Tag Archives: iPad Pro

New iPad Pro Pushes Boundaries with Ultra Retina XDR Display & Apple M4 Silicon

May 8, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Apple’s highest-end iPad has gotten a full refresh with a slimmer design, more powerful insides, cutting-edge display technology and a bevvy of new accessories to make it one of the most compelling tablets available. The new iPad Pro is available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes striking the balance between portability and productivity.

More Svelt & Touting the First Ultra Retina XDR Display

The new iPad Pro will be touting Apple’s new Ultra Retina XDR display. The new display comes with what Apple calls “tandem OLED” technology which allows for more precise and true-to-life colours and better visual performance. The new display has a peak brightness of 1000 nits and a peak HDR brightness of 1600 nits. Its performance is driven by the next-generation GPU of the Apple M4 Chip. The display also comes with a nano-texture which produces less glare thanks to precision etching that doesn’t compromise visual quality and responsiveness.

Apple iPad Pro Ultra Retina XDR with OLED 240507

Together with new display technology, the new iPad Pro also features a new, slimmer design. This design has resulted in lighter weight and a svelt appearance. The new tablets come in at just 5.3mm thin on the 11-inch model and a slimmer 5.1mm on the 13-inch model. Apple claims that the durability of the tablets remains unchanged even with the slimmer profiles. The tablet’s enclosures are also made of 100% recycled aluminium.

Debuting with Apple’s Next Generation Silicon – the M4 Chip

The new M4 chip from Apple delivers improvements not only when it comes to performance, but also in battery efficiency. The M4 silicon is built on Apple’s second-generation 3nm process that delivers better performance with higher power savings. The chip features four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It also leverages new machine learning (ML) accelerators to deliver a touted 50% increase in CPU performance compared to the M2 processor.

Building on the GPU architecture of the M3, the M4 features a whopping 10-core GPU that features Dynamic Caching. This allows for features like hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing. Both are featured on the iPad lineup for the first time in the new iPad Pro. The Neural Engine of the M4 is Apple’s most powerful to date. It’s capable of 38 trillion operations a second which is 60x faster than the A11 Bionic, Apple’s first chip featuring a Neural Engine.

Updated Cameras & Connectivity

The iPad Pro also comes with an updated camera setup. It features four studio-quality mics complemented by the 12-megapixel back camera. This setup can capture Smart HDR images and high-quality videos even in low light. The camera also comes with a True Tone flash that delivers excellent performance. Scanning documents with the camera is even easier thanks to the flash and intelligent processing by the M4 that delivers high-quality scans. Upfront, the 12-megapixel camera with an ultra-wide viewing angle delivers an updated experience when video calling. Center Stage augments the experience further especially when paired with the Magic Keyboard or Smart Folio.

Screenshot 2024 05 07 at 22 44 45 Apple Event May 7

The iPad Pro comes with a USB-C connector that supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB4. This enables high-speed wired connectivity of up to 40Gbps. With Thunderbolt 3 you can even hook the iPad up to a 6K display and high-speed external storage. It also supports WiFi 6E and 5G for the fastest wireless data connectivity available.

New iPad Pro, New Accessories

The new iPad Pro will also be accompanied by a bevvy of new accessories. Of note are the new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard. The new Apple Pencil Pro comes with a new sensor that allows users to squeeze the stylus for added functionality. Complementing this is a haptic motor that provides feedback when squeezed or when certain actions are performed. Using a gyroscope, Apple is looking to deliver a more realistic experience with the Apple Pencil Pro allowing users to change the orientation of the shaped pen and brush tools. Users are able to see these changes with a hover that previews the orientation.

Screenshot 2024 05 07 at 22 44 12 Apple Event May 7

The Magic Keyboard has also been updated with a slimmer profile and lighter weight. It now comes with a function row that gives quick access to key settings and features of the iPad and keyboard. It also comes with a larger trackpad with haptic feedback and an aluminium palm rest. Lastly, Apple also announced a new Smart Folio for the iPad Pro that features more viewing angles.

Pricing & Availabilty

The Apple iPad Pro (2024) will be available for pre-order starting May 7, 2024. Store availability will start on 15 May 2024.

Screenshot 2024 05 07 at 22 45 12 Apple Event May 7

The iPad will be available in 13-inch size with WiFi and Cellular options. Pricing for the 13-inch model starts at USD$1,299/RM6,799 for the WiFi model and USD$1,499/RM7,799 for the WiFi+Cellular model. The smaller 11-inch model will be priced at USD$999/RM5,299 for the WiFi model and USD$1,199/RM6,299 for the WiFi+Cellular model. Both versions will be available in Space Black and Silver.

