Apple launched the original iPad 14 years ago today, starting a product line that has gone on to define the tablet space and entry-level computing, spur a shift in how media is consumed, and have immense cultural impact.
The original iPad launched on April 3, 2010. Designed to bridge the gap between the laptop and the smartphone, the iPad offered a unique combination of portability, ease of use, and versatility that appealed to a wide range of consumers and professionals.
At the heart of the iPad’s success was its sleek design and simple iOS user interface. The 9.7-inch touchscreen provided users with an immersive experience that was unmatched at the time. Its initial release boasted 16 to 64 gigabytes of storage, a 30-pin connector, Wi-Fi connectivity, and, on some models, 3G connectivity. This combination of features and the quality of its build set it apart from competitors, establishing the iPad as a premium option in the emerging tablet market.
The iPad catalyzed a shift in the software industry, leading to the development of apps designed specifically for its larger screen, which increasingly differed from the smartphone applications of the time. This app ecosystem rapidly expanded, with developers creating a wide range of applications from productivity tools and games to educational software. The iPad went on to be vital to the education market and many mobile workflows.
The lineup has since expanded to include new models like the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. The introduction of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard further transformed the iPad from a simple media consumption device to a tool designed for creativity and productivity. visionOS, the operating system behind the Apple Vision Pro headset, is also based on iPadOS to a large extent.
Today, it has been almost 18 months since any new iPads have launched – the longest-ever wait for new models. 2023 was the only year since the iPad’s introduction with no new iPad models. Apple is now expected to release refreshed iPad Air and iPad Pro models in May, with updates to the entry-level iPad and the iPad mini tabled for later in the year.
Go ahead and make fun of the Apple iPad on your favorite social network, I dare you. You will be swarmed by iPad fans, defending their favorite tablet to the death, which always seems to be just over the horizon for the tablet market. We got no new iPads in 2023, making it one of the hardest ever for iPad fanatics, but I say fear not! The iPad is healthy, and I see a brighter future than ever for Apple’s tablet.
Is the iPad really healthy? Well, according to Canalys, iPad sales declined year-on-year by quite a bit, as much as 24%. That still left Apple in a distant first place among tablet makers. Samsung’s sales declined only 11%, but it still shipped less than half of the tablets that Apple delivered, according to Canalys estimates.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is incredibly capable (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
That’s gotta be tough news for Samsung. The latest Galaxy Tab S9 series, including the more affordable Galaxy Tab S9 FE, are some of Samsung’s best tablets ever. The entire lineup is IP68 water resistant, which is a first for tablets that aren’t sold as rugged business tablets. They come with an S Pen, which is a better stylus than the Apple Pencil, a $79 / £79 / AU$139 implement that doesn’t even work with every iPad.
The iPad didn’t need an update to stay up-to-date
The iPad, on the other hand, has languished on shelves for a long time. There were no iPad updates in 2023. After endowing the iPad Pro with the M2 chip, and the iPad Air with the M1 chip, in late 2022, Apple left the tablet alone.
The base model iPad was updated in 2022, and it still uses a mobile A14 Bionic chipset, while the even older iPad mini, last updated in 2021, inexplicably uses a faster A15 Bionic. Apple also still sells the iPad 10.2-inch model from 2021 as a new device.
You can still buy this 2021 iPad 10.2 from Apple brand new (Image credit: TechRadar)
Here’s the thing – the iPad was already more than a year ahead of other tablets on the market. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S is a powerful, capable Android tablet with a fantastic display. Its Snapdragon processor can’t come close to the iPad Air’s M1 chip. The M1 chipset can power a professional laptop. The Snapdragon is strictly mobile.
Even the A14 Bionic chipset in the base model iPad gives the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, found in the Galaxy Tab S9, a run for its money.
The iPad is so overpowered it sticks around longer
How could Apple improve the iPad? Maybe a better question would ask, what improvements do we need? The iPad is already powerful, well-designed, and long-lasting. I mean it lasts a long time in battery tests, and it also lasts a long time as a product you’ll own. When it comes to longevity, the iPad puts the iPhone to shame, though maybe that should change.
I owned the very first iPad, and I used it for at least six years before I broke it accidentally by dropping it. By then, it wasn’t worth fixing, but I felt I’d gotten plenty of value out of that purchase. On the last day it was alive, I was able to do everything I wanted, including playing games, watching movies, and browsing all of my favorite websites. A six-year-old iPad was completely capable, and I couldn’t have asked for more.
