Apple now has released a total of 30 different iPads, and it’s getting harder to keep them straight. So this user tip is aimed at maintaining a list divided by sub line, that includes screen size, CPU, release year, discontinuation date and iOS / iPad OS versions they can run now.
Official Name | Generation | Screen Size | CPU | Release Date | Latest iOS/iPadOS version | Status
“Regular” iPad (not mini, air or pro)
iPad with Retina display | Fourth | 9.7″ | A6X | 2012 | 10.3.3/10.3.4(Cellular) | Discontinued October 2014 iPad Mini | First | 7.9″ | A5 | 2012 | 9.3.5/9.3.6(CDMA) | Discontinued June 2015
iPad Mini 4 | Fourth | 7.9″ | A8 | 2015 | 15.7| Discontinued March 2019 iPad Air | Fourth | 10.9″ | A14 | 2020| 15.7 | Discontinued March 2022
*Latest updates: iPadOS 15.7 and iOS 12.5.6 for supported models.
Wikipedia
Speculation about the development, operating system, and release of the original iPad began in 2002 prior to its introduction on January 20, 2010. The iPhone’s iOS operating system (OS) was initially used for the iPad but in September 2019, its OS was switched to a fork of iOS called iPadOS that has better support for the device’s hardware and its user interface is customized for the tablets’ larger screens.
In 1993, Apple worked on the Newton MessagePad, a tablet-like personal digital assistant (PDA).
John Sculley, Apple’s chief executive officer, led the development.
The MessagePad was poorly received for its indecipherable handwriting recognition feature and was discontinued at the direction of Steve Jobs, who returned to Apple in 1998 after an internal power struggle. Apple also prototyped a PowerBook Duo–based tablet computer but decided not to release it to avoid hurting MessagePad sales.
In May 2004, Apple filed a design trademark patent in Europe for a handheld computer, hypothetically referencing the iPad, beginning a new round of speculation that led to a 2003 report of Apple-affiliated manufacturer Quanta leaking Apple’s orders for wireless displays. In August 2008, Apple filed a 50-page patent application that includes an illustration of hands touching and gesturing on a tablet computer. [12][13] In 1991, Apple’s chief design officer Jonathan Ive devised an industrial design of a stylus-based tablet, the Macintosh Folio, which led to the development of a larger tablet prototype project codenamed K48 that Apple began in 2004. Ive sought to develop the tablet first but came to an agreement with Jobs the iPhone was more important and should be prioritized. It is 33% thinner and 15% lighter than its predecessor, and uses a dual-core Apple A5 chip consisting of a twice-as-fast CPU and a nine-times-faster GPU. It has an Apple A6X chip, improved LTE and WiFi connectivity, and adds support for fingerprint recognition biometric authentication system Touch ID.
It uses an Apple A9 chip with an accompanying M9 motion coprocessor, and its cameras can capture low-light and HD-quality shots. Despite using the same Apple A9 and M9 processors as the 2015 iPhone 6S, it lacks support of the always-on “Hey Siri” voice recognition, a feature advertised as being made possible by low-power processing in those chips.
It also had faster FaceTime HD, LTE connectivity, Touch ID, and multitask functionalities. The Apple A12 also included an embedded Neural Engine, and is capable of processing 5 trillion operations per second.
It uses an Apple A13 Bionic chip, which has a 20% faster CPU and GPU and an embedded, artificial intelligence–immersed Neural Engine. Its Retina Display features their True Tone technology, which automatically adjusts the screen color temperature according to the ambient lighting. The first generation of the flagship, smaller iPad Mini was announced on October 23, 2012, and released on November 2. It uses an Apple A7 chip with an embedded M7 motion coprocessor, and its 7.9-inch Retina screen display has a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels. It features a Truetone-based Retina screen display with 25% wider Color and higher pixel density. Its 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera featured Apple’s “Center Stage Mode” technology, while its 12-megapixel back camera had larger apertures, True Tone flash, and Smart HDR automatic shadow and highlight recovery. It includes a USB-C port, capable of transferring up to 5 gigabits per second of data; improved landscape stereo speakers; and a brighter Liquid Retina Display. It debuted the 80211n-based MINO technology used in its Wi-Fi connectivity, and it had an extended range of LTE telecommunication.
