iPad Pro (2024) preview: what's coming? M3? OK, you and who else?

The latest iPad Pro you can buy right now is a couple of years old by now. It's the M2-equipped iPad Pro from 2022. But you know what? It's still good... The chip inside has tons of headroom, the software offers Split View, Slide Over, and the fairly new Stage Manager for a desktop experience when connected to an external monitor. Pro apps run buttery smooth, and the Mini LED display of the 12.9-inch model is still pristine.

But... it's been two years — the laws of tech say an upgrade is imminent. We were waiting for one in the end of last year, but it didn't happen. The latest rumors say it's now coming on the 7th of May. No official event or anything — expect new iPads to be dropped with a press release.

What are we expecting from the hardware of potential new iPad Pros? Well, and upgrade to the next generation Apple M3 chip for one — not that it's necessary at this point. But also a possible change in display tech — rumors insist that Apple is moving to OLED with both the iPad Pro 11" and iPad Pro 12.9", meaning it would be ditching the whole Mini LED experiment. Interesting.

The iPad Pro always has supercharged hardware — enough to run desktop-class apps and console-grade games. Literally, with games like Resident Evil and Assassin's Creed: Mirage already out for or headed for iPads with any M-class chip. Nothing is official yet and we don't have exact specs, but here's an educated guess of what the iPad Pro (2024) models will pack:

We do think that Apple might pull an iPhone 15 Pro Max on us and remove that base 128 GB tier. Not upgrade it, mind you, but flat out remove it. That way the iPad Pro line would get more expensive... without its price being increased, technically.

The Pro iPads, much like their iPhone counterparts, usually come in boring colors. That is Space Gray and Silver — no quirky or vibrant options like on the iPad Air or base iPad 10th gen. We also don't expect huge changes in design except for the selfie camera positioning. So, we should get the same flat slab with an all-screen front and a thin bezel, just enough for a thumb rest while holding the tablet. But the selfie camera may just move.

If you've been following closely, you probably know that the iPad 10th gen is the only Apple tablet to have the selfie camera on the right side of the frame... basically it becomes the top frame when the tablet is in landscape position. And, since er are getting keyboard for these things and exceedingly using them for video chats in landscape — people love that change. The Center Stage mode of the iPads is cool and all, but when your selfie camera is off to the side, it does look a bit awkward in the video feed.

So, that's one thing that might change. We imagine that it may require the magnets for the Apple Pencil to move, so you dock it on a different part of the iPad Pro (2024). And, since we are on accessories, we have also heard that a new Magic Keyboard — one with function keys — may also be in the stack. Now... these are separately-bought accessories, and we are very curious to see if the OG Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil 2 would work with the new iPads.

Apple seemed set on not going to OLED tech for its premium tablets — instead, it gave us the Mini LED panels in the iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) and iPad Pro 12.9 (2022). It's a fantastic piece of tech that kind of mixes the worlds of conventional LCD and OLED — the screen still has a backlight (like LCD), but it's hundreds of thousands of small LEDs firing up separately, making it a backlight divided in multiple zones.

It generally looks good and has the deep blacks and stark contrast of AMOLED panels. However, when viewed in the dark, there is a small amount of bloom around any objects on screen that are surrounded by darkness.

We don't know if that one inevitable "issue" has made Apple rethink its course, but right now — all reports point towards the iPad Pro (2024) models having OLED screens.

And, of course, we fully expect them to be 120 Hz ProMotion panels. The iPhones have been pulling this off since the iPhone 13 Pro, so we already know it looks fantastic with Apple's screen calibrations. The question is — is Mini LED completely gone?

In reality, people don't hold up tablets to take photos out in the park or at a show... thankfully! So, cameras are not where tablets — the iPads included — usually put a lot of focus. A good enough rear camera is required for the occasional shot or document scan. And a good enough selfie camera is required for video calls and conferences. 

The iPads, in particular, all have ultra-wide lenses on the front cameras, which enables the Center Stage software feature — when enabled, it zooms in on your face and follows you around, which sounds a bit ridiculous, but we've found it to be quite useful after years of use.