The original iPad lasted a very long time, years and years
A big reason why the iPad market has stalled is because the market is saturated. People keep iPads and tablets much longer than they keep phones. On inspection, we should probably all just hold onto our phones longer. If a five-year-old iPad is a powerhouse, then a five-year-old iPhone is probably much more capable than we all imagine.
The difference is that Apple and our mobile carriers offer us financial incentives to trade in our old phones for new ones. That’s how we buy phones, on contracts and payment plans. That’s not how most people pay for tablets.
Do you really need a fourth screen? Of course you do
The iPad is the best of all of those worlds, and iPad fans know it
That’s the real problem with the iPad: it’s another expenditure on a device that replaces… well, nothing. If you have an iPhone, you can do everything the iPad can do, and more. If you have a laptop, too, then you really don’t need a third screen. What about that smart TV on your wall? Now, an iPad makes four screens, and there’s nothing it offers that your other screens can’t manage.
The iPad isn’t an impulse buy, either. It isn’t a hundred bucks or so. You can’t buy it with the gift card you won in a work raffle like you might buy an Amazon Fire tablet for $100. The iPad costs hundreds, and that’s before you add accessories like the Apple Pencil, a keyboard, or even just a nice folio cover.
Still, there is something undeniable about its appeal. The iPad is more powerful and capable than a smartphone. It’s more portable than a laptop. It’s more personal than the TV hanging on the wall. The iPad is the best of all of those worlds, and iPad fans know it.
The iPad’s bottom line is much lower this year
Of course a new iPad Air with an OLED screen would be sweet (Image credit: Apple)
Here’s what truly made this past year a boon for iPad fans. Every iPad model can be found for the lowest price ever. The iPad 10.9 is $429 / £307.62 right now on Amazon, down from $449 / £499 at launch. The iPad Air is $449 / £438.02, down from $599 / £569. Sorry, Australian friends, Amazon isn’t giving you the same iPad discount these days.
The iPad Pro hasn’t dropped as much as the rest, but the 64GB M1 iPad Air now costs $150 / £120 less on Amazon than it did when it launched. That’s a 25% discount in the US. Maybe Apple was doing the right thing by delaying any iPad update as long as possible. The iPad didn’t need an update. It needed a price cut.
Apple today updated its trio of iWork apps Keynote, Numbers, and Pages for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone with several new features and changes.
The release notes for version 14.0 of the Mac apps follow, and the release notes for version 14.0 of the iPad and iPhone apps are nearly identical.
Keynote
• Add a new look to your slides with the Dynamic Color, Minimalist Light, and Minimalist Dark themes • Streamlined in-app notifications inform you when a person joins a collaborative presentation for the first time • Preserve file format and full quality when adding HEIC photos taken on iPhone or iPad • Press and hold the Command key to select noncontiguous words, sentences, or paragraphs • Improved compatibility for slide transitions when importing and exporting Microsoft PowerPoint files • Additional stability and performance improvements
• Streamlined in-app notifications inform you when a person joins a collaborative spreadsheet for the first time • Preserve file format and full quality when adding HEIC photos taken on iPhone or iPad • Press and hold the Command key to select noncontiguous words, sentences, or paragraphs • Additional stability and performance improvements
• Press and hold the Command key to select noncontiguous words, sentences, or paragraphs • Streamlined in-app notifications inform you when a person joins a collaborative document for the first time • Preserve file format and full quality when adding HEIC photos taken on iPhone or iPad • Additional stability and performance improvements
Apple’s WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company’s next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and…
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will…
Apple today added a handful of devices to its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, including some older iPhone and iPad models. Apple now considers the iPhone 6 Plus to be “obsolete” worldwide, meaning that Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers no longer offer repairs or other hardware service for the device. Apple says it considers a product “obsolete” once seven…
Apple has yet to release the first beta of iOS 17.5 for the iPhone, but two changes are already expected with the upcoming software update. iOS 17.5 will likely allow iPhone users in the EU to download apps directly from the websites of eligible developers, and the update might include some changes to how Apple ID recovery contacts work. More details about these potential changes follow. W…
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple’s AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these…
Nearly one year after it launched in the U.S., the Apple Card’s high-yield savings account will be receiving its first-ever interest rate decrease. Starting on April 3, the Apple Card savings account’s annual percentage yield (APY) will be lowered to 4.4%, according to data on Apple’s backend discovered by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The account currently has a 4.5% APY. 4.4% will …
Best Buy is discounting a large collection of M3 MacBook Pro computers today, including both the 14-inch and 16-inch versions of the laptop. Every deal in this sale requires you to have a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership, although non-members can still get solid second-best prices on these MacBook Pro models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and…
Apple’s 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini 6 has dropped to a new all-time low price today on Amazon, available for $375.00 in Starlight, down from $499.00. Amazon provides an estimated delivery date between this Wednesday, April 3 and Saturday, April 6 if you order today.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This is now the best price we’ve ever tracked on the iPad mini 6, and it beats the previous low tracked over the holidays by about $5. Right now, only Amazon has the Starlight color at this price, but you can get the three other colors for $99 off with an on-page coupon.
