Apple’s iPad Pro Revival Will Disrupt MacBook Pro Success

Updated April 28: Article originally published April 27.

As Apple prepares to launch a new iPad model after an eighteen-month interval, will the MacBook Pro lose out?

With the launch of the M1 Apple Silicon chipset in 2020 and its subsequent inclusion on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple disrupted not only its own laptop and desktop business, but also that of the competition. The pressure has been kept up with the release of the M2, and only now, as the M3 iteration draws closer to the competition, are we seeing the potential of ARM-based competitors driven by Qulacomm’s new Snapdragon .

Yet Apple is poised to shift the public’s attention away from the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The year of the Mac is over, long live the iPad.

With the announcement of its next live event on Tuesday, May 7, Apple has all but confirmed the launch of a new iPad and a new Apple Pencil through the invitation artwork. The iPad line hasn’t seen any new products since October 2022. Two versions of the iPad Air are expected to launch, a 10.9-inch version and a 12.9-inch version.

Two iPad Pro upgrades are also planned, with a move to OLED displays accidentally leaked by Apple.

Update: Sunday, April 28: A major update was revealed this weekend. Write for Bloomberg’s Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reports on the Apple Silicon that will be installed inside the new iPad Pro tablets. It will not be the M3 chipset currently present in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro intended for the general public; This is the next generation M4 chipset.

The M4 will have the natural differences in specs that you see between annual chip upgrades, but it will have one key feature not present in the M3: artificial intelligence. Apple uses AI in several applications and processes (including image processing and predictive typing). Yet it lags behind rival manufacturers shipping silicon with dedicated hardware to support the AI ​​revolution.

With the M4 chipset, Apple can bring its “big” hardware into the AI ​​game alongside the “mobile” A18 which will debut with the iPhone 16 family in September. If the iPad Pro announced in May comes with the M4 chipset, it will be Apple’s first AI-focused hardware, beating out the iPhone and Mac family.

Apple has always emphasized the role of the iPad family as a replacement for a traditional computer. With a stylus, touchscreen, and keyboard available, the iPad Pro could satisfy the basic needs of consumers who would normally turn to the MacBook Air and Pro models. You’ll be limited to apps that Apple deems safe to list in the iPad’s App Store. These will generally be simplified versions of the applications you can find on the macOS platform; good enough for social media, casual use, and office tools, but don’t expect to be able to expand the iPad platform like with the Mac platform.

With the new iPads arriving, you can expect Apple’s PR team to focus on hardware over the next few months. The power of the iPad, the ability to do everything you need on the go, the power of the hardware and the apps that unlock it…

Apple hopes pent-up demand for a new model will contribute to a successful sales period. It just needs to diminish the promises of the MacBook.

Now read the latest headlines on iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro in Forbes’ weekly Apple roundup…