Earlier this year, Apple announced its new M3 MacBook Airs. The company opted for a press release instead of a big spring event, leaving new iPads yet to be seen. However, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, a significant spring iPad update is expected on May 6th. This update, coming about 19 months after the last one, is anticipated to include new OLED iPad Pros.
The question arises, why upgrade? Many users, including yourself, find their 2021 models still feel like new. Unless the new model offers more than what’s been rumored, it seems to cater to a very specific subset of people who are big fans of iPadOS and are willing to pay for a high-quality, contrasty OLED screen.
The OLED iPad Pro is expected to be the highlight of the new lineup. Both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions are likely to get the improved screen. Apple is also reportedly releasing more laptop-like aluminum Magic Keyboards for them. Additionally, there may be a new Apple Pencil with a pressure-sensitive button on the side. Two new iPad Airs with M2 processors are also expected — one in the standard 10.9-inch size, and a larger 12.9-inch model that would use the same Magic Keyboard accessories available now for the Pro.
This could potentially overshadow the Pro since not everyone is concerned about OLED or high refresh rates. A bigger screen could arguably be more valuable than advanced display technology. The iPad Pro is an ultra-portable productivity device, and a fancy Magic Keyboard reinforces that idea. But for now, it has one USB-C port and runs iPadOS, which still feels limited, despite multitasking features Apple has added, like Stage Manager.
The 12.9-inch 2022 model is already $1,099 for 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. The same money will get you a M3 MacBook Air with 256GB of memory, a bigger screen, a built-in keyboard and trackpad, and an operating system with four decades of software ecosystem support and evolution behind it. The next iPad Pro may be even more expensive. You’d really have to like iPadOS to pick the former over the latter.
Federico Viticci, known for being an iPad power user, recently said that using macOS in a virtual display alongside visionOS apps felt powerful and flexible in a way that iPadOS hasn’t made him feel in a while. That was in a fun MacStories article last month about his experience making a bizarre FrankenPad out of an iPad Pro and a headless MacBook.
At $3,500, the Vision Pro is no immediate threat to the iPad Pro. But Viticci’s story highlights the tablet’s vulnerability. Even if iPad productivity isn’t your bag, it’s great for casual, personal content consumption. If the Vision Pro can take that job over, then the iPad really needs something fresh. One thing Apple could do is make the iPad Pro a true hybrid. It’s already a great secondary display for my MacBook Air.
Apple has shown in the past few years it’s willing to give people a little bit of what they ask for by returning HDMI and SD card ports to the MacBook Pro. I say bring that energy to the iPad. Give it one more USB-C port and — while I’m here asking for things that probably won’t happen but would be awesome if they did — let it dual-boot macOS and iPadOS.