Apple’s iPad mini 6 was introduced in late 2021, so it’s reaching the end of its lifecycle at this point. This is likely why we’ll start seeing steeper deals on the miniature tablet, which includes the A15 Bionic chip, a USB-C port, and Apple Pencil 2 support.
If you’re on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will…
In November, Apple announced that the iPhone would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app starting “later” in 2024, and Google has now revealed a more narrow timeframe. In a since-deleted section of the revamped Google Messages web page, spotted by 9to5Google, Google said that Apple would be adopting RCS on the iPhone in the “fall…
Apple’s WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company’s next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and…
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple’s AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these…
Photos of the first iPhone 16 cases have been shared online, offering another preview of the rumored new vertical rear camera arrangement on the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Image credit: Accessory leaker Sonny Dickson Over the last few months, Apple has been experimenting with different camera bump designs for the standard iPhone 16 models, all of which have featured a vertical …
A $3 third-party app can now record spatial video on iPhone 15 Pro models in a higher resolution than Apple’s very own Camera app. Thanks to an update first spotted by UploadVR, Spatialify can now record spatial videos with HDR in 1080p at 60fps or in 4K at 30fps. In comparison, Apple’s native Camera app is limited to recording spatial video in 1080p at 30fps. Shortly after Apple’s Vision …
Apple today added a handful of devices to its public-facing vintage and obsolete products list, including some older iPhone and iPad models.
Apple now considers the iPhone 6 Plus to be “obsolete” worldwide, meaning that Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers no longer offer repairs or other hardware service for the device. Apple says it considers a product “obsolete” once seven years have passed since the company last distributed it for sale.
Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September 2014, with key features including larger screens than previous models and Apple Pay support. Apple discontinued the iPhone 6 Plus in September 2016, but the iPhone 6 remained available through resellers in select countries for a few more years, so it is not yet considered “obsolete.”
On the software side, iOS 13 dropped support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2019.
As for the iPad, Apple now considers the fourth-generation iPad mini to be “vintage,” meaning that more than five years have passed since the company stopped distributing the device for sale. Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers continue to offer repairs for vintage products for up to two more years, subject to parts availability.
Apple also added the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to its “vintage” products list, but in the (PRODUCT)RED color only. The devices remained available in other colors for longer, so those colors are not “vintage” yet.
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will…
In November, Apple announced that the iPhone would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app starting “later” in 2024, and Google has now revealed a more narrow timeframe. In a since-deleted section of the revamped Google Messages web page, spotted by 9to5Google, Google said that Apple would be adopting RCS on the iPhone in the “fall…
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple’s AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these…
Apple’s WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company’s next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and…
Photos of the first iPhone 16 cases have been shared online, offering another preview of the rumored new vertical rear camera arrangement on the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Image credit: Accessory leaker Sonny Dickson Over the last few months, Apple has been experimenting with different camera bump designs for the standard iPhone 16 models, all of which have featured a vertical …
A $3 third-party app can now record spatial video on iPhone 15 Pro models in a higher resolution than Apple’s very own Camera app. Thanks to an update first spotted by UploadVR, Spatialify can now record spatial videos with HDR in 1080p at 60fps or in 4K at 30fps. In comparison, Apple’s native Camera app is limited to recording spatial video in 1080p at 30fps. Shortly after Apple’s Vision …
Adding high-speed plug-in storage capacity to your computer is so easy it’s something every Mac user should consider. Here are some of the best consumer-oriented external SSDs that are designed for portability.
Today is World Backup Day, which seems a good opportunity to explore external storage options. Especially as there are deals on some of the best SSDs available.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
External storage offers advantages
Apple charges an arm and a leg for additional built-in storage capacity. Configuring a MacBook Air with an additional 256GB costs a whopping $200, for instance. An external SSD it’s a lot more affordable — you can add terabytes of storage for that same amount.
True, the plug-in accessory isn’t quite as convenient, but it’s close. And it’s the better option for Time Machine backups because you can leave the drive at home where it’s not at risk.
