On Tuesday, May 7th, Apple will unveil its latest product. This is believed to be a new iPad Pro in two sizes, two new iPad Air models, a keyboard, and a Pencil. However, unfortunately probably not, a wider release of Apple Vision Pro. And now it looks like one of the iPads may come with a very powerful processor that will enable advanced AI features.
This comes as a surprise, as many expected Apple's AI capabilities to be first announced at the World Wide Developers Conference in June, followed by a full-fledged release with the iPhone 16 series in September.
“The new iPad Pro will begin Apple's transition to AI hardware,” Bloomberg's Mark Garman said in the latest Power On newsletter.
This could be made possible by something completely unexpected: the next iPad Pro, the Apple M4, will be equipped with the next generation of Apple processors. This is especially surprising since the last time a new processor was announced was at the end of October, when the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips were announced. It's unheard of for a new chip to be released in just 6 months or so, so I'm a little skeptical.
To be fair, Mr. Garman might as well. Because he couldn't have said it any more strongly. “I've heard that the chip in the new iPad Pro is likely to be M4 rather than M3. Even better, Apple is positioning the tablet as the first true AI-powered device, and all new products after that will be AI devices. Of course, this is all in response to the AI boom that has swept the technology industry in recent years.
I understand Garman's logic. “Announcing the new iPad Pro ahead of June's Worldwide Developers Conference allows Apple to launch its AI chip strategy without distraction. And at WWDC, the M4 chip and new iPad Pro will be released later this year. The focus will likely be on how to leverage the AI software and services provided as part of iPadOS 18. I see Apple building the A18 chip around AI into the iPhone 16 line. I have high hopes for our position.”
But I think the current M3 chip is probably powerful enough to handle Apple's AI strategy. So I wouldn't be surprised if the iPad Pro gets that chip instead. After all, Apple's most powerful tablet, the current iPad Pro, is equipped with an M2 chip, so a generation jump seems like a lot of punch.
That said, the M4 iPad Pro fits the “Let Loose” tagline associated with the launch event. Let's take a look.