Also, the Pro iPads have the LiDAR sensor on the back — a Time of Flight camera, which enables accurate environmental scanning and placing virtual objects in your space. It gives you a better virtual ruler and better-performing AR apps and games. Though, we haven't seen the AR trend explode, so this is still a very niche feature.

Let's be real — a potential refresh of iPad Pros right now will mostly be about performance — that jump to the new Apple M3 chip. But also, let's be honest — it probably doesn't need it. We still use M1-equipped iPad Pros in the office and they are perfectly fast, snappy, and productive. We do have the M2 units, too, but they mostly rest in their boxes, simply because we don't see the need to reach for them often.

So, an M3 refresh will be welcome for new buyers who are looking to get the most headroom, the most future-proofing. But if you have an M1 or an M2? Maybe it's not time to dream for an upgrade just yet. Of course, there's plenty of room for Apple to prove us wrong on this! Sight unseen, this is what we expect right now.

No question, if new iPad Pros launch right now, they will come with iPadOS 17 right out of the box. This means the new Journal app, a Weather app facelift, new iMessage features that make group chats easier to navigate and participate in, and new Apple Music features for shared playlists. Plus, some minor facelifts across other apps. Stage Manager is of course a huge feature here, as it gives you a desktop-ish environment to multitask and work in, when you connect an external monitor via the Thunderbolt port.

iPads, like iPhones, receive OS updates for a good chunk of time after release — a minimum of 5 years. Apple hasn't really came out to promise such a concrete number, but history shows us that this is the period Cupertino typically aims for. So, the iPad Pro (2024) is expected to last you this long:

• 2024 - launch with iPadOS 17
• Late 2024 - get iPadOS 18
• Late 2025 - get iPadOS 19
• Late 2026 - get iPadOS 20
• Late 2027 - get iPadOS 21
• Late 2028 - get iPadOS 22
• Late 2029 - questionable. We may or may not get iPadOS 23 here

With all of its mobile devices, from laptops to phones to tablets, Apple aims for a comfortable 10-hour screen-on time. Anything extra is a bonus, anything less than that is not ideal. Our experience with the "normal-sized" iPads thus far is that yes, medium load like video streams and multi-app use will drain the battery at a speed of 10% per hour. If you game a lot, or do video editing, the overall on time can fall to 8 or even 6 hours, if you are really squeezing it dry.

We expect a very similar performance from the 2024 iPad Pro units. Of course, we are open for pleasant surprises, Apple!

Well, there are no haptics on Apple's tablets, unlike Samsung's Galaxy Tab devices. We can't say we miss them — it's a bit weird when you have a whole tablet vibrating with your taps and swipes.

As far as audio goes, we expect the same quad speaker stereo setup as with the previous iPad Pros. And it sounds excellent — you can use the iPad Pro as a multimedia machine by itself, no Bluetooth speaker necessary.

The tablet market is pretty thin on offerings, especially if you go for the high tier. Up here, you have two choices — an iPad Pro or a Galaxy Tab S. Samsung's own slates come in three different sizes and offer the best experience you can get on an Android tablet — fast, feature-rich, beautiful screens to gawk at, split screen and DeX, S Pen in the box.

Both ecosystems are well-developed, and both systems have their quirks, so it's hard to say which one is definitively better. We'd say the Samsung tablets work a bit better as straight-up laptop replacers, as you can launch into DeX without needing an external monitor (which the iPad needs for Stage Manager). But, ultimately, your choice of smartphone and computer may also dictate which tablet you go for.

So, as you can probably tell, we expect the next iPad Pro models to be predictably great. Nothing exciting or jaw-dropping, though our jaws are still on the floor since Apple decided to put an M1 chip in the iPad Pro back in 2021.

It seems that even Apple doesn't believe that there's something flashy or thrilling about the upcoming iPads. If reports are to be believed, we won't see them announced at an event. They will just drop in a silent press release, supposedly before the end of March 2024.

Will it be worth it? Most definitely — we do enjoy our time with the current iPad Pros, and — as mentioned — even use the M1 units from back in 2021 excessively, with no slowdowns still. If you do plan to spend a lot of time on a tablet, they can provide the value. If you are looking for a glorified Netflix machine — an iPad Air may be the better financial decision. And hey, rumor says, we are getting new iPad Airs, too!