Its front 7-megapixel Facetime Camera is of 1080p and 60 fps, while its 12-megapixel webcam featured 8 aperture, 4k, 60fps, and video stabilization. The first generation of the high-end and professional flagship iPad Pro was announced on September 9, 2015, and released on November 11, (12.9-inch version) and March 31 (9.7-inch).It used an Apple A9X chip, with a 2x higher memory bandwidth and a 1.8x faster CPU than its predecessor. Its ultra-low reflective Retina Display featured a 50% optimized True Tone technology (which automatically adjust the screen accordingly to its ambient color and brightness rates), Wide Color Integration, and up to 500 nit brightness rates.
It used a 7 nm Apple A12X Bionic chip, which comprised 11 billion transistors, an 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU and an embedded Neural Engine capable of processing 5 trillion operations per second.
These cameras allow it to capture medias with wider visibility, and its audio system automatically detects and attracts any orientation nearby. It debuted Apple’s “Center Stage mode” technology, which pinpoints the positions of the users and automatically tracks the camera view accordingly to perspectivally centralize them. Unlike the iPhone, the cellular variant did not support voice calls and text messages, but only data connectivity; it also had an additional micro-SIM circuit slot attached on the side. The second generation of iPad introduced a third tier of CDMA support from Verizon, which is available separately from the AT&T-based version.
[69] In addition to a camera connection kit which consists of two adapters for the iPad’s dock connector, one of USB Type A and one of SD card reader; these adapters can transfer photographs and videos and connect USB audio card and MIDI keyboard. Since its introduction in 2010, the iPad runs on the iPhone’s iOS mobile operating system, but it was later replaced with an optimized derivation, iPadOS, in September 2019. iOS’ Control Center can be “pulled” down from the top right of the notch, giving access to various toggles to manage the device more quickly without having to open the Settings. Double-clicking the Home Button or swiping up from the bottom of the screen and pausing will display all currently active spaces.
The size of the two apps in Split View can be adjusted by dragging a pill-shaped icon in the center of the vertical divider and dragging the divider all the way to one side of the screen closes the respective app. The iPad does not employ digital rights management (DRM), but the OS prevents users from copying or transferring certain content outside of Apple’s platform without authorization, such as TV shows, movies, and apps. Critics argue Apple’s centralized app approval process and control of the platform itself could stifle software innovation. Of particular concern to digital rights advocates is Apple’s ability to remotely disable or delete apps on any iPad at any time.
Digital rights advocates, including the Free Software Foundation,[95] Electronic Frontier Foundation,[94] and computer engineer and activist Brewster Kahle,[96] have criticized the iPad for its digital rights restrictions. In April 2010, Paul Sweeting, an analyst with GigaOM, was quoted by NPR as saying, “With the iPad, you have the anti-Internet in your hands.
Laura Sydell, the article’s author, concludes, “As more consumers have fears about security on the Internet, viruses, and malware, they may be happy to opt for Apple’s gated community. Apple’s App Store, which provides iPhone and iPad applications, imposes censorship of content, which has become an issue for book publishers and magazines seeking to use the platform. The Guardian newspaper described the role of Apple as analogous to that of British magazine distributor WH Smith, which for many years imposed content restrictions.
Due to the exclusion of pornography from the App Store, YouPorn and others changed their video format from Flash to H.264 and HTML5 specifically for the iPad. [107] In an e-mail exchange[108] with Ryan Tate from Valleywag, Steve Jobs claimed that the iPad offers “freedom from porn”, leading to many upset replies including Adbustings in Berlin by artist Johannes P. Osterhoff[109] and in San Francisco during WWDC10. The media noted the positive response from fans of the device, with thousands of people queued on the first day of sale in a number of these countries.