The Apple Pencil Pro will be available for USD$129/RM599.

The 11-inch Magic Keyboard is priced at USD$299/RM1,479 while the 13-inch version is priced at USD$349/RM1,699. It will be available in Black and White.

The Smart Folio will be available in Denim, Black and White and will cost USD$79/RM379 for the 11-inch version and USD$99/RM479 for the 13-inch version.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

The New iPad Pro with M2 Chip is Here!

October 19, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When Apple launched their first M1 silicon to the market, we immediately saw the potential of it powering an iPad Pro. Last year, they made it a reality and finally shoehorned an M2 chip to an iPad Pro. It brought untold powers into an iPad Pro and made the tablet the most versatile work companion you can find in the market. With the Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro is a formidable tablet with the powers of a full-fledged laptop.

Then comes this one, the M2 powered iPad Pro.

Apple iPad Pro hero 2up 221018 — Source: Apple

On the surface, it is the same device all around compared to the older generation iPad Pro from 2021. Everything from the glass panel out front and aluminium backing did not change from the previous Apple iPad Pro. The only difference then, in terms of hardware, is the fact that this iPad Pro now contains Apple’s most powerful chip so far, the M2.

The 2022 powerhouse of a tablet will also ship with Apple’s latest iPadOS 16 to fully take advantage of the beast that is the M2 chip. There is stage manager that takes your multitasking to entirely new levels, you can connect to external displays with the iPad Pro and get two working displays effectively out of it, You can turn the iPad Pro’s highly accurate display into a reference display too or all your colour grading needs, and the best part about iPadOS 16 is that now you can run desktop class apps on the iPad Pro.

The camera on the iPad Pro for 2022 can also now capture ProRes videos. Combined with up to three folds speed in transcoding ProRes footages, this iPad Pro is a video production beast in a thin and lightweight package. You might not even need to carry other devices in this case to get a quick video footage out of it.

Apple did not introduce a new Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro this time. They did not have to with iPadOS 16. With a detection from up to 12mm away from the display, the Apple Pencil is more versatile and accurate than ever. Hovering above the display allows users to see where the Pencil will touch the display before they even make a mark. At the same time, when the Pencil gets near to the display, text boxes automatically expand to make way for handwriting recognition.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

To bring the tablet up to speed when remote working, Apple has outfitted the iPad Pro with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities to ensure that you can download and upload large files at any time of the day with little interruption to your workflow. If there is no reliable Wi-Fi umbrella around, there is the cellular capabilities that gives you 5G networking (sub-6GHz and mmWave standards) wherever you are (subject to network availability as per locations).

The Apple iPad Pro is now available for pre-order in 28 countries and regions. That obviously includes the United States. You can expect to start seeing the iPad Pro in stores in those select regions from the 26^th of October 2022 onward. There are no mentions or confirmations on the latest iPad Pro’s availability date in Malaysia just yet. With the Malaysian website already teasing the device though, we expect the device to arrive sometime in November of 2022. The 11-inch variant starts at US$ 799 (MYR 3,899*) while the 12.9-inch variant starts at US$ 1,099 (MYR 5,399*). More information on the Apple iPad Pro can be found from Apple’s website.

*Official local (Malaysia) pricing as per Apple.com

Camera, iOS, Mobile, News

Adobe Teases the Camera Raw on the Apple iPad’s Photoshop App

October 13, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The Apple iPad has really come into its own in the world of content creation today. It has become one of the go to or must have tools in a remote production set up to quickly get at least photos edited and uploaded quickly. Adobe’s Photoshop app on the iPad is mostly the weapon of choice in that matter. Adobe’s Photoshop for iPad is one of the most powerful photo editing tools you can find on a mobile device, just short of laptops.

It has just become even more powerful though with the added ability to edit RAW files. This not only includes Apple’s ProRAW file format. You can even edit photos in DNG formats from other proper DSLR type cameras if need be.

While you might not see value in taking photos in RAW and editing them on your mobile device, there are good reasons why you want your photos taken and post edited in RAW. For one, RAW photos usually will take full advantage of your camera’s full dynamic capabilities. If you are using your smartphone to take RAW photos, you can even take advantage of its full sensor size. In terms of post editing, there are a lot more manipulation you can do with RAW photos, down to the granular details.

Now you have that ability to edit RAW photos on-the-go with the Apple iPad thanks to the Camera Raw ability on the Adobe Photoshop software. Camera Raw is a known plugin for Adobe’s suite to add RAW decoding capabilities. It gives even Adobe’s Lightroom the ability to open and edit RAW photos.

