May 2024 for Apple is shaping up to be very exciting month indeed, or, is it going to be June hmmm 🤔, well the wait is over! 7th of May it is…Finally! The expected event date has been delayed at least three times so far, but we are not going to get into that. Never the less the rumor mill has been working in overdrive as more insider info comes trickling in from the ether, as to what new hardware and features Apple may announce for the new iPad Pro’s.

This is an important release for Apple, as iPad sales have been in a state of decline due to a calculated era of Mac centric innovations, development and focus, strategically engineered to reinvigorate the once boring lineup that was the previous generation of intel MacBooks. But when you think about it, the timing now is actually perfect! The hype around the M-Series MacBooks has settled and the excitement around the Apple Vision Pro is beginning to wayne, all the while the iPad has been quietly left to hang out of the lime light, in the shadows, ready to pounce!

Another let down or… a big surprise.

Long time Apple reporter Marc Gurman said on the 3rd of March, that Apple was not going to hold a special event for the launch of the new iPads. This at the time was interesting because while many took it as a negative that Apple is again leaving the iPad to coast along in neutral and that there is nothing game changing coming to the iPad line up. Well we now know it actually meant that Apple was simply not ready yet and we can see that actually Apple intends to focus the event on the iPad. This hint is in the logo and this means there is potentially big improvements and exciting announcements coming.

Looking a closely at the logo and you can see the wording “air”, this tells us two things, one that the Apple event is going to be focused on iPads and two that the rumored new iPad Air model is indeed going to be a big focus point.

New keyboard design for the iPad Pro’s.

If rumors are to be trusted and we believe there are now a few very credible ones, then a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro is almost a certainty. But whats makes this so exciting is not only what it physically is but what it may allude to in the not too distant future! 

Let’s look at the design first. A material similar if not the same as that of the Macbook is likely to be expected, including function keys and possibly even a new hinge and docking design, giving rise to tantalizing speculation of what the new overall design may look like. No doubt this will be a big upgrade over the current, elegant, cantilevered keyboard design that we love and that makes us really excited.

A hint at whats to come. 

A new keyboard design similar to that of the Macbook could also mean Apple is taking yet another step towards a reality that we and others have thought about for a long long time, which is greater hardware and software pairity with the Macbook. Perhaps even a future bridge in software, such as a “middle ground” – if you will,  between iPadOS & MacOS. Just imagine that for a second, an iPadOS substantially more evolved and advanced, with Mac like functionality but visually different to MacOS and built for touch. This is where we believe Apple is almost certainly headed, the dilemma you now have is, are you prepared to wait! Well you may just have to but we think now, the journey is going to get a lot more exciting for iPad lovers, than in recent years.

If you consider how Apple have made the UI elements on the Mac so similar in design to the those on the iPad, for example on Mac; Control Center, the Dock, Shortcuts & Widgets, all no doubt take design cues from the iPad, but why? Well, consider this – what is the one major gripe people have been saying for years about the iPad? – it’s the restricted software capability. Now if you think Apple doesn’t know this, then you are sadly mistaken, Apple know’s exactly what their market wants out of the iPad, even when we assume they don’t because it feels they aren’t listening.

Power is not the problem. 

The iPad Pro has been rivaling the Macbook pro’s in performance for years and the new iPad is going to be no exception. The mighty M3 chip is expected to come to the new iPad Pro’s in May and we think possibly an M4 “iPad Ultra” later in the year. So if performance is not an issue then why is Apple deliberately holding back the software on the Pad? We think the reason is more clear now than ever before. Apple has been waiting till the timing is right to ensure there is an obvious new place for the iPad to exist in harmony with the Mac, rather than the two competing for the same customer and creating obscurity. Apple certainly does not want the iPad to eat into its Mac sales, this is obvious nor does it want some of its Mac customer base to move to the iPad and be disappointed that the software is not as capable as they thought it was. So, it makes sense then that Apple creates a place midway between the a mac and an iPad, a place for a truly hybrid portable “Mac-iPad”. One that offers mac-like functionally built around the ergonomics of touch & ultimate portability. That way Apple has all its bases covered; a Mac Studio, Mac Pro or iMac for a permanent setup, a Macbook for the customer who needs a more portable Mac and for the customer requiring a truly hybrid, totally versatile computer, then there is an iPad Pro which would offer a Mac-like functionality in its OS.

