Apple 'Let Loose' iPad event 2024: Live updates as Apple unveils the new iPad Pro and iPad Air

We'll bring you all the news from the 'Let Loose' event as it happens.

Apple

Apple didn't release any updates to the iPad lineup in 2023, but that's about to change. At today's "Let Loose" event, the company is expected to take the wraps off a new iPad Pro, which sounds like it'll be a complete redesign featuring an OLED display and a new M4 chip inside. The iPad Air, meanwhile, is likely to get a more powerful chip than the M1 it currently has, and a larger screen option is also on the table.

We'll be at Apple's NYC event space covering all the news as it happens, and we'll hopefully be following that with hands-on details of the new products. Our liveblog will have everything you need to know, so stay tuned — the event starts at 10AM ET.

Follow all of the news live from Apple's 'Let Loose' event right here.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER105 updates
  • Everything announced at Apple's Let Loose iPad event

    Apple iPad Pro (2024)
    Apple iPad Pro (2024) (Apple)

    That's a wrap for our live coverage of today's Apple event. If you're just joining us, here's what you've missed:

    As expected, the Let Loose showcase was all about iPad. We now have our first Apple device powered by an M4 chip in the iPad Pro, with the company surprisingly choosing to debut it there rather than in a Mac. There's also an upgraded iPad Air that's available in two sizes: 11 inches and 13 inches.

    There are some accessory updates too, which isn't a big shock given that an Apple Pencil was prominent in the event's teaser image.

    You can read all of today's news right here, or scroll down to relive the event as it happened.

  • Hands-on with the iPad Air M2: A big-screen iPad that doesn't break the bank

    iPad Air M2 2024
    iPad Air M2 2024 (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget)

    Compared to the iPad Pro, the changes Apple made to the iPad Air are more modest. Rather than a total redesign, the iPad Air is getting some expected and slightly overdue changes: a new screen size, a new processor and a front-facing camera that is placed on the landscape side of the tablet.

    Yes, that's some faint praise, but there's a lot to like about the new iPad Air.

    Read our first impressions of the new iPad Air here.

  • iPad Pro M4 hands-on: Absurdly thin and light, but the screen steals the show

    Apple iPad Pro 2024
    Apple iPad Pro 2024 (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget)

    The new 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro models that Apple just introduced may be completely redesigned from the outside in, but they still feel a lot like their predecessors. That's not a bad thing, as the old iPad Pro design was outstanding. But there's no doubt Apple is flexing its hardware engineering muscles with these new tablets, not just with the M4 processor inside.

    Read our first impressions of the new iPad Pro here.

  • Apple quietly gives the 10th-generation iPad a $100 price drop

    The 10th-gen iPad on an outdoor table with Magic Keyboard attached.
    The 10th-gen iPad on an outdoor table with Magic Keyboard attached. (Photo by Nathan Ingraham for Engadget)

    Near the end of its “Let Loose” event that brought new versions of the iPad Pro and iPad Air, Apple made some changes to the cheaper end of its tablet lineup. The 10th-generation iPad Pro, the newest version of the budget model, now starts at $349, down from its original $449.

    Read all about it here.

  • Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze, roll and haptic feedback to its bag of tricks

    Apple Pencil Pro
    Apple Pencil Pro (Apple)

    Alongside its lineup of new iPads, Apple revealed an overhauled Pencil today too. The Apple Pencil Pro has a new sensor in the barrel that accepts your squeezes. This action can do things like bring up tool palettes so you don't have to manually tap into them with your free hand. Apple says you can also use the gesture to activate shortcuts or and other actions. What's more, haptic feedback lets you know when the squeeze was accepted or when something you moved has snapped into place. Apple also added a roll gesture "for precise control" of whatever tool you're using, powered by a new gyroscope.

    Read all about it here.

  • Apple's new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro gets a function row and haptic trackpad

    Overshot keyboard.
    Overshot keyboard. (Apple)

    Apple has announced a refreshed Magic Keyboard accessory at today’s iPad event. The new keyboard is designed to specifically work with the M4 iPad Pro line, though it doesn’t integrate with the iPad Air or any other model.

    Read all about it here.

  • Apple's M4 chip arrives with a big focus on AI

    Apple's new M4 chip will be available first on the new iPad Pros.
    Apple's new M4 chip will be available first on the new iPad Pros. (Apple)

    Today at its "Let Loose" event, Apple detailed its new M4 chip featuring a major focus on improved AI and machine learning capabilities.

    Built on a new second-gen 3nm process, Apple's M4 chip features four performance and six efficiency cores along with a 10-core GPU. In terms of general performance, Apple claims the M4's CPU is 50 percent faster compared to M2 with a GPU that's four times more powerful. Memory bandwidth has also been improved with speeds of up to 120GB/s, and for the first time for the iPad line, Apple is adding support for dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. On top of that, Apple says it's maintaining class-leading energy efficiency with the M4 capable of delivering the same performance as the M2 but with half the power.

    Read all about it here.

  • Apple's thinner new iPad Pros feature an M4 chip and "tandem" OLED displays

    Apple iPad Pro
    Apple iPad Pro (Apple)

    Apple's new iPad Pro models are its most laptop-like tablets yet. They're the first devices powered by the company's M4 chip, which will deliver faster performance and more AI capabilities. And, for the first time outside of the iPhone and Apple Watch, both the new 11-inch and (slightly larger) 13-inch iPad Pros will sport OLED screens. That's a step up from the LCD and Mini-LED displays on the previous models, and it should lead to bolder colors, inky dark black levels, and far better contrast.

