Apple’s new iPad Pro is a fascinating fusion of processor and design

There were gasps during Apple’s first ever global event at its London headquarters when, during the keynote announcing the new iPad Pro, it was revealed that the device would skip M3 and become the first Apple product to pack an M4 chip. Of course, a more powerful chip means more speed and power, ranking the iPad Pro among Apple’s fastest machines ever. But the tablet also proves that speed isn’t the only benefit of a super powerful chip. 

The iPad Pro presents a few firsts – as well as debuting M4, it’s also the thinnest Apple product ever made. And not only is it the first Apple product to use an OLED display, but it introduces a new class of display altogether, with ‘Tandem OLED’ involving two layers of OLED pixels for even sharper contrast and brighter colours. But the most fascinating aspect is how it all comes back to the M4 chip. (Don’t fancy waiting? Check out the best iPad Pro deals available now.)

The M4 chip itself features a new display engine which, Apple says, “enabling the stunning precision, colour accuracy, and brightness uniformity of the Ultra Retina XDR display, a state-of-the-art display created by combining the light of two OLED panels.”

Apple also claims that the remarkable thinness of the device is only possible thanks to M4. “M4 is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology that’s even more power efficient, which is perfect for the design of the new iPad Pro.” 

Of course, M4 is bringing huge speed boosts too. The chip is 4x faster performance than M2, and can offer the same performance as M2 using half the power. For creatives, faster power and longer battery life can only be a good thing. But it’s notable that, perhaps for the first time, Apple is attributing a device’s two most significant design details to the chip powering it.

We’ll be bringing you more thoughts (and, yes, photos) of the new iPad Pro design when we get hold of it next week. In the meantime, take a look at our best iPad for drawing roundup.