Apple has finally introduced the new iPad Pro, ending the longest dry spell without an update to the tablet range since its inception. The iPad Pro (2024) looks to be a hefty refresh of the series, bringing a load of new features and changes.
2023 was a year without any new iPads, and it’s taken nearly five months of 2024 for Apple to finally upgrade its tablet line. But those upgrades are here, and they might just be worth the wait.
Here we’ll compare the new iPad Pro (2024) to the outgoing iPad Pro (2022) and highlight some of the biggest and best new features.
Hello OLED
One of the leading rumours ahead of the new iPad Pro was the switch to an OLED display. Aside from the Mini LED panel on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in 2020 and 2022, Apple has stuck to IPS LCD for all iPads – until now.
Both the 11-inch and the new larger 13-inch iPad Pro (2024) utilise OLED displays – that’s the same screen tech found on the iPhone and Apple Watch. This is a welcome change, especially for the 11-inch model, as OLED offers higher brightness levels, perfect blacks and punchier colours.
Apple is calling the displays here Ultra Retina XDR, which is a banner term for all tech packed inside these displays. Apple is combining two OLED panels together (Tandem OLED), offering up to 1600 nits of peak brightness. There’s also an nano-textured glass option, which adds an etched finish to the display to try and reduce glare.
One camera vs two cameras
In an interesting move, Apple has actually reduced the amount of cameras on the back of the iPad Pro 2024. Gone is the ultra wide camera that was present on the 2022 model, with a single 12MP wide camera now the only focal length.
Forget M3, we’ve got M4
With the IPad Pro (2022) coming with the M2 chip, many had expected the 2024 version to up that to the same M3 found in the recent MacBook Pro updates.
However, that’s not the case. Instead, the iPad Pro (2024) runs on the brand-new M4 chip, the first time a new M-series chip is debuting with an iPad. We’d expect to see this chip arrive in MacBooks and other Macs later this year.
While we’ll have to wait until we can properly review the new iPad Pro to judge its performance, Apple has already made some bold claims. It has the largest neural engine yet – likely for all the AI benefits we expect to see in iOS 18 – plus ray tracing, 4x faster rendering than on the M2 and more efficiency cores.
Looking a little deeper at the specs, we can see that Apple is separating out the number of cores depending on the storage size. The 256GB and 512GB options have a 9-core CPU with 3 performance cores (actually down from the 6 performance cores in the base M2 chip) and 8GB RAM. Choose either the 1TB or 2TB option and you’ll get a 10-core CPU, with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores. You’ll also get 16GB RAM.
A thinner design, but not a massive redesign
Those hoping for a huge redesign for the new iPad Pro (2024) might be disappointed, as visually it does look very similar to the outgoing model. However, there are some big differences.
These are two seriously thin tablets, with the 13-inch Pro taking the crown of being Apple’s thinnest-ever device. The 11-inch model is just 5.3mm thick, while the 13-inch variant is even thinner at 5.1mm. Compared to the 6.4mm thick 12.9-inch predecessor, that’s a notable upgrade.
The 13-inch model is also over 100g lighter than the 12.9-inch model from 2022, tipping the scales at 579g as opposed to 682g.
The tablet still arrives in two colours – silver and Space Grey – but the enclosure is now made from 100% recycled aluminium.
The front camera has a new position
Rejoice! Apple has finally moved the position of the 12MP TrueDepth camera from the side to the long edge on the top of the iPad Pro (2024) making it far more suitable for video calls when you have the tablet docked in a keyboard. This seems like a small change, but it could be one of the most welcome among iPad fans.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
