It seems we won’t have to wait until June’s WWDC event to get some insider news into how Apple plans to unleash AI into its future product roadmap. Some juicy nuggets could be shared earlier, more specifically on March 7, during its virtual “let loose” iPad event. The next iPad Pro in fact could be its first “truly AI-powered” device.
In all fairness, Apple also billed the recently launched MacBook Air with M3 silicon as an AI device so we will have to just wait and see how things pan out for the iPad Pro. But even beyond the AI hullabaloo, there’s some more interesting information coming by way of Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman who has had a good track record with stuff life this. Gurman, in his weekly PowerOn newsletter, says the iPad Pro launching on May 7 will be powered by the yet-to-be-announced M4 chip. So far, rumours pegged that it will rock the M3.
M4 jump and AI push tipped for next iPad Pro
This is in fact the first time we’re hearing things about the fourth-generation Apple silicon with a bit of detail. Going by how Apple has been launching its new chips, a potential May launch for a next-generation chip seems too good to be true. The M3 family was launched in October 2023. The iPad Pro getting the first dibs at the new silicon also seems unreal but not entirely impossible. It’s no secret that the iPad isn’t doing very well. Launches have dried up, too. The sixth-generation iPad Pro had come in 2022. Apple needs to jumpstart the product.
Already there is strong buzz that the next iPad Pro will switch to an OLED display from the existing mini LED tech. The M4 upgrade should help create even more excitement. Add to it today’s biggest buzzword — AI — and you have yourself a winner, at least in marketing terms. The team will have something “substantial” to sell as opposed to say the last iteration where the chip was the only big upgrade to talk about.
A switch to M4 will mean the iPad Pro will skip M3 altogether. Or maybe, Apple is planning to put it inside the relatively lower-end 11-inch model, we can’t say for sure yet.
In his newsletter, Gurman writes, “The new iPad Pro will kick off Apple’s shift into AI hardware,” adding that it will be in response to “the AI craze that has swept the tech industry over the last couple years.”
Whatever be the case, all this and more will become clear on May 7 when Apple will finally unveil the device alongside an update to the iPad Air, which as per reports, will have an M2 chip inside and a choice of two screen sizes — 10.9- and 12.9-inch.
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