The Apple M4 hardly needs any introduction - the latest desktop-class SoC from the Cupertino giant is remarkably fast, while being impressively efficient. Its recently unveiled Pro and Max variants are equally praiseworthy, although none of the 4th generation Apple Silicon goodness is available on the extremely popular MacBook Air as of right now. However, that is about to change soon according to a reliable recent report.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the M4-powered MacBook Air has already entered production, and is scheduled to witness the light of day by the spring of next year, possibly even earlier. However, it is certainly worth noting that unlike the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air does not feature active cooling, making its performance rather limited in demanding, sustained scenarios as compared to the MacBook Pro. Even then, the M4 is likely to be much snappier than its primary x86 rival, Intel's Lunar Lake, if the M4 iPad Pro's performance is anything to go by.

According to a recent report by seasoned industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the M5-powered iPad Pro is set to enter mass-production towards the latter half of next year. This falls in line with previous information that came courtesy of supply chain sources.

Apple revealed the M4 SoC alongside the OLED iPad Pro refresh in May of this year, which was quite a surprise considering that this was the first time Apple chose to unveil a new M-series SoC in an iPad instead of a Mac. This trend appears poised to continue, with the 2025 iPad Pro as well. Interestingly, Apple is seemingly switching up its release schedule yet again, barely managing to stick to a uniform 12-month cycle. The M3 followed the M2 after almost 16 months, while the M4 replaced the M3 in just 6 months.

Starlink today unveiled the Starlink Mini dish set. Priced at $299, this miniaturized version of the Starlink receiver is about the size and shape of an iPad Pro 13-inch with a kickstand. It measures 28.9 cm x 24 cm, and is about as thick as a mainstream laptop. This single device combines the dish, the receiver hardware, and a Wi-Fi 6 router. Wherever you are, you simply need to place and orient the device the right way, and it will configure itself. The main SoC of the device that handles both the satellite WAN and Wi-Fi switching, is made by MediaTek. The Starlink Mini isn't meant to replace the standard Starlink set. It offers a downstream speed of 100 Mbps, and an upstream speed of around 11 Mbps, which should be plenty for high-resolution Teams conferences anywhere on Earth that you can find the Starlink service.

NuPhy is a bespoke gaming and studio keyboard brand, which brought several popular keyboard models from its lineup to Computex 2024. The HE-series is the most cyberpunk-looking of the lot, with its aluminium handle, alloy body, a metal programmable scrollwheel and a few physical knobs. Every functional aspect of the keyboard is configurable, including the keycaps, custom-sized buttons, knobs, and the key switches themselves. The keyboard features a massive 4000 mAh battery, and electronics that support 8000 Hz interface polling rate. 2.4 GHz is the faster wireless interface, Bluetooth is the more convenient albeit slower interface, and then there's always USB.

The Neon series is an interesting disaggregated 85% format keyboard. The 60% portion of it is disjointed from the Numpad that has a knob. Both portions connect to the PC as two separate keyboards. The Halo series is a 65% keyboard meant for high-comfort productivity and gaming. The example shown has a UK ISO layout, but you can order the keyboard with US ANSI, or any popular international layout. The Gem series are compact Tenkeyless keyboards with an aluminium body, and matching keycaps. The NuFolio is a compact 55% keyboard meant to be paired with tablets, such as the iPad Pro. The Halo 75 V2 is built on the same essential design philosophy as the Gem, but in a 75% layout.

According to Geekerwan, Apple's latest M4 silicon has achieved a remarkable milestone by using liquid nitrogen to chill Apple's M4 iPad Pro. This unconventional approach unlocked great single-core performance, surpassing even the M3 Max and M2 Ultra processors in Geekbench v6 benchmark tests. The setup involved cooling the M4 iPad Pro, equipped with a 3+6 core configuration, using a Kingpin Cooling T-Rex Rev 4 CPU LN2 pot filled with liquid nitrogen. This extreme cooling allowed the M4 processor to operate at an astonishing 4.41 GHz during the benchmark run, resulting in a staggering single-core score of 4,001 points. This score represents a 28% increase over the M3 Max found in the 16-inch MacBook Pro and an impressive 44% improvement over the M2 Ultra powering the Mac Studio.

