Apple announced new versions of its iPad Pros, a totally redesigned regular iPad and an updated version of the Apple TV 4K on Tuesday.
The launches give Apple more new gadgets to sell ahead of the important holiday shopping season. The new tablets may help the company boost its iPad sales, which dipped 14% during Apple’s last holiday quarter and 2% during the most recent quarter. And they join Apple’s latest iPhone 14, two new Apple Watches and brand-new AirPods Pro.
Here’s what’s new.
A redesigned iPad
The new entry-level iPad is totally redesigned.
The home button at the bottom of the screen is gone and has been replaced with a fingerprint reader in the power button. It has a more squared design, similar to the iPad Air and iPad Pro, with a large 10.9-inch screen, USB-C in place of the Lightning connector, and will ship in different colors like red, yellow, blue and white.
Apple also announced a new $249 Magic Keyboard Folio case for the iPad that has a kickstand, a trackpad with support for multitouch and a magnetic connector that automatically charges it. But there’s something strange about the Apple Pencil support.
The new iPad doesn’t work with the better second-generation Apple Pencil, which charges on the side of the iPad Air, iPad mini and iPad Pro. Since the new iPad uses USB-C instead of a Lightning port — which is used to charge the Apple Pencil on earlier models — you’ll need to buy a $9 USB-C to Lightning adapter in order to charge the Apple Pencil.
Apple will sell different configurations, including Wi-Fi only and WiFi + 5G cellular, but it starts at $449, which is a bump from the $329 starting price of the ninth-generation iPad. It’s available to order Tuesday and will be in stores beginning Oct. 26.
Apple iPad Pro 2022
As in recent years, the company will sell two sizes of the iPad Pros: an 11-inch model and a larger 12.9-inch model with a nicer screen.
The big change to the iPad Pro is a new M2 processor, which is the same one that was introduced in the MacBook Air earlier this year. Apple said it’s up to 15% faster than the M1 processor used in the last model of the iPad Pro that was introduced in 2021.
The Apple Pencil works a bit differently on the new iPad Pros, too. The screen can now detect the tip of the Pencil up to 12 mm above the surface of the screen. Apple says this will allow artists to sketch with more precision and makes handwriting-to-text conversions faster.
The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 while the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099. They’re available to order beginning Tuesday and land in stores on Oct. 26.
Apple TV 4K 2022
The Apple TV 4K has a faster processor and ships in two models, a Wi-Fi-only version with 64GB of storage and a Wi-Fi + Ethernet model, which allows for a wired internet connection and has twice the storage.
The streaming box adds support for HDR10+, another high-dynamic range standard that, if offered by the TV it’s connected to, should help improve picture quality, especially in dark scenes. And the updated processor, which Apple says is 50% faster than the previous version, should make things like loading apps and games faster.
The new Apple TV 4K has the updated Siri Remote with standard USB-C charging, which is the same cable used to charge iPads and non-Apple products. The remote used to use Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector.
The new Apple TV 4K starts at $129 and can be ordered beginning Tuesday. It hits stores Nov. 4.