Staying on point – a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the iPad may also come with more ports. This would be a very welcome feature for charging, peripherals and more. A function row is certainly coming to this new keyboard, as evident in the new 10th gen base iPad Magic Keyboard, it is obvious this cannot stay exclusive to the base model iPad Keybaord, that would be silly. A larger trackpad is another rumor we expect to materialize, another move to a more mac like, pro level experience. Gestures are arguably more important on an iPad than a Mac, given how the iPad is a touch first product, so in order for iPadOS’s to mature properly with the use of a cursor, a larger trackpad to facilitate easier gestures seems like a natural progression. We also expect a new type of docking method for connecting the iPad Pro to the Magic Keyboard. We think a magnetic connection straight onto a redesigned hinge but without a back cover, is likely. For example, image your iPad Pro connecting to the Magic Keyboard in the same way as the Apple Pencil connects to the iPad Pro, but instead of the pencil, picture the screen docking straight onto the hinge of the Magic Keyboard and not onto the cover. 

Battery life.

There is no doubt battery life of the new iPad Pro’s needs to be improved. Most people we speak to are getting substantially less than desirable battery life and this makes sense when you consider the improvements to the processor and screen in terms of speed and brightness respectively, this however has meant that in real world terms there is a noticeable depreciation in battery life. Further more when you consider that the MacBook Air’s are getting around 18 & 20 hours of battery life and that the iPad Pro’s haven’t had any improvements to battery since the launch the iPad Pro, something needs to be done. I wonder if Apple may include a battery in the new Magic Keyboard hmmm 🤔?

Screen.

Most people buy iPads in part because of their gorgeous screens, for content and media consumption mainly but in recent years for professional work too. Apple’s mini LED display on the iPad Pro’s has been the industries leading tablet screen and arguably one of the best in all computing categories. This is due to its brightness, colour vibrancy and accuracy however times are changing and OLED no doubt appears to be the way to go but the are some draw backs to this tech. Consider screen burn in & brightness which rumors suggest that Apple has a plan to address. For example, to match or exceed mini LED’s impressive brightness, rumors suggest Apple plans to do some clever overlaying of OLED panels to dramatically increase the brightness. Apple has always been miles ahead of its competitors in this department, could we also possibly see an increase from 120 to 240 Hz or would this be too much for the battery to handle, OR will this be reserved for an even higher performing iPad Ultra?

Apple Pencil.   

A second Apple event logo (above) clearly shows the Apple Pencil, providing another obvious clue of whats to come, leading us to pay more attention to rumors about the new Apple Pencil.

There are substantial rumors from very credible sources, that indicate a new pencil is slated to arrive on the stage of the May 7th event. Features rumored for the Apple Pencil include a squeezable, pressure sensitive stylus with removable magnetic tips and possibly even a colour sampling tip which could be used to identify and replicate colours on physical objects. Imagine hovering your stylus tip over a real world colour and the Apple Pencil figuring out and replicating the colour for you on the iPad. This would be amazing for professionals recreating their environment and the objects within it. 

Camera.

There is no doubt that the front facing camera on the iPad Pro’s will be FINALLY moved to the landscape position. This is clear as the base model iPad has this feature and the current iPad Pro’s do not. This feature will solve one of the most frustrating design issues most people have with the iPad Pro’s. Not even Apples clever “Center Stage” feature could do this. “Center Stage” cleverly uses the wide angle camera on the front facing camera, to crop the video in an attempt to include and center your face with the faces of others around you whilst in the video call, as can be seen in the above image. Admittedly it does a great job of ensuring everyone is in the video but does not address the most off putting irritation which is, the resulting camera angle due to the position of the portrait front facing camera.       

A possible big leap in chassis design. 

In our opinion the iPad Pro’s have the most beautiful design of any computing device. We don’t expect Apple will move away from the industrially angular design but there is something quite incredible rumored to be coming in new iPad Pro’s form. Leaked schematics have shown Apple is expected to reduce the thickness of the new iPad Pro’s, by an unbelievable 20% to just 5.1 mm! This is truly an engineering feat which actually leaves us more unsure than excited and I will tell you why. Firstly the iPad Pro’s are not exactly thick to begin with, they are in fact impressively thin. So wouldn’t you rather want more space for a larger battery than a thinner iPad Pro chassis? Also the thinner you go the more likely one is to have bending and structural issues! Now I know what you are thinking, this is Apple, surely they have thought about that, well don’t be so sure, because remember “Bend Gate”, when Apple was having iPad Pro’s bending in customers bags. Surely Apple has learnt from this and has possibly moved to Titanium, like it has in the iPhone Pro’s, to ensure stronger structural rigidity and stability to account for a thinner design? We’ll have to see. 

What ever the story that May the 7th will tell, it’s certainly going to be a very interesting one and we are just so excited to once again have an iPad focused event taking center stage 😉

Thanks for reading!

Yours truly Matt

iPadProductivity.com