Notably, the M4's single-core performance is capable of reaching scores in the 3,000s. With liquid nitrogen cooling, it suprases the 4,000-point mark, making this achievement all the more remarkable. While the M4's multi-core performance did not match the lofty expectations set by its single-core power, it still managed to achieve a score of 13,595 points, outperforming both the M3 Max and M2 Ultra, which scored 20,957 and 21,330 points, respectively. This was done on the 3+6 core configuration with three P-cores and six E-cores, which is not the top-end M4 configuration. This shows that with adequate cooling, like MacBooks, the upcoming M4 Pro and M4 Max chips could achieve much higher performance than their predecessors.

Yesterday, Apple launched its next-generation M4 chip based on Apple Silicon custom design. The processor is a fourth-generation design that brings AI capabilities and improved CPU performance. First debuting in an iPad Pro, the CPU has been benchmarked in Geekbench v6. And results seem to be very promising. The latest M4 chip managed to score 3,767 points in single-core tests and 14,677 points in multi-core tests. Compared to the M3 chip, which scores 3,087 points in single-core and 11,702 in multi-core tests, the M4 chip is about 22% faster in single-core and 25% faster in multi-core synthetic benchmarks.

Of course, these results are not real-world use cases, but they give us a hint of what the Apple Silicon design team has been working on. For real-world results, we have to wait a little longer to see reviews and results from devices such as MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, which should have better cooling and possibly better clocks for the chip.

Today Logitech announced that a new Logitech Combo Touch is now available with the redesigned new iPad Air and thin and light new iPad Pro. Made with sustainable and premium materials, the new Combo Touch models are the thinnest and lightest models yet, taking portability to the next level and allowing users to be productive from anywhere. Combo Touch, a leading keyboard case for the new iPad Air and iPad Pro, offers unparalleled versatility and features a detachable keyboard and flexible kickstand, enabling multiple use modes and swift task transitions. Easily type, sketch, view, read and more, from anywhere. The largest Multi-Touch trackpad yet (on a Combo Touch), ensures intuitive and precise input and navigation.

"The Combo Touch has long captured the hearts of our users, and with the introduction of the redesigned iPad Air and new iPad Pro, we've taken its valued features to new heights," said Joseph Mingori, general manager of Mobile Solutions and Partnerships in Personal Workspace Solutions at Logitech. "Our commitment to enhancing the user experience has led us to develop a highly portable Combo Touch, designed to seamlessly blend premium quality with uncompromised functionality. Enjoy the ultimate freedom to work and play from any location, effortlessly."

Apple today unveiled the groundbreaking new iPad Pro in a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability and performance to the next level. Available in silver and space black finishes, the new iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an expansive 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model. Both sizes feature the world's most advanced display—a new breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology—providing a remarkable visual experience. The new iPad Pro is made possible with the new M4 chip, the next generation of Apple silicon, which delivers a huge leap in performance and capabilities. M4 features an entirely new display engine to enable the precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. With a new CPU, a next-generation GPU that builds upon the GPU architecture debuted on M3, and the most powerful Neural Engine yet, the new iPad Pro is an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. The versatility and advanced capabilities of iPad Pro are also enhanced with all-new accessories. Apple Pencil Pro brings powerful new interactions that take the pencil experience even further, and a new thinner, lighter Magic Keyboard is packed with incredible features. The new iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard are available to order starting today, with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.

"iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience—with its combination of the world's best displays, extraordinary performance of our latest M-series chips, and advanced accessories—all in a portable design. Today, we're taking it even further with the new, stunningly thin and light iPad Pro, our biggest update ever to iPad Pro," said John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. "With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there's no device like the new iPad Pro."

