In 2021, Apple introduced the M1 chip and Mini-LED screen for the iPad Pro for the first time, and in the three years since, the iPad has basically continued its original design. Finally, three years later, the iPad has received a major update.
On the evening of May 7th, Apple released a new iPad series, iPad Pro, iPad Air and other new products were unveiled, from the chip to the screen, and then to the appearance design have changed a lot, which can be called the biggest change in the iPad in three years.
The first M4 chip, the price rose by more than three percent
The first is the iPad Air, which was previously only available in a 10.9-inch model, and if you want a bigger screen, you have to pay more for the iPad Pro. Finally, this year, Apple added a 13-inch version to the iPad Air, and the original 10.9-inch version was also changed to 11-inch. This is also the first time that the iPad Air has received two versions.
In terms of performance, both iPad Aires are equipped with a Liquid Retina display, an M2 chip, and 5G support.
The biggest update of this time is undoubtedly the iPad Pro. The new iPad Pro debuts the M4 chip, which was previously debuted by the Macbook.
It is worth mentioning that the M3 chip was released at the end of October last year, only half a year ago, and before that, the update cycle of the M series chip was updated once a year and a half. This iPad Pro breaks the convention of time and debut, which is enough to show that it is different.
Speaking of the M4 chip, it is based on TSMC's second-generation 3nm process technology, using 4 large cores + 6 small core CPU design, Apple said that the CPU speed is 50% higher than M2; The GPU uses a 10-core GPU, which is 4x faster than M2 and supports ray tracing for the first time. Equipped with a 16-core neural network engine, the computing speed reaches 38 trillion times per second, which is 60 times that of the A11 chip.
Apple also highlighted the M4 chip's AI capabilities, saying its performance was "strong enough to rival today's AI PCs."
The M4 also has a surprise in terms of power consumption, with Apple claiming that the M4 consumes only half the power of the M2 while providing the same performance as the M2.
Although the M4 chip is very strong, Apple's "knife method" is still not lost, and the M4 chip on the iPad Pro actually has two different versions:
256GB和512GB存储的iPad Pro搭载的是9核CPU的M4芯片和8GB内存;
1TB和2TB存储的iPad Pro搭载的是10 核CPU的M4芯片和16GB内存。
In terms of screens, the three-year-old Mini-LED screen (12.9-inch only) has been replaced by a new OLED display.
Of course, it's not just an ordinary OLED, Apple has specially developed a "series OLED", using two OLED displays to achieve a global brightness of 1000 nits and a peak brightness of 1600 nits - Apple calls it "Super Precise Retina XDR", and the new machine also has an optional nano-textured glass.
Thanks to the new screen, the iPad Pro 11-inch is only 5.3mm thick, and the 13-inch is 5.1mm thick, making it the thinnest Apple product ever.
In terms of price, the starting price of iPad Air (11-inch) remains the same as the previous generation at 4799 yuan, and the starting price of the new 13-inch is 6499 yuan.
iPad ProThe price has ushered in a big upgrade like its update,From the previous generation6799Yuan starting (11 inches、128GB storage) has become8999 yuan (11 inches, 256GB storage),13The starting price of inches has also risen from the previous generation9299 yuan to 11499 yuan,The same price has increased by 2200 yuan,An increase of up to 32%.
In addition to updating a number of iPads, Apple also brought a new Apple Pencil Pro stylus, the price is the same as Apple Pencil 2, which is 999 yuan, but the Pro stylus only supports the new iPad.
The iPad is powerful, but it's not enough
In fact, since its release, the M-series chips have far outperformed other tablets in terms of overall performance, and the iPad (especially the iPad Pro) has left almost every other competitor behind, after all, no one but Apple can cram a desktop-class processor into a tablet. Therefore, performance is probably the least important upgrade for the iPad.
"Your next computer, why bother with a computer" - in 2020, Apple gave the iPad Pro such a slogan to describe the power of the iPad Pro. Later, when Apple installed the same Macbook M-series chip on the iPad Pro for the first time in 2021, it deepened the expectations of the outside world in terms of productivity - will the iPad with a desktop-level processor also be closer to the Macbook in terms of functionality? After all, the performance is already about the same as that of the computer, shouldn't the function also align the "granularity", closer to macOS?
But it turns out that Apple doesn't pay much attention to iPadOS except for chip and screen upgrades, and the only major software update in three years is the same multitasking "Stage Manager" as the Mac, and the "Universal Control" that works with the Mac, but these two features are a drop in the bucket for the iPad's productivity improvement.
For most people, the iPad is still a "toy" that entertains more than productivity. "Your next computer, why computer" gradually turned into a mockery of the iPad: the gap between the iPad and the "computer" is like the gap between the iPhone and the computer - your next computer has to be a computer.
Although Apple also announced at the press conference that it will bring Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 to the new iPad, making them more suitable for working on the iPad. But it's iPadOS that really limits the iPad from becoming a "computer", not a few apps.
For example, Apple's claimed AI capabilities of the M4 chip are mainly used to accelerate software performance, rather than the popular generative AI. For example, the iPad Pro with the M4 chip can easily separate the subject from the background in 4K video in Final Cut Pro, and automatically generate scores in real time during piano performance in StaffPad.
As far as the new iPad is concerned, Apple is still focusing on the chip and screen, as for whether iPadOS can also usher in more system-level new changes, and even more AI functions, we can only wait for the WWDC (Apple Developer Conference) in June to find out.
iPad sales are declining, and Apple needs more stimulus
According to Canalys data, in the first quarter of this year, global tablet shipments edged up 1% to 33.7 million units; Among them, Apple ranked first with 12 million units shipped, accounting for 36% of the market share. But at the same time, Apple is also the only brand among the top five manufacturers to decline, down 13.9% year-on-year. This resulted in a direct 6 percentage point decrease in Apple's market share, from 42% in the same period in 2023 to 36%.
Huawei and Xiaomi are the two fastest-growing manufacturers, with Huawei ranking third for two consecutive quarters, with shipments of 2.7 million units, a year-on-year increase of 70%; Xiaomi's market share has doubled.
According to Apple's financial report, in the first quarter of this year, Apple's iPad business revenue was $5.559 billion, a year-on-year decrease of about 17%, and recorded a double-digit decline for two consecutive quarters.
For Apple, it is important to save the iPad from decline in time. Therefore, letting the iPad Pro debut M4 chip, upgrading the screen, exterior design, etc., are all a shot in the arm that Apple is trying to inject into the iPad. However, whether the price increase of up to 32% can make users feel tempted and pay for it remains to be tested by the market.