That also means you have a greater control over photos on your iPad. You can now turn your iPad into a professional photo editing station, and you do not even need a PC to work on your photos now. There is small caveat here though.

How to Transfer Camera Raw Images to Photoshop on the iPad | Adobe Photoshop

The new function is not actually available for current Apple iPad users. Adobe says that the function will be ‘coming soon’, whatever that means. They managed to showcase and tease the power of the Adobe Photoshop on an iPad with Camera Raw capabilities too on YouTube. This feature is also announced ahead of Adobe’s Max 2021 conference, so we may be able to expect the function to come to Apple iPad devices, especially the iPad Pro with m1 chips after the fact. For now, we can only wait.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

[WWDC 2021] Apple Launches iPadOS 15 – Not Just an Enlarged iPhone Anymore

June 10, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s iPadOS has always been very closely related to the iOS. After all, when iPad first launched it was running the regular iOS that was enlarged and optimised for larger displays at 9.7-inch. Over the years though, the iPad had its own development team, and the platform grew very quickly into something rather special on its own. In 2021 then we have the iPadOS 15 for the modern Apple iPad.

The iPadOS 15 really shows the maturity of the iPad tablet platform. It still shares some features with the iOS, especially iOS 15 that was also launched in the same WWDC 2021 conference. It shares the privacy and security features, for example. It shares the same Siri and on-device intelligence as well with iOS 15. But iPadOS 15 is a lot more than that too.

The Widget Life

Source: Apple
Source: Apple

For one, widgets has been improved on iPadOS 15. While widgets has been a thing on Apple’s mobile devices, it really comes to its own on iPadOS 15. You can now move and place your widgets anywhere on your home screens to really place the things that matter to you most on your front page.

App Library

When you place widgets though, there might be less room for app icons to be on your home screen. That means you end up with more home screens than you need. That has always been an issue with Apple’s interface. With iPadOS 15 though there is now an App Library. You can now delete apps from your home pages and store these apps for later use in the App Library, kind of like the App Drawer from Android. Actually, it works exactly like that.

Better Multitasking, More Productivty

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Multitasking on the iPadOS is also improved in iPadOS 15. It is plenty more intuitive with a dedicated multitasking button that allows you to launch apps or put apps in split screen mode or in Picture-in-Picture mode. Plus, the multitasking bar allows you to monitor and access all the apps you currently have open. You can close apps from the same page too.

Taking notes on the iPad has always been the natural ground of iPad, especially when Apple introduced their Apple Pencil. Notes on iPadOS 15 is a lot more intuitive than before though with the addition of Mentions. While Mentions is not something you use when you do not share Notes with others, it helps a lot when the Notes is meant to be shared with other people or your working team. You can create the notes while tagging another person to either assign the work to the person, or to point out the person in-charge of the notes. To make things easier to find, you can add tags too. Just a simple hashtagging of keywords basically to make the notes easier to navigate and to surface important notes.

With Apple Pencil too, iPadOS 15 becomes an essential work tool especially when you are on the move. With the Pencil, you simply swipe up from a corner to bring up quick notes to jot down things like phone numbers, or any other important information quickly and seamlessly. When you browse through the web on Safari, and you find something that would catch your interest, you simply swipe up to bring up quick notes and the option to copy down the website URL will appear. You can even copy sentences or segments of the website with links on notes.

Language Barrier? Not Anymore

Apple iPadPro iPadOS15 photos LiveText 060721 — Source: Apple

The Translate app also comes to its own in iPadOS 15. You can now have a natural flowing conversation with other people even if you are speaking different languages now with iPadOS 15. Your iPad automatically translates conversations for you in real-time. Translate also now works with every other thing within the iPadOS ecosystem. It does not stop there though; your iPad is now also your language coach to practice handwritings.

Swift Playgrounds

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

To really fulfil the potential that the iPad platform has to offer now though is something Apple calls the Swift Playgrounds. The Swift Playgrounds is Apple’s coding platform the Apple’s own coding language. With the iPad’s Swift Playgrounds, you can either learn to code, or develop a new app from the ground up with the built-in SDK. You can even simulate apps for different platforms with Swift Playgrounds, which also adds a layer of productivity and function for the iPad. If you have Apple’s iPad Pro with M1 chip, this is one of the most sensible additions to the iPadOS.

Availability

Apple’s iPadOS 15 is now available as preview on iPads equipped with Apple A12 Bionic chips or later. The full OS update will be available later in Fall 2021. For more information on Apple’s iPadOS 15, you can visit Apple’s Website.