Analysts have noted that while Apple’s previous iPod and iPhone launches took some time till taking off, the iPad was commercially popular from the beginning and faced little market competition during its first year. Mossberg also called the price “modest” for a device of its capabilities, and praised the ten-hour battery life. [114] Others, including PC Advisor and the Sydney Morning Herald, wrote that the iPad would also compete with proliferating netbooks, most of which use Microsoft Windows. CNET also criticized the iPad for its apparent lack of wireless sync which other portable devices such as Microsoft’s Zune have had for a number of years.
Walt Mossberg then, of The Wall Street Journal called it a “pretty close” laptop killer. In the former section, he notes that a laptop offers more features for a cheaper price than the iPad.
[122] PC Magazine’s Tim Gideon wrote, “you have yourself a winner” that “will undoubtedly be a driving force in shaping the emerging tablet landscape. [131] The Independent criticized the iPad for not being as readable in bright light as paper but praised it for being able to store large quantities of books.
[127] After its UK release, The Daily Telegraph said the iPad’s lack of Adobe Flash support was “annoying. The original iPad was selected by Time magazine as one of the 50 Best Inventions of the Year 2010,[133] while Popular Science chose it as the top gadget[134] behind the overall “Best of What’s New 2010” winner Groasis Waterboxx. Examples of uses in the workplace include attorneys responding to clients, medical professionals accessing health records during patient exams, and managers approving employee requests. Since March 2011, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the iPad for in-cockpit use to cut down on the paper consumption in several airlines.
[153] The iPad has also been called a revolutionary tool to help children with autism learn how to communicate and socialize more easily. For example, Novation, a healthcare contracting services company, developed VHA PriceLynx (based on the mobile application platform of business intelligence software vendor MicroStrategy), a business intelligence app to help health care organizations manage its purchasing procedures more efficiently and save money for hospitals. Guillermo Ramas of Novation states, “Doctors won’t walk around a hospital with a laptop.
[157] A study in 2014 found that the iPad 2 could cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) in implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
In the United States, fans attending Super Bowl XLV, the first Super Bowl since the iPad was released, could use an official National Football League (NFL) app to navigate Cowboys Stadium. These include sound samplers, guitar and voice effects processors, sequencers for synthesized sounds and sampled loops, virtual synthesizers and drum machines, theremin-style and other touch responsive instruments, drum pads and many more. Gorillaz’s 2010 album, The Fall, was created almost exclusively using the iPad by Damon Albarn while on tour with the band.
The M2 iPad Pro is likely arriving very soon–here’s what to expect
Apple last updated the iPad Pro line in April 2021, bringing the M1 processor to the platform for the first time and Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED technology to the 12.9-inch model. Development of the next model is well underway, but when will the new iPad Pro launch, and what design changes, new features and tech specs can we expect? Apple always likes to bestow the best of its processor line-up into its pro tablets, which is one of the reasons they are so ridiculously powerful. Various news outlets, including Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, are reporting that the new iPad Pros will feature glass backs rather than the current aluminium ones. There have been other reports though that suggest the glass backs have proved problematic, as they make the iPads more prone to breakages and may also add to the weight. This rumor is much more tentative, but we could see Apple allowing the back of the new iPad Pros to act as a wireless charging pad for devices like the iPhone 14 or AirPods Pro.
Apple has recently introduced some new shades to the Mac line up that could be shared with the iPad Pro. While this update will likely be a smaller refresh, Apple has bigger things planned for future iPad Pro models.
There were early rumors that Apple would equip the new 11-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display like its larger sibling. Another rumour posted by 9to5Mac states that Apple has been experimenting with a new design for the iPad Pro that would see the infamous notch come to the platform for the first time. We’ve seen other reports that say Apple is thinking of positioning the cameras on the longer side of the chassis, essentially making them landscape orientated devices. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14, it’s possible that Apple introduces something similar on the iPad Pro.
