Is It an iPad or a MacBook? Apple Makes It Tough to Tell By Revealing 13-Inch iPad Air With 'Outrageously Powerful' M4 Chip for AI

Apple started its Tuesday iPad event pinch an accomplishment related to different 1 of its merchandise lines: The MacBook Air, which nan institution claimed was nan world's bestselling 13-inch and 15-inch laptop.

When Apple began announcing nan caller iPad Air and Pro, it was easy to show why nan tech elephantine led pinch nan MacBook win: The caller iPad models are larger, much powerful, and much MacBook-like than ever.

The iPad Air Gets a Bigger Screen

The iPad Air upgraded to a 13-inch surface for nan first clip and runs connected nan M2 chip, which has AI features. For example, nan ML Enhance instrumentality successful nan Photomator app uses AI models trained connected 20 cardinal pro images to amended photos, according to Melody Kuna, head of iPad merchandise design.

iPad Air. Credit: Apple

The front-facing camera resembles a laptop much than an iPhone now, moving from nan vertical broadside of nan iPad Air to nan horizontal side.

Horizontal camera for Zoom calls. Credit: Apple

The iPad Air's retention starts double what it utilized to, astatine 128 GB. The value is still $599 for nan 11-inch Air and $799 for nan caller 13-inch model.

The iPad Pro Gets a New M4 AI Chip

The iPad Pro has galore of nan aforesaid changes arsenic nan Air, pinch a caller 13-inch type and a horizontal front-facing camera. It uses an all-new M4 chip, which Apple vice president of level architecture Tim Millet called an "outrageously powerful spot for AI."

"The neural motor successful M4 is much powerful than immoderate neural processing portion successful immoderate neural processing portion successful immoderate AI PC today," Millet said, stating that M4 had nan aforesaid capacity arsenic M2 pinch half nan power.

Related: Apple Is Reportedly successful Negotiations to Build Google's Gemini AI Into iPhone Features

M4 besides offers nan aforesaid capacity arsenic a processing spot successful a PC but uses a 4th of nan power, Millet said.

Apple emphasized nan caller iPad Pro's sleekness and said it was nan thinnest Apple merchandise ever, thinner than moreover nan iPod nano. The 11-inch exemplary is 5.3 mm bladed and nan 13-inch exemplary is 5.1 mm.

iPad Pro sleekness. Credit: Apple

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts astatine $999 and nan 13-inch starts astatine $1,299. The caller iPad lines are disposable to bid now for shipment adjacent week.

The Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Get Haptic Feedback

New accessories besides made an appearance, pinch upgrades to nan Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil.

The Apple Pencil still pairs, charges, and stores magnetically, but now users tin compression nan pencil to activate shortcuts.

The Magic Keyboard has a caller power sheet astatine nan top, pinch options to power surface brightness and different aspects of nan iPad, and a bigger trackpad pinch haptic feedback.

"So nan full acquisition feels just for illustration utilizing a MacBook," said John Ternus, Apple elder vice president of hardware engineering.

The aforesaid users that "are loving" nan MacBook Air, arsenic Apple CEO Tim Cook put it astatine nan event, could besides emotion nan caller iPads that lucifer it successful surface size and power.

Apple's caller Magic Keyboard pinch added power sheet astatine nan top. Credit: Apple

An uptick successful liking successful iPads would service nan company: iPad shipments dropped 30% past year; Apple last released a caller iPad Air successful 2022.

Related: Here's nan First Picture of Apple's New Device That Updates iPhones While They're Still successful nan Box

Apple will big another event adjacent month, nan Worldwide Developers Conference.