Seconds after Apple unveiled the new M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro at its “Let Loose” event, we knew you’d want one, too. The Air is more “Pro” than before, the new Pro packs the newest technologies and the most power for A.I. workloads in the smallest size ever.
Apple’s thinnest iPad yet is the first thing everyone notices, but there’s many more big changes, and new accessories from Apple and MAGEASY for creators, professionals, and students! Here’s how it adds up.
You’ll Know the 2024 iPad When You See It
The new iPad Pro is the thinnest Apple product ever.
An iPhone 15 Pro is 8.3mm tall, a pair of chopsticks is 6mm thick, then there’s the 13" iPad Pro (M4), just 5.1mm. This magical sheet of glass is as strong as it was before, and lighter. The 13" iPad Pro drops from 685 to 582 grams (a quarter pound), totally changing the way it feels.
iPad Air (M2) gets new colors – starlight, space gray, and more natural shades of purple and blue. The Pro comes in silver and a new space black.
More for Less. A Bigger Display for the iPad Air.
Yes! We can have more screen for less money. The 13" iPad Air (M2) means consumers don’t have to buy the Pro for the biggest screen, and it’s $300 USD less than the previous 12.9" iPad Pro. Sadly, the 13" iPad Pro (M4) is now $200 more expensive.
- 2024 13" iPad Air with M2 chip, starting at $799
- 2022 12.9" iPad Pro with M2 chip, began at $1,099
- 2024 12.9" iPad Pro with M4 chip, starting at $1,299
Deciding between the two? The 13" size is a popular laptop replacement and a bigger canvas for drawing and ideas. For reading, watching videos, taking notes, the 11" is the size of a standard A4 sheet of paper. It’s easier to hold.
The Best You’ve Ever Seen. The First iPads with OLED.
Tandem OLED screen for 2024 iPad Pro (M4).
Apple raised prices on all iPad Pros by $200 USD, but now they start with twice the storage at 256GB. Both get Apple’s new Tandem OLED display. This means darker blacks, more contrast, and colors pop. Those who work outdoors or in bright offices will really notice the difference.
Next to OLED PC laptops, Apple’s approach looks like the future of OLED, solving two issues, brightness and burn-in -- a scar left by a fixed image that was on the screen for too long. Apple throws more pixels at the problem by stacking two OLED layers to create one screen. Each pixel is its own light source, so two layers means more brightness. Each layer runs at a lower brightness, reducing burn-in.
2024 iPad Pro | 2022 iPad Pro 12.9" | 2022 iPad Pro 11" | |
---|---|---|---|
Brightness (Standard) | 1,000 nits | 600 nits | 600 nits |
Brightness (High Dynamic Range) | 1,600 nits | 1,000 nits | n/a |
Contrast Ratio | 2,000,000:1 | 1,000,000:1 | 1676:1 |
(Source: Apple, Notebook Check)
New iPad Keyboards, Covers, and Stands
MAGEASY new iPad accessories for the 2024 models.
The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro adds function keys, upgrades the plastic base to aluminum, and there’s a larger trackpad plus haptic feedback. But it lacks 360-degree protection for your iPad when attached to the keyboard, which is where the updated MAGEASY CoverBuddy fits in. It’s still a precise fit for the iPad and is compatible with Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro.
MAGEASY’s new Facet and Lift iPad cases are available for the 2024 Air and Pro, and uses even more premium-feeling, stain-resistant materials. Built to professional standards, Facet and Lift also stand apart from other covers by securely locking into a variety of angles for seating, standing, and presentation positions.
Even the Apple Pencil is Now Pro
Squeezing the new Apple Pencil Pro - which thankfully works with all the new iPads - brings up menus or toolbars, making it quicker to do things the way we want. Content creators, illustrators, 3D model builders will love Barrell Roll. It teams the Pencil’s gyroscope with the iPad’s cameras to enable angular ways of creating and manipulating objects. Imagine editing 360-degree camera footage.
These innovations make the iPad’s digital experience feel like the most natural one yet. To take it step further, MAGEASY EasyPaper Series replicates the feel of drawing on paper.