Apple is said to have been working on under screen Touch ID for some time but hasn’t introduced the tech in any device. Display analyst Ross Young shared in the MacRumors Show in July 2022 that he expects under-display Face ID to first arrive on the iPad. If Apple switches from aluminium to glass on the back it could actually increase the weight of the iPad Pro. According to ET News, Apple is looking into adopting “dry etching,” which is a process that can lead to thinner and lighter displays.
Sources in the supply chain have indicated that an Apple supplier (BOE) is working on gigantic 15-inch OLED panels that could plausibly end up in an iPad at some point in the future. What’s more, the respected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed in June 2021 that Apple itself has been testing 14-inch-16-inch iPads, and that devices in such a form factor will “continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop”.
More recently, in July 2022, DSSC analyst Ross Young has claimed that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro is in development at Apple that could launch in early as 2023. When the report was published in January 2022 BOE was said to still at an early stage of development, and the project is unlikely to yield actual commercial products for another year or two – and may never do so at all, sources say, “due to the difficulty of the technology”.
But considering how expensive the 12.9-inch model already is, and how much more commercially successful the company’s cheaper and small alternatives are, it seems like a long shot for a 14- or 15-inch iPad Pro to appear in the near future.
Apple’s 2022 Event Plans: New Products and Software Coming in 2022
In this guide, we’re keeping track of all of the Apple events that are on the horizon and what we’re expecting to see at each one, so make sure to check back in regularly. Apple in March 2022 held a “Peek Performance” event that saw the introduction of the first products of the year. Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday, June 6, and introduced new software and hardware products. Apple introduced iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13 Ventura, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16, the next-generation versions of its software, all of which are available to developers for testing and will be released in the fall.
Apple often holds a second fall event in October that’s focused on Macs and iPads, but it is not clear if it’s going to happen this year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has suggested that we might see announcements via press release as there aren’t enough major products to justify an event. Apple is working on a new version of the low-cost iPad, which is expected to include a larger 10.5-inch display, an A14 chip, 5G, and a USB-C port. Apple is working on an updated version of the Mac Pro that could feature an Apple silicon chip with up to 40 compute cores and 128 graphics cores, which would be double the performance of the M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio.
Input will be via touch panels, voice activation, and hand gestures, and it’s said to have a high price point at around $3,000. The AR/VR headset could come at the end of 2022, but Apple is facing development issues so it could be pushed to 2023.
Input will be via touch panels, voice activation, and hand gestures, and it’s said to have a high price point at around $3,000. – Apple is allegedly working on a foldable iPhone that might be between 7.5 and 8 inches, with a launch date slated for 2023 at the earliest.
New iPad (2022): Release Date, Pricing & Feature Rumours
If rumours are true, we could be seeing one of the most exciting and radical iPad updates in the past 10 years, with a potential redesign and several other key upgrades thought to be on the way. We’ll update this article as news breaks, so be sure to bookmark the page and check back frequently for the latest details.
Indeed, an August 2022 Bloomberg report citing sources with knowledge of the matter claims that iPadOS 16 has been delayed until October 2022 to match the release of an upcoming iPad. Discussing the rumoured event, Gurman suggests that Apple could instead announce the updated products via press release.
Considering Apple has plenty of expensive tablets, it makes sense for the iPad to stay at an affordable price point. But after 11 years of waiting, rumours suggest we could finally see a redesign to match that of the rest of Apple’s tablet range.
The first whispers of a potential redesign come from Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), which in a 2022 quarterly report discusses future Apple products and the company’s entry-level tablet in particular. According to the report, Apple is gearing up to redesign the iPad with the angular edges and full-screen display of its more premium siblings.
Analyst (and author of the report) Ross Young went a step further on Twitter, suggesting that the 10.2in display will be different this year – though he doesn’t allude to whether it’ll be bigger or smaller. The source does note that even if it’s 10.9in, more modern display specs – like wide colour gamut and DCI-P3 support – will stay exclusive to the Air range. CAD renders of the alleged 2022 iPad appeared online in early August, seemingly confirming the refreshed design, complete with angular edges, a rear-facing camera bump and a larger display, though it also comes with a particular surprise. The 9to5Mac report also suggests this could be the year we see the jump to 5G, with the entry-level iPad now one of few Apple devices – and the only tablet – still on 4G LTE connectivity.
