Apple Unveils Completely Redesigned 10th Generation iPad, Announces iPad Pro M2

Today, Apple unexpectedly announced several new products with little fanfare other than a store page update and a press release, and three of them are iPads: two new iPad Pro models and an updated entry-level iPad.

Since the iPad Pro mostly gets tech specs, the big story today is the redesigned base iPad. Apple’s entry-level iPad kept the same basic home button design for years, but that’s changed today.

The updated iPad features a 10.9-inch LCD display with a resolution of 2360 by 1640 pixels and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. Like the iPad Air and iPad Pro, it lacks a home button as the screen is slightly flush with the edges of the device on all sides. Touch ID is now in the top button on the edge of the tablet.

On the front of the device is a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 122-degree field of view, and for the first time it is located on the edge that will be the top of the device when held in landscape orientation. Previously, the front-facing cameras on the iPad were instead oriented upwards in portrait orientation.

And yes, as many predicted and hoped, it has a USB-C port instead of Apple’s proprietary Lightning port. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 and 5G connectivity and has stereo speakers and two microphones.

Apple is also releasing a newly redesigned Magic Keyboard Folio for this iPad, but unfortunately it only supports the first generation Apple Pencil, unlike its more expensive cousins.

The new iPad is available to order today and will go on sale October 26th. Pricing starts at $449 for Wi-Fi only and $599 for cellular models. It is available in two memory configurations – 64GB and 256GB – and in four colors: blue, pink, yellow and silver. The 9th generation iPad is still available starting at $329.

iPad Pro

Apple has also updated the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros. None of them have undergone a major redesign, so they have the same shape, dimensions, cameras and screens as before.

But there are some differences worth noting. This upgrade includes an M2 chip with an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and a 16-core NPU. This is the same chip previously used in the 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro and iPad Air. It’s a nice upgrade over the previous generation M1, but it’s not a dramatic leap.

Like its predecessor, the iPad Pro supports the second-generation iPad Pro, but Apple says these updated models have a new “hover” experience unique to these updated models: The Apple Pencil “now detects up to 12mm above the display, allowing users to see a preview of their mark before they make it.”

Apple has implemented some custom behavior for hover mode, such as text boxes in Scribble that automatically expand when you bring your pencil close to the screen. The Developer API will make this behavior possible in third party applications as well.

As expected, the iPad Pro still uses USB-C as its only port. It also supports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth and 5G for wireless connectivity.

The 11-inch model starts at $799 for Wi-Fi and $999 for Wi-Fi + Cellular, while the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099 to $1,299. They are both available in gray and silver and can come in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage.

They support the same peripherals as their predecessors, and Apple hasn’t introduced any new ones for these devices as it did for the base iPad.

Both are available for pre-order today and will ship or hit stores on October 26th. iPadOS 16 will be released two days earlier on October 24th.

Listed image from Apple