Apple’s AI Master Plan

beyond the chip.

iDropNews

Welcome back! 🍎
Here’s the latest with Apple.

  • The new iPad Pro & Air launch

  • Apple is working on a new app

  • Apple’s master plan for AI

  • & more!

📖 Read time: 3.7 minutes

📊 Poll

Last week, I asked: Will you be watching Apple’s event on Tuesday? What are you hoping to see?

Here are some of my favorite replies:

Yes - “Oh yeah! I'm gonna tune in to the Apple Event on the Apple YouTube channel on one of my monitors, and then I'm going to tune in to your livestream of it on my other monitor. I'm so excited for it!” Best way to do it!

No - “I'll wait for you to review and talk about the new produces and software.” Stay tuned!

This week: Do you prefer the 11” or 12.9/13” size for an iPad? Why?

Which iPad size do you prefer: 11" or 13"?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

🗞️ The Latest

⚙️ M4 the win!

M4 iPad Pro details (Apple)

Well, the rumors were true: Apple unveiled the M4 chip this week!

  • Apple launched a new iPad Air & iPad Pro on Tuesday during the Let Loose event.

  • The iPad Air has the M2 chip inside but the iPad Pro is the first Apple product to ship with an M4 chip!

  • M4 = 50% faster CPU performance & 4x faster GPU performance.

  • It has a greatly improved neural engine to improve performance for AI-related tasks in iPadOS.

Other Changes

  • The iPad Pro is also the first Apple product with a tandem OLED display and the option for nano-texture glass to reduce reflections (requires 1TB+ model)

  • Both the 11” and 13” models are thinner than an iPod nano! This ad shows the difference. They’re also lighter than the Air. Ironic!

  • Starts at $999 for the 11” model and $1299 for the 13” model, both with 256GB storage

  • I made a video covering the key differences between the new iPad Pro and iPad Air.

iPad Air

M2 iPad Air details (Apple)

  • Apple refreshed the iPad Air with an M2 chip, which is ~50% faster than the M1 Air and 3x faster than the A12 Air.

  • It also comes in both 11” & 13” sizes but sticks with the same LCD display.

  • It comes in Blue, Purple, Starlight and Space Gray colors.

  • 11” model starts at $599 and the 13” model starts at $799, both with 128GB storage.

  • Neither iPad will come with Apple stickers in the box.

Pencil + Keyboard

Apple Pencil Pro (Apple)

  • Along with the new iPads, Apple launched the Apple Pencil Pro!

  • It works with the new Air & Pro models and has Find My built in, a new squeeze gesture, gyroscope, and haptic feedback. All for $129.

  • The packaging is awesome!

  • Apple also launched the new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro with an aluminum build, function row, and larger glass trackpad with haptic feedback. It’s $299 for the 11” and $349 for the 13” size.

My take: Apple nailed it with both new models and I think they’ll sell better than early estimates suggest. I think in part due to the iPad refresh drought but also because they’re priced well given the major upgrades (especially the Pro).

The new iPads + accessories arrive next Wednesday and I ordered everything, so expect plenty of coverage next week!

🎥 Apple Launching New App

Final Cut Camera app (Apple)

During Apple’s Let Loose event, they showed off a new upcoming version of Final Cut Pro for the iPad. In addition, they unveiled a new standalone application called Final Cut Camera.

  • Final Cut Camera allows you to capture professional‑level footage with powerful manual controls including ISO, shutter speed, white balance, zebras, focus peaking, and more.

  • It’s also required for the new Live Multicam feature, which enables live monitoring and individual control of each video feed.

  • The app, compatible with the XS and later, will be a free download later this Spring and will not require a purchase/subscription of Final Cut Pro.

My take: Apps like Blackmagic Camera have offered most of these features for years. But Apple’s integration with Final Cut Pro will likely make this the go-to app for filmmakers who want manual control over their videos.

Also, making this a standalone app is the right move. Throwing these manual controls into the Camera app (as part of iOS 18) would create problems for average users.

⚙️ Apple’s AI Master Plan

9to5Mac

Apple is planning to use its own chips to process AI tasks in the cloud for iOS 18 and beyond.

  • Apple will deliver some of its upcoming iOS 18 AI features via AI data centers equipped with its own in-house processors.

  • Apple is currently using the M2 Ultra chip to process advanced AI tasks in the cloud.

  • Future versions will be based on the M4 chip, presumably M4 Ultra.

  • Simpler AI-related features will be processed directly on-device.

Relatively simple AI tasks — like providing users a summary of their missed iPhone notifications or incoming text messages — could be handled by the chips inside of Apple devices.

More complicated jobs, such as generating images or summarizing lengthy news articles and creating long-form responses in emails, would likely require the cloud-based approach — as would an upgraded version of Apple’s Siri voice assistant.

Gurman

My take: This is how Apple will differentiate in the AI race. Utilizing their own powerful silicon and the team they’ve already built around it will be efficient and also a huge advantage over competitors who will likely struggle to match the speed/strength of Apple silicon.

📰 Quick Bites

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