Apple 'Let Loose' iPad event 2024: Live updates as Apple unveils the new iPad Pro and iPad Air
We'll bring you all the news from the 'Let Loose' event as it happens.
Apple didn't release any updates to the iPad lineup in 2023, but that's about to change. At today's "Let Loose" event, the company is expected to take the wraps off a new iPad Pro, which sounds like it'll be a complete redesign featuring an OLED display and a new M4 chip inside. The iPad Air, meanwhile, is likely to get a more powerful chip than the M1 it currently has, and a larger screen option is also on the table.
We'll be at Apple's NYC event space covering all the news as it happens, and we'll hopefully be following that with hands-on details of the new products. Our liveblog will have everything you need to know, so stay tuned — the event starts at 10AM ET.
Follow all of the news live from Apple's 'Let Loose' event right here.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER105 updates
Everything announced at Apple's Let Loose iPad event
Apple iPad Pro (2024) (Apple) That's a wrap for our live coverage of today's Apple event. If you're just joining us, here's what you've missed:
As expected, the Let Loose showcase was all about iPad. We now have our first Apple device powered by an M4 chip in the iPad Pro, with the company surprisingly choosing to debut it there rather than in a Mac. There's also an upgraded iPad Air that's available in two sizes: 11 inches and 13 inches.
There are some accessory updates too, which isn't a big shock given that an Apple Pencil was prominent in the event's teaser image.
You can read all of today's news right here, or scroll down to relive the event as it happened.
Hands-on with the iPad Air M2: A big-screen iPad that doesn't break the bank
iPad Air M2 2024 (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget) Compared to the iPad Pro, the changes Apple made to the iPad Air are more modest. Rather than a total redesign, the iPad Air is getting some expected and slightly overdue changes: a new screen size, a new processor and a front-facing camera that is placed on the landscape side of the tablet.
Yes, that's some faint praise, but there's a lot to like about the new iPad Air.
iPad Pro M4 hands-on: Absurdly thin and light, but the screen steals the show
Apple iPad Pro 2024 (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget) The new 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro models that Apple just introduced may be completely redesigned from the outside in, but they still feel a lot like their predecessors. That's not a bad thing, as the old iPad Pro design was outstanding. But there's no doubt Apple is flexing its hardware engineering muscles with these new tablets, not just with the M4 processor inside.
Apple quietly gives the 10th-generation iPad a $100 price drop
The 10th-gen iPad on an outdoor table with Magic Keyboard attached. (Photo by Nathan Ingraham for Engadget) Near the end of its “Let Loose” event that brought new versions of the iPad Pro and iPad Air, Apple made some changes to the cheaper end of its tablet lineup. The 10th-generation iPad Pro, the newest version of the budget model, now starts at $349, down from its original $449.
Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze, roll and haptic feedback to its bag of tricks
Apple Pencil Pro (Apple) Alongside its lineup of new iPads, Apple revealed an overhauled Pencil today too. The Apple Pencil Pro has a new sensor in the barrel that accepts your squeezes. This action can do things like bring up tool palettes so you don't have to manually tap into them with your free hand. Apple says you can also use the gesture to activate shortcuts or and other actions. What's more, haptic feedback lets you know when the squeeze was accepted or when something you moved has snapped into place. Apple also added a roll gesture "for precise control" of whatever tool you're using, powered by a new gyroscope.
Apple's new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro gets a function row and haptic trackpad
Overshot keyboard. (Apple) Apple has announced a refreshed Magic Keyboard accessory at today’s iPad event. The new keyboard is designed to specifically work with the M4 iPad Pro line, though it doesn’t integrate with the iPad Air or any other model.
Apple's M4 chip arrives with a big focus on AI
Apple's new M4 chip will be available first on the new iPad Pros. (Apple) Today at its "Let Loose" event, Apple detailed its new M4 chip featuring a major focus on improved AI and machine learning capabilities.
Built on a new second-gen 3nm process, Apple's M4 chip features four performance and six efficiency cores along with a 10-core GPU. In terms of general performance, Apple claims the M4's CPU is 50 percent faster compared to M2 with a GPU that's four times more powerful. Memory bandwidth has also been improved with speeds of up to 120GB/s, and for the first time for the iPad line, Apple is adding support for dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. On top of that, Apple says it's maintaining class-leading energy efficiency with the M4 capable of delivering the same performance as the M2 but with half the power.
Apple's thinner new iPad Pros feature an M4 chip and "tandem" OLED displays
Apple iPad Pro (Apple) Apple's new iPad Pro models are its most laptop-like tablets yet. They're the first devices powered by the company's M4 chip, which will deliver faster performance and more AI capabilities. And, for the first time outside of the iPhone and Apple Watch, both the new 11-inch and (slightly larger) 13-inch iPad Pros will sport OLED screens. That's a step up from the LCD and Mini-LED displays on the previous models, and it should lead to bolder colors, inky dark black levels, and far better contrast.
The new iPad Air comes in two sizes, including a 13-inch model
Apple iPad Air (Apple) It's about dang time. During its Let Loose event, Apple announced it has updated the iPad Air for the first time in over two years. The latest model has an M2 chip, so it's not getting one of Apple's most recent chipsets, likely to keep costs down and differentiate it from the iPad Pro. Still, the M2 is about 50 percent faster than the M1, Apple says, and the tablet is about three times faster than the A14 Bionic-powered iPad Air from 2020.
Apple's spec sheet. (Apple) Apple Pencil Pro by the numbers. (Apple) The Pro offers haptic feedback and magnetic charging. (Apple) As expected, the iPad Pro is getting an all-new Pencil accessory. (Apple) The iPad Pro line is getting a totally new Magic Keyboard for both sizes. (Apple) From earlier in the presentation: Apple's full download on iPad Pro 2024 specs. (Apple) Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad are getting new updates. (Apple)