The M4 chip leads a new era of tablets
Apple launched a new generation of iPad Pro and iPad Air at the spring 2024 press conference, and the biggest highlight is the use of Apple's self-developed M4 chip. This chip has made a leap in performance, not only the CPU performance has increased by 50% compared to the previous generation M2 chip, but the GPU performance has skyrocketed by 4 times, making it Apple's most powerful mobile chip ever.
The M4 chip is manufactured using a second-generation 3nm process, with a transistor density of up to 17 billion transistors and a core area of only 16 square millimeters. This process breakthrough enables the M4 to lead its class-leading chip in terms of energy efficiency, maintaining extremely low power consumption even at full speed. What's even more amazing is that for the first time, the M4 integrates Apple's self-developed neural network engine, which can perform up to 38 trillion AI operations per second, which is far ahead of consumer devices.
This leap in AI computing power is largely due to the M4's adoption of the ARMv9 architecture and SME technology. The ARMv9 architecture supports larger vector registers and a new SIMD instruction set, which greatly improves the ability to perform complex data operations. The SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) technology is optimized for AI and machine learning applications, making M4 a quantum leap forward in handling intensive operations such as matrix multiplication.
Industry insiders believe that the emergence of the M4 chip marks a major breakthrough in the field of AI. With its powerful AI computing power, the M4 will focus on AI functions and bring a new AI-enhanced experience to the iPad. For example, in terms of taking photos, M4 can intelligently adjust parameters for the best exposure effect of real-time scenes and objects; When it comes to video editing, M4 can use AI to automatically generate clips and transitions, greatly improving work efficiency.
Dual-layer OLED panel Slim body for outstanding experience
Not only is the new iPad Pro a revolutionary breakthrough in chips, but its display and body design are equally breathtaking. The new iPad Pro features an industry-first dual-layer OLED panel design, making it Apple's thinnest tablet ever.
The 11-inch iPad Pro is only 5.3 mm thick, while the 13-inch version is 5.1 mm, which is 19 percent thinner and 23 percent thinner than its predecessor. This astonishing thinness is largely due to the innovative design of the double-layer OLED panel. Traditional OLED panels need to reserve a certain space between the display area and the non-display area for wiring, while the dual-layer OLED panel divides the display area and the non-display area into two layers, which greatly saves space.
In addition to the slim body, the double-layer OLED panel also has excellent performance in the display effect. It uses LTPO technology with a variable refresh rate range of up to 1-240Hz, which minimizes the refresh rate when still and up to 240Hz when moving, achieving excellent dynamic display. The contrast ratio of the double-layer OLED panel is as high as 2 million:1, the color reproduction reaches 100% of the DCI-P3 wide color gamut, and the OLED self-luminous characteristics also make it have unparalleled pure black expression.
The dual-layer OLED panel makes the new iPad Pro not only have outstanding portability, but also bring users a visual feast-like experience. Whether it's watching videos, gaming entertainment, or office and creation, the display effect of this tablet will bring a new shocking feeling.
New accessory software Enhances creative capabilities across the board
The hardware is the biggest highlight of the new iPad Pro, but Apple has also prepared a number of new accessories and software for it, further enhancing the tablet's creative and productivity capabilities.
One of the most noteworthy is the Apple Pencil Pro, which was launched alongside the new iPad Pro. The stylus offers a significant improvement in latency and pressure sensitivity, with a latency of just 9 milliseconds and a pressure sensitivity rating of up to 512 levels. What's even more surprising is that the Apple Pencil Pro also has Apple's first built-in active electromagnetic resonance sensor, which can accurately detect the angle and orientation of the pen tip to the screen, thus supporting new creative features such as oblique writing and shadow rendering.
Paired with the new professional-grade creation software such as Final Cut Camera and Logic Pro 2.0, Apple Pencil Pro will give users an unprecedented creative experience. Whether it's video editing, 3D modeling and rendering, or music production, this stylus will be a powerful assistant for users to greatly improve their productivity.
Another new product to keep an eye on is the Magic Keyboard. This is a Bluetooth keyboard tailored for the iPad Pro, with a scissor scissor foot structure to ensure that the key travel is solid and powerful enough. What's even more surprising is that Magic Keyboard has a built-in auxiliary display, which can display shortcut keys, trackpad gestures and other operation prompts in real time, so that users can greatly improve their work efficiency.
With powerful hardware, advanced accessories, and professional software, the new iPad Pro is becoming the best choice for mobile work and creation. Whether you're a film and television producer, a 3D modeler, a musician, or a front-line office worker, this tablet will give them an unprecedented and productive experience.
The release of the new iPad Pro and iPad Air marks a major breakthrough for Apple in the tablet field. The powerful AI and graphics processing capabilities of the M4 chip, the excellent display effect of the double-layer OLED panel, and the blessing of a series of innovative accessories and professional software make this tablet reach a new level of performance, portability and creative ability.