An upgraded design would be nice visually, but more importantly, it’ll allow the entry-level iPad to offer support for newer, better accessories like the second-gen Apple Pencil that magnetically attaches to the side of supported iPads, and if there’s a Smart Connection on the rear, it might even be able to use the Magic Keyboard. That’s a stark difference to just about every other iPad in Apple’s collection, with speakers on top and bottom for a more expansive audio experience that recalibrates depending on the orientation of the tablet.
iPad Air (5th generation)
It succeeded the 4th generation iPad Air and is available in five colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, Purple, and Blue. The chip has an 8-core CPU, an 8-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine which can process more than 11 trillion operations per second. The display is laminated and has an anti-reflective coating, as well as wide color, True Tone and 500 nits of brightness. It has Touch ID integrated into the Sleep/Wake button on the top right edge of the device, and stereo speakers with dual-channel sound in landscape mode.
The fifth-generation iPad Air includes a USB-C port that is used for charging as well as connecting external devices and accessories.
New iPad (2022): Release Date, Pricing & Feature Rumours
If rumours are true, we could be seeing one of the most exciting and radical iPad updates in the past 10 years, with a potential redesign and several other key upgrades thought to be on the way. We’ll update this article as news breaks, so be sure to bookmark the page and check back frequently for the latest details.
Indeed, an August 2022 Bloomberg report citing sources with knowledge of the matter claims that iPadOS 16 has been delayed until October 2022 to match the release of an upcoming iPad. Discussing the rumoured event, Gurman suggests that Apple could instead announce the updated products via press release.
Considering Apple has plenty of expensive tablets, it makes sense for the iPad to stay at an affordable price point. But after 11 years of waiting, rumours suggest we could finally see a redesign to match that of the rest of Apple’s tablet range.
The first whispers of a potential redesign come from Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), which in a 2022 quarterly report discusses future Apple products and the company’s entry-level tablet in particular. According to the report, Apple is gearing up to redesign the iPad with the angular edges and full-screen display of its more premium siblings.
Analyst (and author of the report) Ross Young went a step further on Twitter, suggesting that the 10.2in display will be different this year – though he doesn’t allude to whether it’ll be bigger or smaller. The source does note that even if it’s 10.9in, more modern display specs – like wide colour gamut and DCI-P3 support – will stay exclusive to the Air range.
CAD renders of the alleged 2022 iPad appeared online in early August, seemingly confirming the refreshed design, complete with angular edges, a rear-facing camera bump and a larger display, though it also comes with a particular surprise. The 9to5Mac report also suggests this could be the year we see the jump to 5G, with the entry-level iPad now one of few Apple devices – and the only tablet – still on 4G LTE connectivity.
An upgraded design would be nice visually, but more importantly, it’ll allow the entry-level iPad to offer support for newer, better accessories like the second-gen Apple Pencil that magnetically attaches to the side of supported iPads, and if there’s a Smart Connection on the rear, it might even be able to use the Magic Keyboard. That’s a stark difference to just about every other iPad in Apple’s collection, with speakers on top and bottom for a more expansive audio experience that recalibrates depending on the orientation of the tablet.
The M2 iPad Pro is likely arriving very soon–here’s what to expect
Apple last updated the iPad Pro line in April 2021, bringing the M1 processor to the platform for the first time and Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED technology to the 12.9-inch model. Development of the next model is well underway, but when will the new iPad Pro launch, and what design changes, new features and tech specs can we expect?
Apple always likes to bestow the best of its processor line-up into its pro tablets, which is one of the reasons they are so ridiculously powerful. Various news outlets, including Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, are reporting that the new iPad Pros will feature glass backs rather than the current aluminium ones.
