Apple is set to unveil its latest products on May 7, including a new iPad Pro, two new iPad Air models, a keyboard, and a Pencil. The new iPad Pro is expected to have a powerful processor that will enable advanced AI capabilities, a surprise to many as AI features were anticipated to be announced later in the year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests that this new iPad Pro will kick off Apple’s shift into AI hardware, potentially with the inclusion of the next-generation Apple processor, the M4.
The decision to release a new chip so soon after the M3 was unveiled in October is unusual, but Gurman believes that the M4 chip in the new iPad Pro will position the tablet as Apple’s first truly AI-powered device. This move is seen as a response to the AI craze in the tech industry over the last few years. Gurman speculates that Apple may be aiming to lay out its AI chip strategy ahead of the Worldwide Developers Conference in June to focus on how the M4 chip and new iPad Pros will take advantage of AI software and services in iPadOS 18 later in the year.
While the current M3 chip may be powerful enough to handle Apple’s AI strategy, Gurman believes that the M4 chip in the new iPad Pro will allow Apple to position each new product as an AI device. This could potentially set the stage for the A18 chip in the iPhone 16 line to also be built around AI capabilities. However, some skeptics note that leapfrogging a generation of processors from the M2 to the M4 seems ambitious, and it remains uncertain if the new iPad Pro will indeed feature the M4 chip.
The anticipation for Apple’s new product lineup is high, with the tagline “Let Loose” associated with the launch event. The inclusion of a powerful processor in the new iPad Pro could signal Apple’s commitment to incorporating AI capabilities in their devices moving forward. The unveiling of the new products on May 7 will provide more insight into Apple’s AI hardware strategy and how it plans to differentiate its products in a competitive tech industry landscape. Apple enthusiasts eagerly await the announcement to see what new features and capabilities the latest products will offer.
