New 11-inch and 12.9 inch iPad Pro Models Revealed Today Feature New All‑screen Design, a Liquid Retina display with ProMotion technology, a A12X Bionic chip, and Face ID, Along with a New Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio

Image via Apple featuring James Jean’s artwork

New iPad Pro Features:

• Fluid, brilliant iPhone X-like design
• Powerful functionality with A12X Bionic chip better than most PCs
• Face ID to unlock iPad with a glance
• Gorgeous, edge-to-edge liquid Retina screen design
• Easier typing with the Smart Keyboard
• Fast, responsive Apple Pencil movements
• Magnetically connecting Apple Pencil
• New USB-C connector
• 1 TB of storage
• Improves upon the world’s most popular tablet

With its edge-to-edge liquid Retina screen design for 11-inch and 12.9-inch displays, Apple’s latest iteration of the iPad Pro is its best yet, and also the world’s best tablet. Sales of Apple’s iPad Pro have surged, becoming the most popular notebook worldwide, overtaking laptops as well. The newest version launched this past Tuesday in Brooklyn features greater security features including FaceID to unlock iPads with a glance, enhanced performance with the A12X Bionic chip with a new neural engine, new USB-C connector, Gigabit-class LTE and 1 TB of storage that helps mobile workflows. The new iPad Pro also offers a larger canvas for Multi-Touch, enabling more direct work for apps like Photoshop CC on iPad that is coming in 2019.

The new iPad Pro’s Liquid Retina display curves into the corners to mirror the curved housing of Apple’s iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4. The new iPad Pros also offer advanced cameras and sensors for AR, better four-speaker audio with woofer and tweeter pairs on each side and faster wireless. The new iPad Pros also are thinner, lighter and have all-day battery life.

Apple offered the new iPad Pro, for sale online on Tuesday and in stores as of yesterday November 7. The new iPad Pro comes in two sizes, 11-inch starting at $799 and 12.9-inch starting at $999. Both are available in LTE and Wi-Fi.

Stunning Edge-to-Edge Liquid Retina Display

The new iPad Pro’s Liquid Retina display is gorgeous to behold with precision-milled glass, a new backlight design, advanced pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing. This is the most color accurate of all iPads with bright and wide color support and anti-reflective coating for a natural viewing experience. ProMotion technology also automatically adjusts the display refresh rate up to 120Hz for smooth, fast scrolling and responsiveness.

Powerful Apps Shine on the new iPad Pro

Powerful apps from companies like Adobe, Autodesk and Procreate offer intricate details and enhanced productivity, leveraging the new iPad Pro’s better processing power, touch capabilities and gorgeous display.

New Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio

Apple has also designed two new accessories for the new iPad Pro, a new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio, to be purchased separately, for more precision. The new Apple Pencil to magnetically attach to the iPad Pro and charge up wirelessly at the same time. There is a new touch sensor on the Apple Pencil that quickly detects taps, enabling more touch interaction with apps. The Apple Pencil offers intuitive drawing capabilities and a natural feel that is unsurpassed.

In addition, there is a new Smart Keyboard Folio with an adjustable, streamlined, thin and light design. The Smart Keyboard Folio protects the front and back of the iPad Pro with a full-size keyboard that does not require separate charging or pairing. Ideal for multitasking and writing down notes, the new Keyboard Folio enables more productivity out of the iPad akin to a laptop, and as Apple’s sales indicate, laptops are second runner to the popular iPad.

New Powerful A12 Bionic Chip and Neural Engine

The new A12X Bionic chip built for the new iPad Pro, a faster version of the A12X Bionic chip in the latest iPhones. Apple has suggested that this powerhouse computing chip enables the new iPad Pro to compete with Microsoft’s Xbox One S. This suggestion is clearly a push to attract bigger gaming developers and companies that create for Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s Xbox.

While this assertion has yet to be proven in the market by new gaming and entertainment apps, the A12X Bionic chip definitely launches the iPad Pro light years ahead of tablet competitors to become the fastest and most powerful consumer tablet available today. The A12X Bionic has 10 billion transistors, 8 cores and has speeds similar to mid-range notebook computers, offering a 90 percent increase in CPU performance. This enables fast graphic performance for AR experiences.