There have been other reports though that suggest the glass backs have proved problematic, as they make the iPads more prone to breakages and may also add to the weight. This rumor is much more tentative, but we could see Apple allowing the back of the new iPad Pros to act as a wireless charging pad for devices like the iPhone 14 or AirPods Pro. Apple has recently introduced some new shades to the Mac line up that could be shared with the iPad Pro. While this update will likely be a smaller refresh, Apple has bigger things planned for future iPad Pro models.
There were early rumors that Apple would equip the new 11-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display like its larger sibling. Another rumour posted by 9to5Mac states that Apple has been experimenting with a new design for the iPad Pro that would see the infamous notch come to the platform for the first time. We’ve seen other reports that say Apple is thinking of positioning the cameras on the longer side of the chassis, essentially making them landscape orientated devices. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14, it’s possible that Apple introduces something similar on the iPad Pro.
Apple is said to have been working on under screen Touch ID for some time but hasn’t introduced the tech in any device. Display analyst Ross Young shared in the MacRumors Show in July 2022 that he expects under-display Face ID to first arrive on the iPad.
If Apple switches from aluminium to glass on the back it could actually increase the weight of the iPad Pro. According to ET News, Apple is looking into adopting “dry etching,” which is a process that can lead to thinner and lighter displays. Sources in the supply chain have indicated that an Apple supplier (BOE) is working on gigantic 15-inch OLED panels that could plausibly end up in an iPad at some point in the future. What’s more, the respected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed in June 2021 that Apple itself has been testing 14-inch-16-inch iPads, and that devices in such a form factor will “continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop”. More recently, in July 2022, DSSC analyst Ross Young has claimed that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro is in development at Apple that could launch in early as 2023. When the report was published in January 2022 BOE was said to still at an early stage of development, and the project is unlikely to yield actual commercial products for another year or two – and may never do so at all, sources say, “due to the difficulty of the technology”. But considering how expensive the 12.9-inch model already is, and how much more commercially successful the company’s cheaper and small alternatives are, it seems like a long shot for a 14- or 15-inch iPad Pro to appear in the near future.
2022 iPad 10.5-inch: Release date and guide to Apple’s 10th gen iPad
Apple’s most affordable iPad has seen some decent upgrades in recent years, but thoughts are turning towards the next iteration. If renders obtained by MySmartPrice are accurate, Apple is gearing up to launch a new version of the standard iPad.
The renders indicate that Apple’s low-end iPad will be getting a new design, including a larger screen, this year. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has reported that iPadOS 16 will be delayed until October to tie in with the launch of new iPads.
We saw rumors last year that rather than a complete overhaul, Apple was planning to move its entry-level device into the furnishings recently vacated by the iPad Air (3rd gen). Those renders from MySmartPrice do seem to indicate that a new design is coming though, with slimmer bezels and flatter edges – like the iPad Pro. Despite the rumored changes to the design it doesn’t seem that the iPad will lose its Home button with Touch ID. A pretty safe bet when it comes to upgrades is that Apple will move the 10.2-inch iPad up to a newer processor.
Since the arrival of the 10.2-inch iPad format, Apple has consistently upgraded the processor each year, so it would be a surprise if this didn’t happen with the 10th-gen model. It’s time for Apple to complete the transition and makes things less confusing for iPad buyers. And with a new law in the European Union requiring USB-C to be used in mobile devices, there’s a very good chance the next iPad will make the switch. While we wait for the new models, you can check out our roundup of the best iPad deals to get the best possible prices on Apple’s current tablet range.
New iPad 2022: everything we know so far
Bucking usual trends, a new iPad didn’t show up alongside the iPhone 14 at Apple’s big September launch event – each year’s new version of the entry-level tablet usually comes alongside the annual smartphone, but that wasn’t the case this year. Instead, we’re expecting a launch event in October to bring the gadget, as well as the new iPad Pro for the year. It’s worth paying attention to this event though, because it sounds like the upcoming entry-level iPad could present the biggest redesign for this range of low-cost tablets that we’ve seen in quite some time.
Well, below you’ll find everything we’ve heard about the new iPad (2022) so far, covering the possible release date, price, and some of the specs and features.
