With its new iPad, Apple’s Empire strikes back

Like a breath of fresh air, Apple will now seek to shift negativity aside as it fights back against months of doom-laden speculation and regulatory inhibition. For the rest of the year, the Empire strikes back.

This fight back has already begun, as the world’s best selling smartphone in Q1 is (and was) an iPhone. Battle now moves to Apple’s new iPad range, about to be updated just in time to push No. 2 Samsung firmly back into place. The struggle will continue at WWDC, where we’ll learn more about how AI will be deployed across a billion existing AI smartphones and other devices and shifts up a gear toward year’s end with new iPhones.

What to think about

Enterprise purchasers will be keeping tabs on all of this activity. When it comes to the first salvo, they will be watching what Apple has to share about new iPads. While Apple will focus on use of its tablet as a creative/educational tool, enterprise purchasers will no doubt hope to find out:

• What new tasks the device is now suitable for and the extent to which it is a viable replacement for outgoing Windows devices.
• What iPad OS improvements will make the tablets more productive.
• The extent to which Apple’s vision for AI enables them to unleash new productivity features to employees or enables new consumer-facing business or communication opportunities.
• New case studies to demonstrate iPad use in business. What’s been the impact of Starbucks and its investment in thousands of iPads for store management, for example?

Services will extend, connect, and augment all the new hardware and Apple has already predicted services will remain strong in the current quarter — hinting that management have already figured out how to achieve this goal. This could mean focused service enhancements, or new additions such as the sometimes rumored App Store for AI. As Apple gets ready to make its ecosystem smarter, it’s noteworthy that its largest iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn, reported its best ever revenue in April, citing “strong AI server demand.” Might there be a connection? And could elements of the plan emerge alongside the iPad?

What to expect from new iPads

Apple continues to align both the iPad and Mac user experience. In doing so, its approach has been to retain the best of both platforms, while unifying the experience where it makes sense. Stage Manager, which provides a new way to work on apps within project windows, exemplifies this as a UI that can exist on both devices, or none.

What we think we know about the new iPad Pro

• It will have a faster processor. There’s been speculation this could be an M4, but this seems counter-intuitive given that Macs only just made it to M3.
• The 11-in. and 12.9-in. models get a 120Hz ProMotion OLED display. This is next-generation OLED tech said to promise higher brightness, deeper blacks, and higher contrast ratios. It might be described as the “best OLED display” you can get. 
• Availability of the 11-in. model could be limited, according to display analyst Ross Young; both Pro devices should be thinner and with slimmer bezels than the current models.

What we think we know about the new iPad Air

Apple’s also preparing a new iteration of my personal favorite, the iPad Air. Also equipped with a faster chip, the device will also be available in a larger 12.9-in. variant for the first time. The idea is for it to be a more budget-friendly large tablet for users who don’t need the Pro; it also means you can expect LCD displays, rather than OLED. The device will use an M2 chip rather than the current M1.

Neither the iPad nor iPad mini are expected to receive an update.

A much smarter Apple Pencil

The expectations are that the new Apple Pencil will be a much smarter device. Built-in haptic feedback may deliver feedback that changes to reflect the medium — painting with oils will feel different than writing with a virtual pen. Claims are it will offer squeeze detection, erase, and support for Find My. (Apple published a clever online ad pre-launch that allowed visitors to its site to erase a colorful event logo posted there, so an erase function (likely enabled by a squeeze gesture) seems inevitable. 

One more thing

Given recent market rumors claiming Apple scaled back Vision Pro production, it seems possible that device will be introduced in additional countries now that the company has the stock it needs to furnish anticipated demand. 

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