More A.I. Power than Any A.I. PC for Consumers
The Neural Engine in M4 makes iPad Pro an absolute powerhouse for AI.
The M4 iPad Pro has a Neural Engine-sized advantage over the competition. Neural Engine is what Intel and Qualcomm call a Neural Processing Unit (NPU). It’s a part of the chip specializing in A.I. functions so it doesn’t get in the way of what you’re doing. Think of it as a hardware helper for your A.I. software assistant.
iPad Air users aren’t missing out; a Neural Engine is also in the M2 chip. At Let Loose, Apple revealed M4’s NPU is 60x faster than their first NPU in the A11 chip, processing 38 trillion operations per second (TOPS). Competition is coming fast, but 38 TOPS is the top of its class. Intel’s Meteor Lake NPU, in this year’s premium PC laptops, reaches 11 TOPS.
How many TOPS you need depends on the kind of A.I. workload. For instance, music producers creating sound samples. In iPhones, it helps the camera’s Cinematic Mode identify and track. If you’re working on future A.I. applications, bringing an M4 to an A.I. fight doesn’t hurt, especially if it comes in the size of an iPad.
Power. More Graphics and Processing Power.
All this power only makes a difference if we use it. Video editors and gamers will always take as much as they get from the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). For the first time, ray-tracing is built into the iPad, creating more realistic lighting effects in gaming and 3D rending. M4’s GPU provides 4x the video rendering speed of M2, going toe-to-toe with GPUs in ultra-thin laptops.
Apple’s statistics note M4 provides M2-level performance while using half the energy. If you don’t need this level of power, our view is it’s about what you pair iPad with. Not just an iPad cover or stand, but cameras, synthesizers, and accessories to unlock new ways of using what you have.
More Useful Front and Back Cameras
The front-facing camera moved from the tall to the wide (landscape) side. Finally, the camera is directly in front of us during video calls. The Pro adds TrueDepth technology for FaceID security, and gives selfie-takers portrait mode and lighting effects.
On the back of the Pro, Apple removed the ultra-wide camera. There’s a camera, a LIDAR depth scanner, an ambient light sensor, and an adaptive TrueTone sensor that eliminates shadows when scanning documents.
MAGEASY, iPad Cases and Screen Protectors Optimized for the 2024 iPad
By the time Apple announced the very first iPad, MAGEASY had already been delivering creative designs to Apple consumers for several years. We’ve put our expertise into these cases, stands, and screen protectors for the 2024 iPad Air and Pro:
Facet Folding Folio iPad Case
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The 2024 Facet still supports multiple viewing angles, and is now a full body case for total protection, featuring MAGEASY’s exclusive LSC-TECH stain-resistant coating on both sides of the cover so the case stays cleaner for longer. On the back, the cutout for the camera is designed to provide additional protection, with a matte-finish hardback to let iPad’s colors shine through. It allows wireless charging for Apple Pencil Pro, and supports auto wake and sleep.
Lift Standing & Folding Folio iPad Case
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A folding design elevating the iPad to higher viewing angles for typing, reading, and browsing, making it more useful for daily situations. It also features stain-resistance, supports Apple Pencil Pro wireless charging, auto wake and sleep.
CoverBuddy Magnetic iPad Case with Graphene
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The 2024 upgraded CoverBuddy iPad Case is the ultimate solution to common iPad user dilemmas. Seamlessly integrating with Apple's Magic Keyboard thanks to its smart connect technology, it adds an extra layer of protection and efficient heat dissipation to your iPad, ensuring durability, productivity, and a hassle-free keyboard experience. With stain-resistant premium leather and Graphene Thermal Technology, CoverBuddy is where advanced technology meets protection.
EasyPaper Screen Protector Series
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A little bit of texture can make drawing with your Pencil Pro on iPad feel like paper. Sometimes, we also want the option to watch content as clearly as possible. The EasyPaper Pro 2-in-1’s magnetic installation system makes it easy to switch between both. Anti-glare, anti-fingerprint, EasyPaper can be simply cleaned with water and a microfiber cloth, unlike permanent nano-texture coatings.