And make sure to check back regularly, as we’ll be updating this article whenever we hear any news or rumors about this tablet. Latest news A new leak suggests the next basic iPad might not land until 2023 (opens in new tab).
The first significant new iPad 2022 leak, pointed to the slate having a 10.2-inch screen (like the 2021 model) and much the same design as its predecessor. That was contradicted by another leak, though, which said that the entry-level slate would get a redesign to bring it in line with its Mini, Air and Pro siblings – as well as a screen size change.
Then again, an even more recent leak points to the home button remaining, but the sides getting flattened. This likely means the tablet will also upgrade from the original Apple Pencil to the second-gen version, as the mark 1 stylus requires a Lightning port. Beyond that, we’d guess there probably won’t be any significant changes to the front-facing camera, as that’s only just had a big upgrade for the latest model. This tech has been around so long that it doesn’t feel like it should need to be a premium feature anymore, so Apple, stop holding it back.
Supporting these accessories shouldn’t be hard, and we wouldn’t think they’d add much if anything to Apple’s costs, so there’s really no reason to block the iPad 2022 off from them. We know this is a cheap slate, so the company wants to keep the cost down as much as possible, but 64GB is a just barely acceptable amount of storage in 2021, let alone 2022 when the next model is expected.
Release Dates, Features, Specs, Rumors
AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. Apple often refers to the iPad as the future of computing with its slim form factor and touch display. The company offers a wide variety of tablets in its lineup, from a budget-friendly model for students to a high-end powerhouse aimed at professionals.
In the company’s 2010 launch event, Jobs described the experience of using the tablet as “holding the internet in your hands.”
Despite post-launch-event blowback mocking the iPad’s name and dismissing it as an oversized iPhone or iPod touch, both consumers and critics hailed Apple’s tablet as another breakthrough. While the flat sides would finally introduce Apple Pencil 2 compatibility, it would retain the old Home Button with Touch ID.
However, Apple later improved performance and added accessories that transformed this simple tablet into a complex computing platform. Though the basic design is still a glass and aluminum slab, Apple’s tablet has grown thinner and lighter through the years, with shrinking bezels, bigger and better displays, and the home button removal. Every model today has a Retina Display, Apple’s marketing term indicating that human eyes won’t differentiate individual pixels from a standard viewing distance.
True Tone, included on all but the 10.2-inch model in today’s lineup, uses ambient light sensors to adjust the screen’s white balance based on your environment.
ProMotion technology, available only on iPad Pro models, supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate for “fluid scrolling, greater responsiveness, and smoother motion content.” It also provides more responsive Apple Pencil input and varies the refresh rate to reduce power consumption.
Previously, iPads would only see few, if any, changes year-over-year in software, and this dedicated OS indicates Apple wants to do more for the tablet line. With iOS 9, the tablet software showed a significant shift from the iPhone with the added ability to have multiple apps on the same screen. Multitasking and productivity were later refined in iOS 11 with better file sharing and drag and drop gestures.
iPadOS 15 improved the multitasking system with keyboard shortcuts and ellipsis window indicators.
With its improved split-screen, multi-window app states, and external storage support, Apple’s tablet took a significant leap forward as a laptop replacement. iPadOS 15 was released in 2021 with minor alterations to the multitasking system to help users understand how to initiate and switch apps more easily.
A new ellipsis appears at the top of each active window with options to place the app into different positions. Many apps draw from the same codebase as their iPhone counterpart, with the iPad version making better use of the larger display.
Developers often use multiple panels for these tablet apps that wouldn’t fit on an iPhone’s screen. App updates are free, but developers may lock some features behind paywalls called in-app-purchases or IAP.
Some apps charge a subscription fee instead of IAP, unlocking features once a user subscribes. When the first iPad Pro launched in late 2015, Apple began marketing the tablet as a new computing category that could replace a laptop for some customers.