To make a a “best of” list, any portable SSD has to include USB-C. That means you can use it with multiple Macs but also your iPad and maybe even your iPhone.
Plus, think about the future. When you switch to a newer computer in a couple of years, the portable SSD you buy now is still useful. Built-in storage goes with the Mac.
Table of contents:
Samsung T9
The Samsung T9 SSD is small but holds terabytes of data. Photo: Samsung
The best external SSD I’ve tested is the Samsung T9. The solid-state drive is small enough and tough enough to go almost anywhere. And it’s available in capacities up to 4 terabytes.
It’s 3.5 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.6 inches, and covered in a layer of rubber. That allows it to survive drops up to 9.8 feet (3 meters), and it’s much less slick than aluminum.
For Mac or iPad users, the external SSD supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 over its USB-C port. Using this standard, it offers speeds of up to 10 Gb/s.
Don’t miss my Samsung T9 review, and also don’t miss the Amazon sale on the accessory going on now.
Buy it on sale:
Kingston XS1000 or XS2000
Add up to 2TB of storage to your Mac or iPad with this pocket-size SSD. Photo: Kingston
Two more of the best SSDs on the market are the Kingston XS1000 and XS2000. Each is about the size of pack of gum.
The XS1000 holds up to 2 terabytes of data, and is 2.75 inches by 1.3 inches by 0.5 inches. It has a plastic exterior, and Kingston makes no promises about drop survivability. The Cult of Mac review goes into more detail.
The Kingston XS2000 comes in capacities up to 4TB. It is about the same size as its sister model, but comes bundled with a removable sleeve for drop protection.
The 1TB version is $114.99, and some capacities are currently on sale.
On either version, the USB-C port supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, so Mac and iPad users can move data at up to 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write.
Kingston DataTraveler Max
The high-speed Kingston DataTraveler flash drive comes in sizes up to 1TB. Photo: Kingston
Those who need a bit less storage capacity can appreciate the Kingston DataTraveler Max. It’s the smallest option on this “Best SSD” list, and the only one to come with a built-in USB-C connector so it plugs directly into a Mac or iPad, no cable necessary.
It tops out at 1TB of capacity, and offers USB 3.2 Gen 2.
The Samsung T9 and the Kingston’s XS2000 support USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, which means they can transfer data at up to 20 Gb/s . However, Macs and iPads do not currently support the standard. Apple’s focus is more on Thunderbolt, which is up to twice as fast.
Because Apple users get no benefits from USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, it’s not highlighted on this list. But it’s worth a mention for anyone who’ll use either of the drives with a Windows PC that does support it.
March 31, 2010: The world gets its first sense of how Apple’s tablet measures up, as the first iPad reviews hit the internet.
The consensus? That there’s no Flash, no USB, no multitasking — but Apple’s tablet offers an exciting new computing experience all the same. As USA Today writes, “The first iPad is a winner.”
Original iPad wows reviewers
The iPad was Steve Jobs’ final major new product category at Apple. He previously shepherded the launch of hits like the iPod, iTunes Music Store and the iPhone during his second tenure with the company.
Jobs unveiled the iPad on January 27, 2010. But with the exception of a few rare (and carefully selected) public appearances, the world did not get much information about how well the tablet performed until the first reviews began to trickle out on this day in 2010.
The verdicts from these precious few early iPad reviewers proved as positive as most potential owners hoped. Pogue said anybody intrigued by the tablet form factor would “love the machine.” The tablet’s ability to play movies continuously for more than 12 hours particularly impressed him.
Mossberg called the iPad “a whole new type of computer.” He referred to it as a “pleasure to use” — and said it made him less interested in using his laptop.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Andy Inhatko got it right when he wrote that the iPad fills “a gap that’s existed for quite some time” — pitched halfway between an iPhone and a MacBook.
First iPad reviews: Better for content consumption than creation
Interestingly, the first iPad reviews acknowledge a challenge that Apple continues to face with subsequent iterations of its tablet. The critics noted that the device does not replace a laptop — and works better for consuming content than creating it.
Pogue wrote that a laptop will do more for less money. Mossberg confessed that — as much as he loved the iPad — he still turned to his laptop for writing and editing larger documents.
The first-gen iPad went on sale on April 3, 2010, with a 3G version following on April 30. The tablet became a big hit for Apple at launch. It took less than a month to sell 1 million units. (That’s half the time it took to sell that many iPhones.)
In its first year, the iPad sold around 25 million units. That made it the most successful new product category launch in Apple history.
