Procreate Dreams: Animators and Scatterbrained User Experiences with the ProMotion-Protected Apple Pencil Pro
Along with OLED displays, the iPad Pro continues to support Apple’s ProMotion technology and a max refresh rate of 120Hz, unlike the iPad Air. As a result, iPad Pro users will enjoy a smoother scrolling and gaming experience, while digital artists will enjoy greater responsiveness when drawing with the Apple Pencil.
App developers can also create their own custom interactions for the Apple Pencil Pro. Some examples provided by Procreate CEO James Cuda include brushes that “respond in entirely new ways” thanks to the Barrel Roll feature or using the squeeze feature to activate software shortcuts. The Barrel Roll feature also allows animators to move and rotate objects at the same time while recording actions in Procreate Dreams.
It is a great update for scatterbrained users who frequently misplace their stylus because of support for Apple’s Find My device location system. I know how frustrating and expensive it is to replace an Apple Pencil after you tear your home apart to find it, as I did when I misplace my device.
Is The iPad Air Really Just What It Means Now? The Case for a Super-Fast Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro (M4)
The iPad Air also supports Apple’s existing Magic Keyboard accessories for the iPad Pro, but they won’t work with the forthcoming Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro (M4). iPad Pro owners can only use the high-end aluminum keyboard, which is both thinner and lighter than previous models. It also features a bigger, more responsive trackpad, comes in two colors, and sports new features like a function key row.
During the “Let Loose” event, the iPad Air was characterized as the not-quite entry-level iPad that gets Pro features filtered for a wider audience (also not quite as expensive but not really a budget device, either). So, a bit. Is that what Air means now?
The new iPad Air is bright in purple, blue and space gray. It costs $599 for the 11-inch version and $799 for the 13-inch model. Both models feature 128GB of base storage and come with options for 512GB and 1TB.
Apple didn’t just give the iPad Pro a physical makeover — it even added its next-generation M4 processor. The new iPad Pro comes in silver and space black, along with 256GB of base storage. The 11-inch and 13-inch models start at $1,000 and $1,200, respectively.
Realistically, you won’t probably lose much processing power by sticking with the 256GB and 512GB storage tiers. Both versions of the chip feature a 10-core GPU, the same memory bandwidth of 120GB/s, and each supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing. You wouldn’t notice a difference in use with the six efficiency cores, even though they are designed to handle more mundane, less demanding day-to-day tasks.
As for the M4 chip powering the whole thing? We will have to see. For most uses, the iPad has had more than enough horsepower for a long time — the M4 is clearly meant to power extremely intense use cases, like the new multicam setup in Final Cut Pro or some of the more advanced artistic features in apps like Procreate. In a short demo, it was super fast. The iPad is pretty much always super fast.
The Launch of the 10th Generation iPad and the Benefits of Its New Compatibility for Live Multi-Camera Production: First Look at Final Cut Camera
Apple is launching a new app called Final Cut Camera, which is specifically built to support live multicamera production. The app syncs with the updated Final Cut Pro app and lets users “connect multiple iPhones or iPads to capture additional angles during a live multicam shoot or record professional video.”
Key to the new Pro’s appeal are its two new accessories — the new Apple Pencil Pro and the upgraded Magic Keyboard. The Magic Keyboard looks and feels really nice. The aluminum body and enlarged trackpad are more high-end than has been seen from previous versions. It felt like typing on my Macbook Air, which was clearly what the goal was.
With the launch of the new iPad Air and iPad Pro, Apple announced that it’s lowering the price of its entry-level 10th-generation iPad to $349. That’s $100 less than its previous $449 starting price.
Along with improved CPU performance, the M4 model delivers a more powerful Neural Engine that Apple says is 60 times faster than the first one it introduced in the A11 Bionic model in 2017. It’s also capable of 38 trillion operators per second (TOPS), which refers to the number of math calculations it can solve per second. The number of people who have tried the tablets is still less than the number of people who will own a Windows laptop with the 45 TOPS chip.
Apple showed new features for its Logic Pro digital audio workstations, including a virtual bass player and keyboard player.
The newest additions to the iPad lineup was shown off at the end of Apple’s “Let Loose” event. The event had more than one iPad, and we got a first look at refreshed accessories and updated software.
The crisp and deep black display of the new iPad Air is not as good as the crisp and deep black display of the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro will not have to deal with blooming, in which the light from bright on-screen objects can be seen in darker areas surrounding it. And with the nano-texture glass options available for the 1TB and 2TB models, iPad Pro owners should also encounter less glare.
The larger model feels more comfortable to use and hold, compared to the huge model that I have always felt was ridiculous. (And it’s technically even larger now, up to 13 inches from 12.9 before1) You can tell the difference between the Pro and the new Air from practically across the room, and as someone who has carried around an 11-inch Pro for the last year and a half, it’s really a big difference. The biggest question I have for now is about fragility: is the new Pro potentially too thin? I feel that it is sturdy in my hands, but there are tradeoffs with a device like this. We have tons of testing to do.
Review of 2024 Pro and 2024 Plus Nano-Texted Glass: A Comparative Study based on Screen Reflectivity and Light Scattering
Both sizes are available in silver or space gray. It’s worth noting that the 2024 iPad Pro also comes with the option to add nano-textured glass at checkout, but only if you’re buying a 1TB or 2TB model. For a $100 premium, the upgraded glass is said to make it easier to do creative work in brighter environments because of its reduction of screen reflectivity and scatter ambient light.
The main differences between the two are highlighted so you can make an informed decision about which one is best for you. Be sure to check back, because we will soon be publishing our full reviews of both tablets.