What to Expect, Release Date, Price, Features

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Apple announced this week that it will host a streamed online event on May 7, during which the company is expected to unveil new iPads and iPad accessories. The big giveaway is the animation included in the event announcement on Apple’s website, which shows a hand waving an Apple Pencil.

There are no official details on what Apple will announce or release on May 7. However, a significant update to the iPad Pro and iPad Air series, an improved Apple Pencil and an updated Magic Keyboard are expected, according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, one of the most reliable sources when it comes to new Apple products.

The last time new iPads were released was in 2022, when some models were refreshed, including a standard 10th generation iPad and iPad Air and Pro models. The iPad Mini has not been updated since 2021. In 2023, the only iPad-related devices released by Apple included a USB-C Apple Pencil.

New iPad Pros with OLED screens

The next expected iPad Pros could be a pretty significant update. According to Gurman, the most exciting and plausible update to the new iPads are sharper OLED screens for the Pro models – the same type of screen found on iPhones since 2017.

If accurate, OLED displays have the potential to bring dramatic improvements to watching videos and anything else you do on an iPad that uses the screen. At the same time, OLED displays could further increase the minimum price for iPad Pro models, which are already the most expensive devices among the best iPads, starting at $799.

Beyond a brand new screen, the new iPad Pros would have a significantly thinner design, according to 9to5Mac.

iPad Pros are widely expected to run on Apple’s M3 processor, which was introduced with the latest MacBook Air and base MacBook Pro models.

A new, larger iPad Air

Alongside a refreshed iPad Air with a typical screen size of around 11 inches, Apple is expected to debut for the first time a new iPad Air model with a 12.9-inch screen, according to Gurman, matching the screen size of the largest iPad Pro model. .

Upcoming iPad Air models are widely expected to switch from Apple’s M1 processor to Apple’s M2 processor, which was introduced in 2022 for various Mac laptops, like the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro This would be a welcome upgrade for professionals using the iPad Air for creative visual work, but it’s unlikely to make much difference for basic iPad use, like streaming video, scrolling. social media, web browsing, email, or even gaming.

An Apple Pencil you can squeeze

An expected new Apple Pencil could record your finger presses to do different things, according to 9to5Mac, which referenced evidence of a new tap gesture in the iPadOS 17.5 beta. The new tap gesture would likely enable customizable features.

An improved Magic Keyboard

A new Magic Keyboard supposedly designed for the new iPad Pros would have an aluminum top to address the poor durability of the current Magic Keyboard, according to Gurman. A larger trackpad would also be expected. The whole package could make the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard combination look similar to a Mac laptop.