Podcast

Tech & Tonic S02E09 – The Apple iPad Pro and the Problem with Android Tablets

Video April 27, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

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Show Notes:

Apple’s iPad Pro launched last week and to everyone’s surprise, comes with Apple’s highly acclaimed M1 chip. The Apple M1 processor is the same M1 processor you can find on the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. This also makes Apple’s iPad Pro one of the most powerful tablets in the world sporting iPadOS. The true potential of a computing class processor in a mobile device is still yet unknown. We are suspecting that Apple will reveal the benefits and unlock the iPad Pro’s ultimate potential in the times to come.

This brings us to the issue that is the current state of Android tablets though. There were only two tablets that could technically compete alongside the iPad Pro in its previous form. The two tablets are from Samsung, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+, and HUAWEI in the form of the HUAWEI MatePad Pro. With the new generation iPad Pro with M1 chip though, those two tablets now look like regular tablets that compete with the regular iPad. So what is the problem with Android tablets? We discuss this on the new episode of Tech & Tonic.

iOS, Mobile, News

The Apple iPad Pro with Apple M1 chip – The Most Powerful Ever

April 21, 2021 Darwin Sucipto 1 Comment

When Apple introduced the wonder that is the Apple M1 chip to the world, we had a question. We wondered what would Apple’s iPadOS would look like and feels like with the Apple M1 chip behind it. We could only hope for Apple to inevitably launch their new iPad Pro line-up with the Apple M1 processor; it only makes sense.

We wonder no more when Apple got through its Spring Loaded event this morning (Malaysia time). They announced the highly anticipated updated Apple iPad Pro with the Apple M1 processing chip. Traditionally, the Apple iPad Pro has always come with Apple’s mobile platform. The 2020 variant, for example packs Apples A12Z bionic System on a Chip (SoC). In which case, we always thought of the iPad Pro to be a larger version of the iPad made for light workloads in workplaces.

The Apple M1 chip changes everything we know and thought of the Apple iPad Pro though. The Apple iPad Pro, with the power of a powerful Apple M1 chip that is also found in the Mac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and even the new iMac should be a completely new beast altogether. It also makes the most powerful iPad Pro ever leaps and bounds better than the older iPad Pro it replaces. The 2021 iPad Pro now makes more sense than ever.

Do not get us wrong, the iPad Pro still looks like the regular blown-up Apple iPad. You choose between an 11-inch display and a 12.9-inch display. Put the new iPad Pro against the new iPad and the iPad Pro still dwarfs the iPad.

Thanks to Apple’s M1 chip though, the iPad Pro can be more computer than tablet in a lot of areas. For one, you get up to 2TB in high-speed storage instead of a measly 1TB (up to). It is also now a USB Type-C device with Thunderbolt support, finally. That also means you can work off multiple displays with the iPad Pro if you have a Thunderbolt ready display or expansion dock. But most of all, along with 16GB of RAM, the iPad Pro now delivers desktop level performance in a package no larger than a small stack of A4 paper.

The M1 chip has proven itself to be a highly capable chip in the Mac platform and it should prove to be a little bit of an overkill for the likes of iPad OS. But that does not mean that you cannot harness the benefit of the M1 chip on a tablet form factor. The added power also means that you can now process videos quicker and at higher resolutions on top of the iPad Pro itself. The M1 chip also allows the iPad Pro to go through photos and edit them quickly. Very important when you are constantly on-the-go.

On top of all of that, the Apple iPad Pro with 12.9-inch display features a new Liquid Retina XDR display that features a new age mini-LED design with over 10,000 LEDs backlighting the display to allow brightness at up to 1,600 in peak brightness and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. That also means you can rely on this single display when you really need to get your work going on the go. Its True Tone and P3 colour gamut coverage also means that you can even use this display to colour correct all your video footages or even photos. The combination of those two technologies with ProMotion also means you can really enjoy HDR and Dolby Vision contents on the large display.

The Apple iPad Pro also comes packing a 12-Megapixel mean rear camera and a 10-Megapixel ultra-wide camera supported by a LiDAR scanner. While that is nothing really new on an iPad Pro, they are still great cameras for quick video productions even. But the iPad Pro also now supports Centre Stage via its 12-Megapixel front-facing ultra-wide angle camera that automatically keeps you centered in the frame and automatically shifts and zooms as other people joins the call or when you move around. Of course, the 12-Megapixel sensor allows you to have a Full HD video call experience via FaceTime along with Face ID features.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The Apple iPad Pro will be available for orders 30^th April 2021 onward and ship May 2021 onward in selected markets. You can choose between two colour variants and two screen sizes, Space Grey or Silver, and 11-inch (Liquid Retina) or 12.9-inch (Liquid Retina XDR). Storage options start from 128GB all the way to 2TB. The WiFi only variant of the iPad Pro (11-inch) starts at US$ 749(MYR 3,499*) while the cellular (5G capable) variant starts at US$ 999 (MYR4,149*). The 12.9-inch starts at US$ 1,099 (MYR 4,799*) for the WiFi only variant and the cellular (5G capable) variant starts at US$ 1,299 (MYR 5,499*).

