Apple overhauled its two best iPad accessories. Here’s what’s new

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published May 7, 2024

Apple Pencil Pro — Apple

Apple has unveiled two new accessories for the iPad Pro 2024 models, an upgraded Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil that offer significant improvements compared to their previous versions.

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The latest version of the Magic Keyboard has undergone a redesign, making it thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It is now available in two colors to complement the new iPad Pro models. Some new features include a function row equipped with screen brightness controls, an aluminum palm rest, and a larger trackpad with haptic feedback.

The Magic Keyboard for the 11-inch iPad Pro is $299, while the 13-inch iPad Pro is $349. They will be available with layouts for over 30 languages. You can preorder your new keyboard now, and the first shipments will arrive next week alongside the new iPad Pro models.

2024 Magic Keyboard — Apple

Apple also announced the Apple Pencil Pro. The new stylus promises to take the pencil experience to a new level. It’s equipped with a sensor in its barrel, which allows for new capabilities, such as squeezing the barrel to bring up a new tool palette. This palette lets you quickly switch between tools, line weights, and colors. The Pencil Pro also features a built-in haptic engine that provides feedback whenever you squeeze, double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape. The Pencil Pro’s internal gyroscope allows for more precise control by rolling the pencil.

The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Pro and costs $129. Preorders start now, and the first shipments will arrive next week.

On Tuesday, Apple also announced two new iPad Air models. These and the new iPad Pro models arrive a month before Apple is likely to announce iPadOS 18 at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

Mobile

iPad Pro with next-gen M5 silicon could arrive later this year

Magic Keyboard and iPad Pro.

It seems tablets are increasingly becoming the unofficial launch testbed for Apple’s next-gen silicon. The 2024 iPad Pro marked the debut of Apple’s M4 chip, ahead of its appearance inside the Mac hardware.
Carrying forward the torch, the next iPad Pro refresh could be “one of the first devices” to get a M5 series processor. According to Bloomberg, the next-gen iPad Pro has progressed into the advanced stages of internal testing. Moreover, it is expected to hit the shelves later this year, likely in the Fall season.
Apple gave the M4 series refresh to the Mac lineup, including the MacBook Air, Pro, and Studio models, earlier this year. The M4 Pro and M4 Max processors were only introduced late last year, so it seems increasingly plausible that the baseline M5 would arrive later this year, followed by its Pro, Max, or Ultra variants.
Given the “freshness” status of the current Mac hardware, the upcoming iPad Pro seems like the first candidate to get a taste of the next-gen M5 processor. “The new versions of that model, code-named J817, J818, J820 and J821, are in late testing within Apple and on track for production in the second half of this year,” adds the report.
What to expect from M5 iPad Pro?

Starting with the design , Apple is not expected to make any notable changes, given the company’s history. The iPad Pro got a major design overhaul in 2024, embracing a super-sleek look, one fewer camera, and a new keyboard accessory to go with it.
As far as the silicon goes, the M5 series will reportedly be based on the 3nm process and built atop ARM’s next-gen CPU architecture. In addition to the 2025 iPad Pro, Apple is also expected to launch new MacBook Pro models later this year, armed with an M5-tier processor.

Mobile

The iPad doesn’t need AI, but Apple must fix something else

Top view of the rear shell on the 11th Gen iPad.

I just finished testing the new entry-level iPad, and so far, I am fairly impressed by the tablet. You can’t get a better value than this slate for $349. From the external hardware to the innards, there is hardly any alternative from the Android side that can deliver a superior experience.
This year, Apple delivered a couple of surprises, in addition to the expected chip upgrade. You now get twice the storage for the same ask, and the RAM has also been bumped up. In a nutshell, it’s faster, better at multi-tasking, and without any storage headaches, even if your budget is tight.
Apple, however, hasn’t fixed the software situation with iPadOS, which continues to bother with its fair share of quirks in tow. This year, however, the software gulf is even wider between the baseline iPad and every other tablet in Apple’s portfolio. Stage Manager has been the big differentiator so far, but in 2025, we have another deep chasm.

A good riddance with AI

Mobile

Is the base iPad too popular to get Apple Intelligence?

iPad (2025) colors.

In an age where Apple is all about its AI powered Apple Intelligence, it seems odd that it hasn't crammed it into the base model iPad (2025). Why that is may have now become clearer.

On the surface there's the obvious hardware issue of the base iPad simply not packing enough punch to keep up with the AI. But Apple would have known this in advance, so it presumably chose to leave this model of iPad a little behind in terms of AI upgrades.