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People walk in front of the Apple Store in Glendale, California, on December 26th.
CNN
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Apple is hoping its latest iPad lineup will breathe new life into the sluggish tablet market.
In a pre-recorded livestream event from its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company introduced the latest versions of its iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets, as well as the all-new Apple Pencil Pro.
CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday's announcement marked “the biggest day for iPad since its launch.”
At the heart of the new iPad Pro is Apple's new custom M4 processor, delivering four times the performance of existing iPad Pro models. Given that Apple's latest MacBook lineup is currently powered by the M3 chip, this is, in Cook's words, “a very powerful chip for AI.”
The company is expected to show off the first batch of AI tools for iPhone and iPad at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
The latest iPad Pro comes in two sizes: 11 inches and 13 inches. Apple says the 11-inch model is its thinnest yet, at 5.1mm thick and less than 1 pound. For the display, he combines two OLED panels to maximize brightness. iPad Pro is available in two finishes: Silver and Space Black.
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Apple unveils its newest and most powerful iPad
Meanwhile, for the first time, iPad Air will be available in the same two size designs: 11-inch ($599) and 13-inch ($799). Inspired by the larger-screen iPad Pro, the larger size offers 30% more screen real estate than the 11-inch display.
iPad Air is powered by Apple's custom M2 processor with a faster GPU and Neural Engine that is 50% faster than the previous iPad Air. The company said support for AI-powered software has been enhanced. It also has a front-facing landscape camera.
Meanwhile, the upgraded Apple Pencil ($129) features new squeeze features that allow users to launch tools, customize the drawing layer they're working on, and include haptic feedback. It also supports “Find My” to find your pencil if you inevitably lose it.
Apple also showed off a redesigned Magic Keyboard with a haptic trackpad to bring the iPad closer to a laptop. Some major apps, including Final Cut, also received significant upgrades, including the addition of AI-based audio and AI-powered editing features.
The new iPad lineup will be available for pre-order starting Tuesday and will be in stores starting next week.
The event came days after Apple reported iPad sales of $5.6 billion in the latest quarter, down 17% year-over-year. However, the company said it expects its iPad business to grow by double digits in the June quarter.
Apple last week reported first-quarter sales of $90.8 billion, down 4% from a year earlier, as the tech giant continues to struggle with growth challenges, particularly in China, amid an uncertain economic environment. There is. As iPhone sales fell 10%, the company announced a $110 billion stock buyback, the largest in its history.
Ben Wood, principal analyst at market research firm CCS Insight, said the unexpected introduction of the iPad Pro's new M4 chip and its significant performance improvements may be enough to spark consumer excitement. Ta.
“While these new iPads are unlikely to put the category back on a growth track anytime soon, they do provide a much-needed reason for customers with older products to upgrade,” he said. “Apple is determined to regain leadership in this space, and it's clear that it's focused on artificial intelligence, given the heavy focus on this topic by rivals over the past 18 months. did.”
Cook hinted on an earnings call last week that generative AI tools could be coming to Apple products “within a few weeks,” although the company currently lags behind competitors.
“We see generative AI as a significant opportunity across our products, and believe there are advantages there that set us apart,” he said.
