Apple quietly added a new privacy feature to the latest iPad Pro, borrowing a MacBook security feature to help prevent eavesdropping on its 2020 tablets. With the launch of the 2018 MacBook range and the introduction of the Apple T2 security chip, closing the lid of the notebooks automatically disconnects the hardware microphones.
Despite all odds and talk about delayed or insufficient supplies, Apple launched what may be its biggest change to the iPad Pro line yet. Actually, the biggest change may not be from the iPad Pro itself but from its keyboard accessory. Yes, the 2020 iPad Pro, specifically the larger 12.9-inch model, has a new LiDAR for augmented reality purposes. But aside from the few hardware upgrades, it seems that this year's iPad Pros are nearly identical to 2018's iPad Pros, and not in the good ways.
At last, track pad for the iPad. For many of us, it would seem like the final step to having a lightweight and ultra-convenient tablet replace a bulky laptop. After all, the iPad Pro has always boasted laptop-beating specs, especially at the price. And few screens match the color-accuracy and gorgeous fluidity of its screen. Having one of the best smart pens in the business sure helps too.
iOS 13.4, along with iPadOS 13.4, isn't the only big software release that Apple rolled out today. As part of its gift to iPad Pro users, it has announced the availability of ARKit version 3.5. Its biggest new feature is support for LiDARs which, of course, requires the new 2020 iPad Pro hardware. It may, however, also prefigure what may be coming to this year's iPhones as well.
Against all odds, Apple launched two new iPad Pros this week, though the expected iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 8 and its larger sibling remain absent. That may give a feeling that everything is OK in Apple land, at least until people try to buy these and other Apple products from the company's online store. For now, buyers are being limited in the number of iPhones and iPads they can buy under a single name, one of the first visible signs of the COVID-19 coronavirus' effects in the industry.
The gap between the iPad Pro and the MacBook only gets smaller, and now I suspect it's time for Apple's tablet to get bigger. The arrival this week of the new 2020 iPad Pro, complete with LiDAR Scanner camera and fancy new Magic Keyboard cover, saw Apple take a huge step with the addition of mouse and trackpad support, and an on-screen cursor.
Apple aren't the only ones with a new iPad keyboard today, with Logitech unveiling a trackpad-toting keyboard case for the iPadOS tablet. Unlike the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, though, the new Logitech Combo Touch is intended for Apple's more affordable tablets too, though it'll only really come into its own when iPadOS 13.4 drops later in the year.
Apple's new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro isn't just for the updated 2020 tablet, the company has confirmed, with news about backward compatibility shared today. Announced alongside the latest iPad Pro, the Magic Keyboard promises to address some of the lingering complaints tablet users have had about Apple's keyboard covers, including bringing trackpad support for the first time.
Apple's trackpad support isn't just limited to the new 2020 iPad Pro and its Magic Keyboard cover. Though the new tablet and accessory were announced today with the addition of trackpad functionality, they'll actually be features of iPadOS 13.4, Apple has confirmed. That's good news for existing iPad owners - and they won't have to wait until iOS 14.
Apple has announced a new iPad Pro, adding a Magic Keyboard cover with trackpad, upgrading the processor, and building in a LiDAR Scanner camera for augmented reality. The new iPad Pro looks much the same as its predecessor from the front, but flip it over and there's a square camera cluster much like that of the iPhone 11 Pro on the rear.
Four unannounced iPad Pro models have prematurely leaked, listings for the quartet of iPadOS tablets apparently being added to Apple's site before hurriedly being removed. Apple has been widely predicted to launch new iPad Pro models in the first half of 2020, complete with features like an iPhone 11 Pro-style triple camera array on the rear.
A glut of new Apple hardware and features have been revealed by leaked iOS 14 code, including details on the so-called iPhone 9, an update to the iPad Pro, and other devices the company looks set to announce in 2020. It's unclear at this stage when Apple might be unveiling its new hardware, and at what venue: a rumored event at the end of March looks increasingly unlikely given the coronavirus situation.