Apple today announced M4, the latest chip delivering phenomenal performance to the all-new iPad Pro. Built using second-generation 3-nanometer technology, M4 is a system on a chip (SoC) that advances the industry-leading power efficiency of Apple silicon and enables the incredibly thin design of iPad Pro. It also features an entirely new display engine to drive the stunning precision, color, and brightness of the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display on iPad Pro. A new CPU has up to 10 cores, while the new 10-core GPU builds on the next-generation GPU architecture introduced in M3, and brings Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading to iPad for the first time. M4 has Apple's fastest Neural Engine ever, capable of up to 38 trillion operations per second, which is faster than the neural processing unit of any AI PC today. Combined with faster memory bandwidth, along with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators in the CPU, and a high-performance GPU, M4 makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence.

"The new iPad Pro with M4 is a great example of how building best-in-class custom silicon enables breakthrough products," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "The power-efficient performance of M4, along with its new display engine, makes the thin design and game-changing display of iPad Pro possible, while fundamental improvements to the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and memory system make M4 extremely well suited for the latest applications leveraging AI. Altogether, this new chip makes iPad Pro the most powerful device of its kind."

ITHome has highlighted several third-party protective cases listings for 12.9-inch iPad Air and Pro 2024 models—the Amazon product pages state that these accessories "will be on the shelves on March 26." The publication believes that this date could align with an official Apple unveiling—Mark Gurman, a Bloomberg reporter, predicted a planned announcement "around the end of March or April" in a recent "Power On" newsletter. MacRumors has tracked relevant activity on Weibo—based on claims made by Instant Digital (a well known Chinese leaker) they reckon that a possible March 26 presentation could be used to introduce: "pre-order availability, with shipping dates to follow."

We last heard about the rumored 2024 lineup of iPad Pro and Air models sporting some "revised physical dimensions." It was speculated that an upgrade to OLED panels has granted slimmer profiles—these possess fewer layers when compared to custom mini-LED parts on current generation premium tablets. LG is reported to be contracted for mass manufacturing of upcoming 13-inch iPad OLED tech, while Samsung (allegedly) takes care of 11-inch panels. With the launch of their M3 chipset-equipped MacBook Air 2024 range out of the way, Apple can concentrate on its next wave of new generation portable products.

Mid-January reportage indicated that LG and Samsung plants in South Korea had commenced construction of next-gen Apple iPad OLED parts—while expert analysis has predicted a second quarter launch of 11 and 13-inch "Pro" tablet models. Omdia—an independent analyst and consultancy firm—has compiled its Apple field research into a forecasted roadmap of various portable products. Company analysts believe that: "LG Display (LGD) and Samsung Display (SDC) are preparing to mass-produce RGB tandem stack and Hybrid OLEDs from their half-Gen 6 fabs. Apple also plans to launch the MacBook Pro with OLED displays in 2026. BOE, LGD, and SDC are preparing their fab investments to produce RGB tandem stack and hybrid OLEDs at half-Gen 8.7 fabs."

9to5Mac's insider network detected whispers of possible Apple tablet physical profile adjustments—suggesting that a larger next-gen iPad Air is in the pipeline, alongside a thinner iPad Pro design update: "(we) first reported last year that Apple has been working on two new versions of the iPad Air, codenamed J507 and J537. While one of these models will look pretty much like the current iPad Air, the other will have a larger display. If true, this will be the first time Apple will offer the iPad Air in two different sizes. And according to our sources, this larger iPad Air will have essentially the same dimensions as the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro, suggesting that the screen size will also be almost identical. The smaller iPad Air is unlikely to have any significant design changes."

Insider information emerging from an LG Display manufacturing plant points to OLED screen production ramping up in the coming months for fitting on next generation Apple iPad Pro models. According to Korea's The Elec, LG as well as rival Samsung's Display division are about to begin production on thin film transistor (TFT) layering for prosumer iOS-driven tablets. LG is allegedly contracted to manufacture upcoming 13-inch iPad Pro display tech, while Samsung is tasked with producing an 11-inch parts. The Korean report proposes that Apple is hoping to get its 13-inch and 11-inch OLED iPad Pro models into a mass production phase by March. Industry insiders think that M3 (ARM-based) chipsets are a natural choice to power these devices.

