APPLE on Tuesday, at an online event, unveiled a series of new iPad Pro and iPad Air, equipped with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip, signalling the Cupertino-based company focus on AI.
The latest version of the iPad Pro uses the new M4 chip, which Apple says has the most powerful Neural Engine, capable of 38 trillion operations per second - 60x faster than Apple's first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip.
The company said that this chip will make the iPads more ready to handle more power-hungry AI tasks.
Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, said "the iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience with better Ultra Retina XDR display, new M4 chip with AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard".
The last time Apple produced its iPad Pro and iPad Air was two years ago.
With the new AI-focused chip, Apple said users can perform AI-enabled tasks even faster, like easily isolate a subject from its background in 4K video with just a tap with Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro. It also claimed that the Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI personal computer today.
The updated camera system on the new iPad Pro offers more versatility, and with its rich audio from four studio-quality mics, users can shoot, edit, and share all on one device. The 12MP back camera captures vibrant Smart HDR images and video with even better colour, improved textures, and detail in low light.
Besides tha chip, the iPadOS also gets an upgrade, where it now has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver phenomenal AI features locally, including running powerful diffusion and generative AI models.
It can also support cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run powerful productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.
While the new iPad Pro gets an M4 chip, the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air come with the M2 chip. This is also the first time Apple releases two iPad Air together.
Featuring a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine in M2, the new iPad Air are also designed for artificial intelligence tasks.
The 11-inch iPad Air starts at RM2,999, while the 13-inch iPad Air starts at RM3,999. The iPad Pro, meanwhile, starts from RM5,299.