    Read all about it here.

  • The new iPad Air comes in two sizes, including a 13-inch model

    Apple iPad Air
    Apple iPad Air (Apple)

    It's about dang time. During its Let Loose event, Apple announced it has updated the iPad Air for the first time in over two years. The latest model has an M2 chip, so it's not getting one of Apple's most recent chipsets, likely to keep costs down and differentiate it from the iPad Pro. Still, the M2 is about 50 percent faster than the M1, Apple says, and the tablet is about three times faster than the A14 Bionic-powered iPad Air from 2020.

    Read all about it here.

  • And, that's that! Thank you for following along. Time to go hopefully check these devices out in person.

  • Apple's spec sheet.
    Apple's spec sheet. (Apple)
  • Old 11-inch iPad Pro was $799, 12.9-inch model was $1,099. $200 more across the board.

  • Entry iPad for $350, Air starts at $600, Pro starts at $1,000.

  • The iPad lineup is a bit cleaner now: sounds like the iPad with the home button and Lightning connector is finally gone.

  • Back to Tim Cook to wrap things up.

  • Ooh, Apple just dropped the price of the 10th-generation iPad! Only $349. Very nice.

  • God, prices. $999 for 11-inch, $1,299 for 13-inch. Accessory pricing remains the same.

  • Apple Pencil Pro by the numbers.
    Apple Pencil Pro by the numbers. (Apple)
  • The Pro offers haptic feedback and magnetic charging.
    The Pro offers haptic feedback and magnetic charging. (Apple)
  • There are also a host of new features in Procreate like a real-time lens blur feature thanks to the M4.

  • Frankly shocked that Apple redesigned FCP and Logic Pro for M4 and touch. Microsoft should honestly take notes if it wants Windows on Snapdragon to

  • "Barrel roll" gives you ways to change your brushes in a new way, and squeeze lets you activate shortcuts for your brushes and tools. You can also hover and squeeze to select a layer to

  • Third-party developers can also create their own actions. For starters, the CEO of Procreate will give us a look at some things they're doing with it.

  • As expected, the iPad Pro is getting an all-new Pencil accessory.
    As expected, the iPad Pro is getting an all-new Pencil accessory. (Apple)
  • As for what's new: There's a sensor in the barrel that lets you squeeze to bring up a tool palate, and there are haptics to give you a response to what you're doing. You can also rotate it to change brushes, and it has Find My features built in if you lose it.

  • Apple Pencil Pro — looks identical to the 2nd gen Apple Pencil at first glance, with a flat side for magnetic charging as before.

  • Thinner and lighter, with the same floating design as before. There's a function row like Apple added ot the basic iPad keyboard in 2022. Larger trackpad and aluminum palm rests. "The entire experience feels just like using a Mac

  • OK, on to new accessories. New Magic Keyboard. How much will this beast cost?

  • Unsurprisingly, we have a landscape front camera here, too!

  • There's also a new adaptive flash for things like scanning documents — it takes multiple images with different lighting to do things like eliminating shadows.

  • There's a 12-megapixel back camera that supports ProRes footage and it has a LiDAR scanner as before for AR. Notably, there's no more ultra-wide camera as the older iPad Pro models had.

  • Now, on to the cameras and microphones.

  • The iPad Pro line is getting a totally new Magic Keyboard for both sizes.
    The iPad Pro line is getting a totally new Magic Keyboard for both sizes. (Apple)
  • Logic Pro 2 can also take an recording and extract four stems: voice, bass, drums, and other instruments. M4 makes it happen on-device.

  • Logic Pro 2 has a new plug-in, Chromeaglow, which is meant to give your tracks more analog warmth.

  • LP2's live drummer feature is "getting new bandmates" with AI-built bass and guitar creations. Basic backing tracks created on the fly, essentially.

  • From earlier in the presentation: Apple's full download on iPad Pro 2024 specs.
    From earlier in the presentation: Apple's full download on iPad Pro 2024 specs. (Apple)
  • On to Logic Pro 2.

  • You can also now edit footage directly from an external drive, so you don't have to move the video onto your iPad's local storage.

  • New feature: Live mult-cam. This means you can connect and preview up to four cameras all at once. You can adjust white balance, exposure and so forth. To do this, Apple created a new app, Final Cut Camera, to tie this all together.

  • For starters, Final Cut Pro's performance is about 2x faster than the M1.

  • Apple says both apps are getting major updates, Final Cut Pro2 and Logic Pro 2. Professional content creators, take note.

  • Now we're on to "pro" apps like Z-Brush for 3D modeling or Apple's own apps like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, which launched last year.

  • We're getting a quick overview of iPadOS now, but it doesn't sound like anything new here yet. We'll have to wait another month for WWDC for that stuff.

  • Apple says that thermal performance has been improved by 20 percent; putting these all together means this iPad is four times faster than the last model.

  • Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad are getting new updates.
    Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad are getting new updates. (Apple)
  • This will be great for watching Netflix.

  • The M4's neural engine is dedicated to machine learning and AI, and apple says it's capable of 38 trillion operations per second. 60 times faster than the first neural engine that arrived in the A11 a while back.

  • M4 can deliver the same performance as M2 with half the power. So this shouldn't crush battery life.

  • 10-core GPU here as well, with 4 times faster rendering performance compared to M2.