*Official Malaysia pricing as per Apple Malaysia

Computers, Mobile, News

Apple’s New iPad Pro Has LiDAR & TrackPad Support

March 19, 2020 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

The iPad Pro turned heads when it was first launched back in June 2017. Many were asking where this large tablet would sit in the continuum of devices that is available to the consumer. However, the iPad Pro became one of the most revered devices for creatives and those looking to be productive on the go.

The 2020 iPad Pro ups the ante with Apple’s new A12Z Bionic chip. The A12Z succeeds the A12X SoC (System on a Chip) which Apple introduced with the previous generation iPad Pro. The new processor comes with 8-cores; 4 of which are optimized for performance while another 4 are optimized for efficiency. Apple touts that this processor makes the new iPad Pro “faster and more powerful than most Windows PC laptops”.

The new iPad Pro is, once again, made for creatives looking to work on the go. Apple’s A12Z Bionic chip makes it possible to edit 4K video and design 3D models on the iPad. According to Apple, the chip also comes with enhanced thermal architecture and fine-tuned performance which allows it to handle larger workloads than previous iPads. The performance of the iPad Pro 2020 is enhanced further with the Neural Engine of the A12Z which allows next generation apps to run.

The display on the iPad Pro 2020 is a near bezelless Liquid Retina display. Both the 11-inch and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will come with Apple’s most advanced display yet. The new display has support for the DCI-P3 gamut which makes colour reproduction more accurate than ever. This is enhanced with ProMotion technology which automatically adjusts the refresh rate up to 120Hz for smooth scrolling and better responsiveness.

The camera module on the new iPad Pro comes with a dual sensor setup. It is equipped with 12-megapixel, wide angle sensor with an aperture of f/1.8 and a 10- megapixel, ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and 125° field of view. The camera setup supports up to 5x Zoom, Smart HDR, Auto image stabilization and 4K video recording at up to 60 fps.

The biggest change on the new iPad is the inclusion of a LiDAR Scanner module. This module allows the iPad to measure the distance between it and surrounding objects for up to 5 meters. This will work both indoors and outdoors. The LiDAR sensor works in tandem with the cameras and motion sensor to enable a whole new level of AR experiences. Apple has announced that apps developed on its ARKit technology will automatically be able to make use of the sensors when the ARKit updates.

Apple also brings the iPad Pro one step closer as the rival to the Surface Pro from Microsoft with the addition of trackpad support. The support comes with an updated iPadOS and likely will make its way to older iPads. However, the new iPad Pro is the only iPad with a Magic Keyboard. The new Magic Keyboard has a unique floating design which allows the iPad to shine. It also comes with USB-C pass-through for charging. Like the Magic keyboard on the recently announced MacBook Air, the magic Keyboard comes with 1mm travel for a better overall typing experience.

Pricing & Availability

The new iPad Pro will be available in Space Gray and Silver starting today on Apple’s website. It will be available in stores starting next week in 30 countries including the United States.

The 11-inch iPad Pro will be retailing for USD$799 for the WiFi only model and USD$949 for the WiFi and cellular version. These prices are for the 128GB version of the iPad, there are options for 256GB (USD$899 WiFi; USD$1,049 WiFi + Cellular), 512GB (USD$1099 WiFi; USD$1,249 WiFi + Cellular ) and 1TB (USD$1,299 WiFi; USD$1,449 WiFi + Cellular ) of storage.

The 12.9-inch version starts at USD$999 for the WiFi only model and USD$1,149 for the WiFi and cellular model. As with its smaller sibling, the prices mentioned are for its 128GB version. There are also 256GB (USD$999 WiFi; USD$1,249 WiFi + Cellular), 512GB (USD$1,299 WiFi; USD$1,449 WiFi + Cellular) and 1TB (USD$1,499 WiFi; USD$1,649 WiFi + Cellular) versions.

In Malaysia, these Models are priced as follows:

iPad Pro (11-inch) (MYR)
	128GB	256GB	512GB	1TB
WiFi	3,499	3,949	4,849	5,749
WiFi + Cellular	4,149	4,599	5,499	6,399

iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (MYR)
	128GB	256GB	512GB	1TB
WiFi	4,399	4,849	5,749	6,649
WiFi + Cellular	5,049	5,499	6,399	7,299

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