An Apple analyst—Ming-Chi Kuo—reckons that OLED-equipped iPad Pro models are scheduled for a second quarter 2024 launch, which lands anywhere between April to June. The multinational technology company had a sluggish 2023, in terms of hardware sales, and is likely keen to generate interest with its next-gen iPad Pro range—the addition of OLED technology (a first for Apple tablets) seems to be a key strategy. Mac Rumors believes that: "Apple's OLED iPad Pro shipments forecast for the year have reportedly decreased to 8 million units, down from the 10 million units that were projected for 2024 last year. The reduction is said to be a reflection of broadly sluggish performance across Apple's product lineup. Apple did not release any new iPad models last year, so it will be interesting to see if pent-up demand can offset poor sales."

Apple today announced the new iPad Pro with the M2 chip, delivering the ultimate combination of portability, versatility, and unbelievable performance. The new iPad Pro features a next-level Apple Pencil hover experience and superfast wireless connectivity, along with the world's most advanced mobile display, pro cameras, Face ID, Thunderbolt, and a four-speaker audio system. New features in iPadOS 16—including Stage Manager, full external display support, desktop-class apps, and Reference Mode—take pro workflows on iPad even further. Enabled by its advanced hardware and iPadOS 16, iPad Pro has an incredible ecosystem of powerful pro apps unlike any other device of its kind. The new iPad Pro is available to order starting today, and in stores beginning Wednesday, October 26.

"The next-generation iPad Pro pushes the boundaries of what's possible on iPad, bringing even more versatility, power, and portability to the ultimate iPad experience," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Powered by the M2 chip, the new iPad Pro features incredible performance and the most advanced technologies, including a next-level Apple Pencil hover experience, ProRes video capture, superfast wireless connectivity, and powerful iPadOS 16 features. There's nothing else like it."

Owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, not only did LED revenue experience a downward trajectory, but this decline also reached a magnitude rarely seen in recent years, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, as vaccinations begin taking place in 1H21, the LED market's long-stifled demand is expected to rebound from rock bottom. Hence, global LED market revenue will likely undergo a corresponding recovery this year as well, with a forecasted US$16.53 billion, an 8.1% increase YoY, in 2021. Most of this increase can be attributed to four major categories, including automotive LED, Mini/Micro LED, video wall LED, and UV/IR LED.

Built for consumers who are searching for a stylish and reliable solution to share content across their compatible devices, including iPhone devices and Mac computers, Western Digital announced today the company's first flash drive with dual Lightning and USB Type-C connectors, the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe. With both Lightning and USB Type-C connectors and an all-metal casing, the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe provides a sleek way for users to seamlessly access and move files between iPhone, iPad Pro, Mac and other USB Type-C devices, including Android phones.

Western Digital resolves the hassle of moving files between devices with different connectors with the new SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe. This new flash drive comes with two connectors, which enables a quick move of files, eliminating the need to email content from one device to another in order to upload or save.1 Once files are on the drive, they can be transferred using the high-speed USB 3.0 connector to a USB Type-C-compatible computer. Consumers who want a heightened sense of privacy can password-protect their files and photos with the iXpand Drive app. The app can also be used to free up space on an iPhone or to automatically back up photos, videos, documents and contacts without the hassle of a slow internet connection.2 The drive is available in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, allowing more space for photos, videos and games.

The Apple A14X Bionic is an upcoming processor from Apple which is expected to feature in the upcoming iPad Pro models and should be manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm node. Tech YouTuber Luke Miani has recently provided a performance graph for the A14X chip based on "leaked/suspected A14 info + average performance gains from previous X chips". In these graphs, the Apple A14X can be seen matching the Intel Core i9-9880H in Geekbench 5 with a score of 7480. The Intel Intel Core i9-9880H is a 45 W eight-core mobile CPU found in high-end notebooks such as the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro and requires significant cooling to keep thermals under control.

If these performance estimates are correct or even close then Apple will have a serious productivity device and will serve as a strong basis for Apple's transition to custom CPU's for it's MacBook's in 2021. Apple may use a custom version of the A14X with slightly higher clocks in their upcoming ARM MacBooks according to Luke Miani. These results are estimations at best so take them with a pinch of salt until Apple officially unveils the chip.

