry-level Mac Laptops.

Along with the new iPad, Apple introduced two important upgrades to its professional video editing software and DAW.
Logic Pro uses machine learning to enable the Stem Splitter function, which turns any track into a master recording by isolating every voice and instrument. 
Final Cut Pro introduces a Live Multicam feature, a multi-cam solution that connects and controls up to four iPhone and iPad cameras simultaneously.