How to buy Apple's new iPads and accessories

Key Takeaways

Faster, brighter iPad Air and Pro models with new M2 and M4 chips. iPad Pro gets OLED display and more storage options.
Apple Pencil Pro with Find My feature and new capabilities. Works with iPad Air and Pro.
Upgraded Magic Keyboard with aluminum palm rest, glass trackpad, haptic feedback, and function row. Available for pre-order.

Apple held its big May event today, which was entirely focused on its iPad range. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook called it the biggest day for the iPad yet.

Apple launches M4-powered iPad Pros, 11- and 13-inch iPad Airs

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Indeed, there were changes across the board for the company’s tablet lineup, with plenty of new hardware and software in the iPad Air and iPad Pro, and updates to two key iPad accessories.

Apple

New iPad Air

The iPad Air is now available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, both of which feature Apple’s Liquid Retina display. Apple built the latest iPad Air around the M2 chip, which it says results in 3x faster performance than the previous version, turning it into a powerful device for AI features. Apple also increased the base storage this time around, which now starts at 128GB and goes up to 1TB.

Apple built the latest iPad Air around the M2 chip, which it says results in 3x faster performance than the previous version, turning it into a powerful device for AI features.

Beyond the guts of the iPad Air, they both feature a landscape front camera and landscape stereo speakers with spatial audio, though the 13-inch promises double the bass, according to Apple. The 100% recycled aluminum case is available in Blue, Purple, Starlight, or Space Gray.

Apple

The new iPad Air is available for pre-order today and will ship next week. Prices start at $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch.

11-inch Apple iPad Air (M2)

13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2)

Apple

New iPad Pro

Next up is the star of the show. Apple has made significant updates to its iPad Pro, promising a significant increase in performance and display quality. The Pro is also available in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. Apple slimmed the Pro down significantly. The 13-inch is only 5.1mm thick, which makes it the thinnest Apple product ever. Also new to the iPad line is the OLED display.

Inside the updated iPad Pro are some serious upgrades as well. Most importantly is a bump to the brand new M4 chip.

In fact, the iPad Pro gets what Apple has dubbed “Tandem OLED,” which is two OLED displays working together to combine the light from both for an ultra-bright display called the Ultra Retina XDR. There’s also an optional matte finish on select models to improve viewing conditions in bright light.

Apple

Inside the updated iPad Pro are some serious upgrades as well. Most importantly is a bump to the brand new M4 chip. It also gets a new display engine to support the new display, a new CPU, and next-gen GPU architecture. All of that results in four times faster performance than M2 chips with better performance per watt as well. Apple also promises 20% better thermal performance. Like the iPad Air, the updated iPad Pro offers more storage than previous versions, ranging from 256GB to 2TB.

The latest iPad Pro is available for pre-order today and will ship next week, with prices starting at $999 for the 11-inch and $1,299 for the 13-inch.

13-inch Apple iPad Pro (M4)

11-inch Apple iPad Pro (M4)

Apple

New Apple Pencil Pro

The Apple Pencil Pro allows you to get the most out of your iPad, and this third-generation version takes things to the next level. One of the most exciting features for many is that it now supports the Find My feature, so you are less likely to lose it. There are also new capabilities for using the Pencil Pro, including a gyroscope feature (“Barrel Roll” in Apple lingo) and a squeeze gesture.

It works with both the iPad Air and iPad Pro, but not older iPad models.

Apple

The latest Apple Pencil Pro is available for pre-order today for $129 and will ship next week.

New Magic Keyboard

Last but not least is the new Magic Keyboard. It doesn’t feature many updates, but there are some notable changes, especially since this is the first major update since its release in 2020. The Magic Keyboard now features an aluminum palm rest instead of plastic and includes a larger glass trackpad with haptic feedback. There’s also an added function row for more controls.

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The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro and iPad Air is pricey, but makes working on the go with your iPad a real possibility.

As with the other products from today’s event, the Magic Keyboard is available for pre-order today for $299 for the 1-inch version and $349 for the 13-inch size. The keyboard will ship next week.