The information has been circulating the industry about Apple and its plans to integrate Micro-LED technology into its products for some time now. Micro-LED is a new display technology that allows for much better characteristics of panels like higher brightness, fuller color gamut, and higher dynamic range. The technology also offers a higher refreshing rate, wider viewing angles, and lower power consumption. Being that Micro-LED display is physically thinner, it will allow for more portable devices and it will leave more room for other components.

According to the report from CENS, a Taiwanese media, Apple is investing $330 million into a new Micro-LED factory for Apple devices. A future factory located in Taiwan is seeing major investments from the company. Being that Apple plans to use Micro-LED displays in its future products like iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, it is expected to see this move from them. However, Apple isn't doing it alone. They have partnered with Epistar, Taiwan's biggest LED producer and Taiwanese LCD panel maker, AU Optronics. These two are experienced makers of panels so they should help Apple successfully launch and operate manufacturing facilities.

With an introduction of new iPad Pro tablets, Apple has brought another new silicon to its offerings in the form of A12Z SoC. Following the previous king in tablet space, the A12X SoC, Apple has decided to update its silicon and now there is another, more advanced stepping in form of an A12Z SoC. Thanks to the report from TechInsights, their analysis has shown that the new SoC used in Apple's devices is pretty much the same compared to the A12X SoC of last year, except the GPU used. Namely, the configuration of A12X is translated into the A12Z - there are four Apple Vortex and four Apple Tempest cores for the CPU. There is a 128-bit memory bus designed for LPDDR4X memory, the same as the A12X.

What is different, however, is the GPU cluster configuration. In A12X there was a cluster filled with 7 working and one disabled A12-gen GPU core. In A12Z SoC all of the 8 GPUs present are enabled and working, and they are also of the same A12 generation. The new SoC is even built using the same N7 7 nm manufacturing process from TSMC. While we don't know the silicon stepping revision of the A12Z, there aren't any new features besides the additional GPU core.

Apple today announced its most advanced iPad Pro. Now with the A12Z Bionic chip, iPad Pro is faster and more powerful than most Windows PC laptops. The new iPad Pro adds an Ultra Wide camera, studio-quality mics and a breakthrough LiDAR Scanner that delivers cutting-edge depth-sensing capabilities, opening up more pro workflows and supporting pro photo and video apps. The LiDAR Scanner, along with pro cameras, motion sensors, pro performance, pro audio, the stunning Liquid Retina display and powerful apps, extends the lead of iPad Pro as the world's best device for augmented reality (AR). The new iPad Pro is available to order starting today on apple.com.

With iPadOS 13.4, Apple brings trackpad support to iPad, giving customers an all-new way to interact with their iPad. Rather than copying the experience from macOS, trackpad support has been completely reimagined for iPad. As users move their finger across the trackpad, the pointer elegantly transforms to highlight user interface elements. Multi-Touch gestures on the trackpad make it fast and easy to navigate the entire system without users ever lifting their hand.

We've been seeing rumors for months about the new iPad Pro and especially the successors to the MacBook Air, and we'll soon be able to confirm whether those rumors were true. Apple has issued media invites for an October 30 event in New York with the tagline "There's more in the making". The company is expected to announce the new iPad Pro, which could be based on a processor more powerful than the Apple A12 Bionic used on the new iPhone XR, XS and XS Max. This new tablet would have both 10.5 and a 12.9 inches models with slim bezels and Face ID. The rumors suggest the new iPad Pro will ditch the Lighting connector and replace it with a USB-C port.

Even more promising is that theoretical successor to MacBook Air (not necessarily called this way) that has been talked about for months. In August Bloomberg pointed out that this machine would have a Retina display whose size is not entirely clear: while DigiTimes talked about a 13-inch screen, Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst at TF International Securities, spoke of a replacement for the current MacBook that would therefore have a 12-inch screen. There is no info around its CPU/GPU, but the recent launch of 8th Gen U-Series and Y-Series processors makes guessing a fun exercise.