Jason Hiner/ZDNET
Were you surprised that Apple failed to reveal new iPad Pro models alongside the new M3 MacBook Airs last week? We’ve heard since at least January that Apple would refresh both its Mac and iPad Pro lineup in early 2024. Well, that’s still on track, according to Bloomberg correspondent and Apple watcher Mark Gurman.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reminded readers of his previous forecast that new Macs would arrive first this year, followed by new iPads. Specifically, he expects revamped 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models and a new 12.9-inch iPad Air to launch around the end of March or in April. A new Magic Keyboard and an upgraded Apple Pencil are on tap as well, Gurman added.
Also: The best iPads you can buy: Expert tested
Gurman pointed to the late March/April timeframe because he said that’s when the accompanying iPadOS 17.4 release should be ready to go. Apple released iPadOS 17.4 last week, but Gurman told me that he was referring to a tweaked version of 17.4 for the new iPads, a typical change for new hardware releases.
A refresh of the iPad Pro is overdue, as Apple last updated the lineup in October 2022. At that time, the new iPads shipped with an M2 chip, an Apple Pencil hover experience, ProRes video capture, Wi-Fi 6E, and a four-speaker audio system.
What can we expect for the 2024 iPads? Last November, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the new iPads would be powered by Apple’s M3 processor, the same as the latest MacBook Air models.
The displays of the 11-inch and 12.9-inch Pro models will transition from LED and mini-LED, respectively, to OLED. This type of upgrade should bring more accurate colors, higher contrast, better sharpness, higher refresh rates, and lower power consumption.
Kuo also projected that the new tablets will feature an improved form factor, though he didn’t specify what changes to expect.
The 2024 iPad Pro models were initially slated to debut in Q1 2024. Kuo said in November that production issues with the OLED panel modules delayed the rollout to late Q1 2024 or even Q2 2024, which lines up with Gurman’s forecast.