On Tuesday, May 7, Apple will host its first product event of the year, “Let Loose.” The company is preparing to introduce a new range of iPad Pro and iPad Air. The iPad Pro tablets will receive OLED screens, a new thinner chassis and run on the M4 chip. The iPad Air will be updated with the M2 chip and will be offered in a new, larger 12.9-inch screen size for the first time.
As Mark Gurman reported today, Apple is set to announce all of this in a quick video presentation lasting about 35 minutes. This is similar to the runtime of October’s “Spooky Fast” event.
Alongside the new iPad Pro and iPad Air lines, Apple is also expected to unveil new generations of the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, the latter of which features a new tap gesture with haptic feedback.
The move to the M4 chip in the iPad Pro will be touted as signifying Apple’s artificial intelligence advantages on the device, as well as incremental improvements in CPU and GPU power. But it looks like we’ll be waiting until WWDC in June to see what kind of AI features Apple will integrate into the system, with proactive AI features expected to be the focus of iOS 18.
Atypically, the May 7 event is scheduled for 7 a.m. Pacific Time, rather than Apple’s usual 10 a.m. time slot. Apple is believed to be experimenting with this format to see when it can attract the most eyeballs, and a slightly earlier start time is better for the European and Asian time zones.
Obviously, stay tuned to 9to5Mac this week as we bring you full coverage of all the announcements. Updates for other iPad models are expected to follow later in the year.
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