The new iPad Pro also features Apple’s latest Neural Engine that uses advanced machine learning to accelerate performance for all kinds of activity ranging from Face ID recognition, AR app plane detection and photography tasks. With the Neural Engine that improves Core ML performance, developers can build apps and design new iPad workflows that leverage powerful machine learning.

Thinner and Lighter with a Bigger Display

At just 5.9 mm in width, both new iPad Pro models (11-inch and 12.9 inch) offer bigger displays while reducing volume and only weighs one pound.

Adjusts to Viewer

The display of iPad Pro easily adjusts content to the orientation of the viewer.

Face ID

The new iPad Pro utilizes Face ID technology, designed to work while you hold the iPad Pro or while seated and use the Smart Keyboard Folio. Face ID uses the TrueDepth camera system to map and recognize the face, thus securely unlock iPad Pro. Face ID can also be used to enable Apple Pay in apps and online and to access secure apps. Also, the TrueDepth Camera on iPad Pro enables Animoji and Memoji.

Group FaceTime

Group FaceTime now available via iOS 12.1 lets you chat with friends, family and work colleagues simultaneously. You can add a new guest or join as a participant yourself at any time, joining via audio or video with your iPhone, iPad or Mac. You can also use the new Animoji and customizable Memoji for more personality in both FaceTime and Messages.

USB-C Connectivity to Larger Displays

Apple’s new iPad Pro's USB-C offers new connectivity so that you can connect your iPad Pro directly to an external 4K or 5K high resolution display, along with cameras, musical instruments, docks and other peripherals. The new USB-C connector replaces the Lightning connector.

The new iPad Pro enables you to connect to both data storage and transfer devices via USB 3.1 Gen 2 high-bandwidth data transfers (suitable for cameras and musical instruments) and high resolution displays at the same time. The USB-C also has an "alternate mode" protocol that supports DisplayPort 1.3 that connects to 5120 x 2880 resolutions on monitors that support it.

The new iPad Pro can even be used to charge an iPhone via the new USB-C.

Powerful AR and Photoshop Capabilities

With its new processing power via the A12X Bionic chip, advanced cameras and sensors, better four-speaker audio and large viewfinder, the new iPad Pro offers the best AR experience of any tablet or notebook today. When combined with Adobe’s new Photoshop through its Project Aero AR design tool (coming 2019), you can edit high fidelity images in Photoshop via the new Apple Pencil that offers greater touch capabilities and then develop new immersive AR experiences. The new iPad Pro enables AR experiences such as measuring the reflection on real-world objects, navigating buildings in 3D and exploring entire universes.

Additional Announcements - New Mac Mini

In addition to its powerful new iPad Pro and redesigned MacBook Air, Apple also shared an update about the Mac mini. Apple has redesigned the Mac mini fo greater productivity. The new Mac mini has new eighth-generation 6 core and quad core processors, high performance 2666MHz DDR4 memory up to 64GB, up to 2TB flash storage, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 2.0 and available 10Gb Ethernet.

The new Mac mini comes with macOS Mojave and starts at $799. Like the new MacBook Air, the new Mac mini has a 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosure and a smaller carbon footprint. The Mac mini has a larger, faster I/O to connect to practically anything, with 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HMDI 2.0, 2 USB-A ports, an audio jack and Gigabit Ethernet, as well as a 10Gb Ethernet option.

The Mac mini features the Apple T2 Security Chip that has an SSD controller with on-the-fly data encryption so that everything saved on the SSD is automatically and fully encrypted.

Students from California Institute of the Arts use Mac mini to power live art performances.

Apple also revealed how Mac minis power apps all over the world at the MacStadium Las Vegas facility that manages 8,000 Mac Mini systems for data centers for developers all over the world, creating apps for startups to Fortune 500 companies. Popular apps and games like Candy Crush, Shopify and Day One all run on Mac mini.

Mac minis also help to power musical concerts such as Dierks Bentley and theater performances such as Peter Pan.

