Apple is expected to launch new iPads and accessories during a May 7 event — here's what to know
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Apple
Apple announced this week that it will host a video-streamed online event on May 7, where the company is expected to reveal new iPads and iPad accessories. The big giveaway is the animation included in the event announcement on Apple's website, which shows a hand flicking around an Apple Pencil.
There are no official details on what Apple will announce or release on May 7. However, a significant update to the iPad Pro and iPad Air series, an upgraded Apple Pencil, and an updated Magic Keyboard are expected, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, one of the most reliable sources when it comes to unreleased Apple products.
The last time new iPads were released was in 2022, when some models got a refresh, including a standard 10th-generation iPad and iPad Air and Pro models. The iPad Mini hasn't been updated since 2021. In 2023, the only iPad-related devices Apple released included a USB-C Apple Pencil.
New iPad Pros with OLED displays
The expected upcoming iPad Pros could be quite a significant update. The most exciting and plausible update coming to the new iPads is sharper OLED displays for the Pro models, according to Gurman — the same kind of displays found on iPhones since 2017.
If accurate, OLED displays have the potential to bring dramatic improvements to viewing videos and whatever you do on an iPad that uses the display. At the same time, OLED displays could hike the minimum price even further for the iPad Pro models, which are already the most expensive devices among the best iPads, starting at $799.
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Beyond a totally new display, the new iPad Pros are said to have noticeably thinner designs, according to 9to5Mac.
The iPad Pros are widely expected to run on Apple's M3 processor, which was introduced with the latest MacBook Air and base MacBook Pro models.
A new, larger iPad Air
Alongside a refreshed iPad Air with a typical display size of around 11 inches, Apple is expected to release a new iPad Air model with a 12.9-inch display for the first time, according to Gurman, matching the display size of the larger iPad Pro model.
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It's widely expected that the upcoming iPad Air models will be upgraded from Apple's M1 processor to Apple's M2 processor, which was introduced in 2022 for various Mac laptops, like the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro. It would be a welcome upgrade for professionals using the iPad Air for creative visual work, but it's unlikely to make much of a difference for basic iPad use, like video streaming, social media scrolling, web browsing, emailing, or even playing games.
An Apple Pencil you can squeeze
An expected new Apple Pencil could register squeezes from your fingers to do different things, according to 9to5Mac, which referenced evidence of a new squeeze gesture in the iPadOS 17.5 beta version. The new squeeze gesture would likely activate customizable functions.
An upgraded Magic Keyboard
A new Magic Keyboard that's supposedly designed for the new iPad Pros will reportedly have an aluminum top to address the poor durability of the current Magic Keyboard, according to Gurman. A larger trackpad is also said to be expected. The whole package could make the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard combination look similar to a Mac laptop.