Overview of the iPad Pro M4: What else is missing besides the power supply unit
The new professional iPad is flat and fast, but Apple has also made savings in some areas. The overview.
iPad Pro M4 in both variants.
(Image: Apple)
There are still no official tests of theiPad Pro M4. These are only expected in the coming days. Nevertheless, users can already find out what hardware changes there are compared to the previous models. And this doesn't just include the fact that Apple will be doing away with the power supply and sticker (also on the iPad Air M2): Apple also seems to be cutting back in other areas, or at least changing strategy.
Camera, microphones, Smart Folio
What many prospective buyers will probably only notice at second glance is the fact that the iPad Pro M4 now only has one camera on the back. Apple has removed the previous ultra-wide-angle camera on the back, which was first added to the professional iPads in 2020, and now only has a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with an F-1.8 aperture. Apple did not give any specific reasons for this. Apple has cleverly filled the empty space by moving the LIDAR sensor for 3D spatial measurement so that you can still see two holes of the same size on the back. Another small hole above the flash appears to be a new ambient light sensor, which joins the one on the front. It is unclear exactly what Apple is planning with this.
Apple has removed one of the microphones. Instead of five "studio-quality microphones", the iPad Pro M4 now contains four. Only the tests can show whether this has any disadvantages when recording. Apple has not given the iPad Pro M4 an always-on display like in the iPhone - despite OLED. According to reports, the new screen achieves refresh rates between 120 and 10 Hertz, but does not go down to 1 Hertz. Finally, Apple no longer offers the familiar Smart Keyboard Folio from previous generations with the new iPad Pro M4; only the "normal" (albeit updated) Magic Keyboard is available.
Processor differences in the M4
The M4 is being installed in the new iPad Pro for the first time and gives an insight into what will happen in the Mac in the future. Apple has simply skipped the M3 in the 2024 iPad Pro. Four performance cores and four high-efficiency cores are now installed. However, the full package is only available with the purchase of at least 1 TByte of flash memory; the smaller variants have one less power core.
This is reminiscent of the (optional) nanotexture display and the 16 GB RAM, which Apple also only reserves for models with 1 TByte or more, which drives up the price. Another new feature is the increased memory bandwidth of 120 GByte/s (from 100 GByte/s). The GPU still has 10 cores when comparing the SoC with the M3. Another detail concerns mobile phone reception: Apple has decided to no longer support a physical SIM for the new iPad Pro.
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