iPad Pro 2024 plot twist: This new rumored feature shakes things up

Wait, so the iPad Pro 2024 is getting an M4 chip, instead? Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable

We thought the rumored new iPad Pro 2024 features were set in stone: new OLED display, new M3 chip, a slightly bigger screen (12.9 inches to 13 inches), and other minor changes.

However, according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, an Apple prognosticator with an impressive track record, it looks like at least one of those rumors are incorrect. As it turns out, the iPad Pro may not be getting the M3 chip after all.

iPad Pro 2024 plot twist

Gurman claims that there's a "strong possibility" that the next-generation iPad Pro tablets will be equipped with the M4 chip, a shift from his August 2023 report where he claimed that they'll be equipped with M3 chips.

At first, in a mid-April report, Gurman said that M4 chips would be featured in the following next-generation Apple hardware:

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• iMac

• entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro

• high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro

• Mac mini

Now, as mentioned, there's some scuttlebutt that the iPad Pro 2024 may be added to the list.

The M4 chips, according to Gurman, will add some novel AI capabilities to the new crop of Apple hardware this year, thanks to a new neural engine. In other words, Apple is reportedly skipping the M3 chip for the iPad Pro models, going straight to introducing an AI-focused M4 processor for the high-end tablet line.

"I believe Apple will position the tablet as its first truly AI-powered device — and that it will tout each new product from then on as an AI device," Gurman said. "This, of course, is all in response to the AI craze that has swept the tech industry over the last couple years."

On top of that, with the new M4 chip, iPad Pro 2024 will likely be wicked fast compared to the current-generation, M2-based iPad Pro, which launched in 2022.

We're expecting Apple to drop new iPads during the highly anticipated May 7 "Let Loose" livestream. Only then will we know whether Gurman's prediction will hold true. Stay tuned for Mashable's in-depth coverage of the event.

Kimberly Gedeon is a tech explorer who enjoys doing deep dives into the most popular gadgets, from the latest iPhones to the most immersive VR headsets. She's drawn to strange, avant-garde, bizarre tech, whether it's a 3D laptop, a gaming rig that can transform into a briefcase, or smart glasses that can capture video. Her journalism career kicked off about a decade ago at MadameNoire where she covered tech and business before landing as a tech editor at Laptop Mag in 2020.

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