We ’ve been waiting for the next - gen iPads to land for a while now , and that release front limit to get in soon with Apple give away it ’ll be holding an event on May 7 .

The invites for Apple ’s ‘ Let Loose ’ event came emblazoned with an Apple Pencil , more than hinting the live - streamed vitrine would centre on the iPad range .

Rumours point to an updated iPad Pro with an OLED display , and alarger iPad Air joining a novel 10.9 - inch model . Oh , and there will likely be updates to the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil thrown in for good measure .

One spec many had sham would be a given was that the iPad Pro would get a processor refresh , moving up from the M2 chip to the same M3 found in the late round ofMacBook Airs . However , that now seems to not be the case .

Forget M3, Hello M4

Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman , a typically reliable source of Apple newsworthiness , has stated that there ’s a “ strong possibility ” the iPad Pro OLED will set up with the M4 – a bit that was n’t primitively expect to land inanythinguntil afterwards this year .

Previous generation of the M - micro chip have tout their own neural locomotive , however it seems like it will be a much bigger focal point for the M4 . It would also likely be a fully grown selling point of the Apple A18 – the crisp likely to power theiPhone 16series .

Apple’s summer of AI

The timing of this is all very interesting . It is expected that Apple ’s upcomingWWDCwill focus heavily on AI feature being tally to its various wandering operating system , include the iPadOS that power the iPad range , so the iPad Pro could launch with an AI - capable chip , but no software sport to make apply it until later this yr .

Some might say that Apple should hold off on set up these iPads until both the software and hardware are quick , but it ’s been over 18 calendar month since the iPad range was refresh and it seems like Apple is keen to get them out of the door with the electric potential to append extra features down the personal credit line .

Of course , the M4 would n’t be the only merchandising point of the novel professional so they would n’t be without any celebrated rising slope until the next iPadOS is ready . It ’s hard expected that they will be the first Apple tablet with OLED displays – the same tech the iPhone and Apple Watch utilisation – and come with a pattern refresh for the first time since 2018 .

While the iPad Pro might be the first gadget from Apple to focalize on AI , Gurman states that it wo n’t be the last . In fact , in the same newssheet , he suggest that Apple will set about to position each product as an AI equipment , from the iPhone to the MacBook .

AI acquisition come to an M4 - power chain of MacBooks seems like a given . We ’re only a few calendar month into 2024 , but the ‘ AI PC ‘ term has been banded around by everyone from Dell with itsXPS 14to Asus with itsZenbook 14 OLEDand just about every other microcomputer maker in between .

The issue is that the term is that it does n’t seem very well delineate as of yet , with many of the AI features only being rebadged editing effects for television calls . Let ’s hope Apple has a more focussed approach .

We ’ll be cover the Apple Let Loose , so stay tune for all the bountiful news from the issue .