Did you own a first-gen iPad? Leave your comments below.
OLED panel supply issues may be partly behind Apple’s iPad Pro launch delay, based on reports coming out of Korea.
Apple’s original plan was to rely on different OLED display suppliers for the upcoming iPad Pro models, with Samsung Display exclusively producing ~11-inch panels and LG Display responsible for the required ~13-inch panels.
The division of labor was reportedly due to changes in Apple’s demand outlook for OLED iPad Pro models, as well as the unstable production capacity and yield of the two suppliers, which are both still getting to grips with Apple’s requirement for new panel technologies.
Early reports suggested the new models could arrive as soon as this month. However, according to Korean news site hankooki.com, Samsung has recently faced poor yields of the ~11-inch OLED panels, and it has been unable to meet Apple’s order quantity. The shortfall has led Apple to transfer some orders for the smaller panel to LG Display. The latter is subsequently expected to increase its order by hundreds of thousands of units going into next month.
Given the reallocation, LG Display is now likely to supply 60% of the panels for the upcoming iPad Pro models. The company has invested millions of dollars into its sixth-generation small- and medium-sized OLED production line, and has now passed Apple’s quality control standards for the larger panels, enabling it to take up the slack from Samsung.
Apple earlier this month ordered an initial 8.5 million OLED display panels from the South Korean suppliers. Apple’s latest shipments forecast is said to have been a decrease from the 10 million units that were projected for 2024 last year.
Apple is rumored to be aiming for “unrivaled” display quality with the new iPad Pro models, which will use a tandem OLED structure. The tandem structure is a method of stacking two layers of OLED light-emitting layers. It is superior to the luminance (screen brightness) and lifespan of a single OLED structure with one light-emitting layer. The iPhone currently uses a single stack OLED display with one light-emitting layer.
Apple will now introduce new iPad Pro models alongside new iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. Apple is apparently working to “finish software for the new devices,” and the iPad Pro models also need “complex new manufacturing techniques,” which Gurman says has contributed to the delay.
It has long been rumored that Apple will use Samsung Display’s OLED panels in its next-generation iPad Pro lineup. Those iPads were expected to be launched this month, but that didn’t happen, and it was understood that the launch of those iPad Pros has been delayed. It is rumored that Samsung could be the reason behind the delayed launch.
Samsung Display reportedly faced yield issues for OLED panels for upcoming iPad Pros
According to a new report from Hankooki, Samsung Display recently faced poor yields (usable panels from all the manufactured ones) for its new 11-inch OLED panels, and it has been unable to meet Apple’s order quantity. This forced Apple to transfer orders for some OLED panels from Samsung Display to LG Display. LG Display is expected to increase its production capacity by hundreds of thousands next month.
Due to this reallocation, LG Display is expected to make 60% of all OLED orders for the next-generation iPad Pro lineup. Earlier, Apple had divided OLED orders between LG Display and Samsung Display. LG was meant to make 13-inch panels, while Samsung was tasked with making 11-inch OLED panels. These are newer OLED panels with two light-emitting layers, offering much longer life and higher brightness.
Recently, LG invested millions of dollars to set up a sixth-generation OLED panel manufacturing line and received quality control certification from Apple. It can now pick up some slack from Samsung Display. Apple has reportedly placed orders for 8.5 million OLED panels for its upcoming iPad Pro models. This is a decrease from the previously reported 10 million figure.
What to expect from OLED iPad Pros?
The upcoming iPad Pros are expected to be costlier than the current-generation ones. They could feature Apple’s M3 chips, bringing a huge performance increase compared to the current-generation iPad Pros. The upcoming iPad Pros are now expected to launch sometime in May 2024.
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again.
Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will get OLED display technology and the new M3 chips, while the iPad Air will come in the standard 10.9-inch size and a larger 12.9-inch size.
According to Gurman, Apple’s suppliers are ramping up production of the new iPads at the current time. Apple initially planned to launch the iPads in March or early April, but is apparently working to “finish software for the new devices.” The OLED iPad Pro models also need “complex new manufacturing techniques,” which Gurman says has contributed to the delay.
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple’s password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they’ll respond favorably to social engineering. An…
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce…
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new…
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as “Instant Digital.” Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will…
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. “The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone’s software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade,” wrote Gurman, in a r…
Apple may be planning to add support for “custom routes” in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple’s pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled “CustomRouteCreation.” While not much is revealed…
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There’s also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who…
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18….
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
March 31, 2010: The world gets its first sense of how Apple’s tablet measures up, as the first iPad reviews hit the internet.