In early 2020, Apple launched the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, which added Mac-style scissor-switch keys and a glass trackpad that took advantage of iPadOS’s new cursor support. The accessory has a stand that magnetically mounts the tablet, making it float above the keys while dynamically tilting at various angles. For sketching, the Apple Pencil has low latency, pressure sensitivity, and support for tilting and shading. You can also use it as a pointer to edit text, navigate apps or web pages, or sign documents.
Rather than being fully rounded, the second-generation model is flat on one edge, making it more ergonomic in hand and preventing it from rolling off surfaces. The Apple Pencil 2 also supports wireless charging, mounting magnetically to the side of a compatible iPad to draw power.
These customizable tap actions can include switching between tools and toggling the color palette. By developing its chipsets, Apple can customize its software to work directly with the hardware so that competitors cannot imitate it.
While it’s older than the A14 found in the cheaper iPad Air 4, the A12X has eight dedicated GPU cores that should give it an edge in graphically-intensive tasks. Starting with the fourth-generation model and iPad mini in late 2012, Apple switched to a Lightning port for charging and syncing. The following change arrived with the 2018 iPad Pro lineup, which shifted to USB-C for broader accessory compatibility. The iPad Pro lineup also has a LiDAR sensor, supporting enhanced augmented reality (AR) content.
The company has slowly built an entire software ecosystem surrounding its ever-popular mobile devices. On the iPad, it acts as a user-facing assistant with deep app connections and controls, and it also serves as the background intelligence that powers everyday operations.
Contacts, Calendar, Photos, and even the system keyboard rely on Siri Intelligence to manage information and surface what is most relevant to the user.
Siri also acts as the brains behind Shortcuts, which users can activate via the assistant, widgets, or in-app.
Apple does not directly monetize Siri, but it does use the assistant as a primary selling point for its mobile devices and audio gear like HomePod and AirPods. iMessage is an Apple proprietary technology using end-to-end encryption to send messages via the web.
Sending and receiving iMessages is exclusive to Apple products and has been cited as a significant consumer lock-in source. Originally called iBooks, Apple Books is the company’s combined digital bookstore, ebook-viewing app, and audiobook player.
The tablet screen size and form factor make it well-suited to reading, serving as an alternative to dedicated eReaders like the Amazon Kindle. The subscription is $9.99 per month and gives customers access to premium articles from newspapers and magazines.
iPad Pro 2022 rumored release date, price, specs, design and more
Currently, the iPad Pro 2022 has been tipped for a fall release, according to reliable tipster and Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman. The Logitech Crayon product page recently added support for two iPad Pro models that have yet to be announced. In an amusing pre-release twist, some Optus customers in Australia were able to order the iPad Pro 2022 before it’s even been confirmed to exist.
The most recent rumor suggests that the chassis of the new iPad Pro 2022 will remain largely similar to its predecessor barring a change from a three-pin Smart Connector to a four-pin one that could be found on the top and on the bottom side edges. The second design tweak we’ve heard talk of, via Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, is a glass back for the possible introduction of wireless charging. As well as extra screen space, this model could come with more storage and RAM capacity by default, allowing for enhanced overall performance too. This will hopefully allow more buyers to enjoy the deeper blacks and higher brightness that independently lit pixels provide. However, Kuo has backed off that claim as of late, and now display analyst Ross Young says an 11-inch iPad Pro with mini-LED is unlikely.
To be perfectly honest, the iPad Pro is already an excellent product and we’re hard pushed to name any serious weaknesses that need urgent improvement.
To be clear, the 2021 iPad Pro has perfectly respectable battery life, but it’s noticeable that the 12.9-inch model “only” managed ten hours and 48 minutes in our web browsing test, while the 11-inch version achieved 13:42. If that’s a sign that the mini-LED screen is more power hungry than the IPS panel and both are indeed adopting the former this time around, then hopefully there will be larger cells to compensate. Okay, this is getting into seriously unlikely territory at this point, but the iPad Pro is at its best when accompanied by two first-party accessories: the Apple Pencil for doodling and the Smart Keyboard to make it into a surrogate laptop.
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