The new iPad Pro models can be seen at Tuesday's Apple event. The new iPad Pro is the first Apple device to feature the M4 chip. The larger version with a 13-inch display is the thinnest Apple device to date, measuring 5.1 millimeters thick. Photo: Christoph Dernbach/dpa (Photo by Christoph Dernbach/picture Alliance via Getty Images)
Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new line of iPad tablets that are refreshed with powerful AI chips, signaling that the company is ready to bring artificial intelligence across its devices.
The latest version of the iPad Pro uses a new chip called M4, which is more powerful than the chips currently used in Apple's laptops and is primed to handle more power-hungry AI tasks. The company said it has.
The iPad Pro and ultralight iPad Air are the company's first iPad releases in two years, ending Apple's longest period without an upgrade since launching the tablet in 2010.
“Taken together, these new chips make iPad Pro the most powerful device of its kind,” said Johnny Sluge, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technology.
Apple is expected to make a series of more ambitious AI announcements at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, in which the M4 chip could play a role.
The company founded by Steve Jobs has been criticized for being too slow in tackling the AI revolution, even as Microsoft dethrones it as the world's largest company by market capitalization.
Microsoft has fully embraced the AI craze, rushing to release AI-enhanced versions of its software and applications and pushing tools like the Copilot chat feature to its cloud computing clients.
Analysts expect the M4 chip's capabilities to power other products such as iPhones and laptops.
“We see generative AI as a very important opportunity across our products,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said after Apple's latest financial results last week.