View our prior coverage of the Brooklyn Event - Part 1 here. You can also view related content by searching for Apple News, WWDC or by product name.

Apple Announces A Long-Waited Update to the MacBook Air and more at its Special Event today at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House

Apple’s Special Event today was held in Brooklyn at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), indicating a creative bent to the event. Journalists invited to the event received unique invitations as indicated by the image below.

After the live stream event, Apple also provided a demo room for journalists at Skylight One Hanson, providing a dramatic and gorgeous setting.

In Part 1, we cover the new MacBook Air. Apple also released an updated iOS 12.1 for iPhones and iPads. See our coverage here. The new MacBook Air is available for purchase today at Apple starting at $1,199. It will be available in Apple retail stores and via Apple Authorized Resellers by Wednesday, November 7. Tech specifications, configuration options and accessories are available here.

Newly Redesigned MacBook Air

Apple revealed a long-awaited update to the MacBook Air, beloved among existing Apple users for its powerful functionality and lightness that Steve Jobs famously demonstrated in 2008, by pulling the thin laptop out of an envelope. The laptop has been surpassed over the years by the MacBook Pro and the newer MacBook, both of which had additional functionality and high resolution Retina displays. Today’s event brought the MacBook Air to the forefront with its first redesign in eight years, by adding a high-resolution Retina display, Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) and Touch ID, while still being smaller and lighter than MacBook Pros.

The new MacBook Air is thinner and lighter than prior models, but still maintains its distinctive wedge-shaped design, while adding up to four times the prior resolution in prior models with the addition of a new Retina display. Aluminum bezels around the old display have also been removed, offering a closer edge-to-edge display. With a third-generation butterfly keyboard that is quieter and presumably more dust-resistant than prior laptop models, and precision build quality with a 10 percent recycled aluminum, the MacBook Pro is the greenest computer available today. The custom aluminum alloy used helps decrease MacBook Air’s carbon footprint by almost 50 percent.

“MacBook Air has become the most beloved notebook ever.”

— Tim Cook, Apple CEO

You can open the lid with just one finger and use the large touchpad (20 percent larger than prior models) that has Force Touch. The new 13-inch MacBook Air is available in three finishes — gold, space gray and silver. The newer version also sports faster SSDs, wide stereo sound, the Apple T2 Security Chip and Thunderbolt 3, while running Apple’s latest software system, macOS Mojave. The newer MacBook Air has lost a few of its old ports, replacing them with a pair of Thunderbolt ports on the left side and a solo headphone jack on the right side. Still compact and portable, the new MacBook Air delivers up to 12 hours of battery life. The latest model also is thinner and lighter, taking up 17 percent less volume while being 10 percent thinner, measuring only .61 inches at its thickest point, and weighing 2.75 pounds - up to a quarter pound lighter than the previous model.

Retina Display

By adding Retina display to the MacBook Air, Apple brings the thin laptop up to par with its other high end model, MacBook Pro to provide high fidelity image processing and access to higher quality screen resolution. The new MacBook Air has a gorgeous 13.3-inch Retina display with 4 million pixels of resolution for stunning imagery and video displays via macOS Mojave and with 48 percent more color than prior versions.

The 13.3-inch Retina display comes with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600, and scaled resolutions of 1680 x 1050, 1440 x 900, and 1024 x 640. Using the Intel UHD Graphics 617, The new MacBook Air can support an external display with 5120 x 2880 resolution up to 60Hz or can support two external displays with 4096 x 2304 resolution at up to 60Hz via Thunderbolt 3.

The new MacBook Air has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, enabling you to charge your laptop, transfer data via USB and Thunderbolt, output video in three formats and connect to a variety of devices ranging from external storage, 4K and 5K displays, docks for ports and eGPUS for fast graphics processing.

This is further enhanced by the addition of the 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, Intel UHD Graphics and quick 2133 MHz up to 16GB in the MacBook Air that features SSDs up to 1.5TB in capacity. The MacBook Air has faster and more powerful processing for daily activities that include editing photos and videos.

Group FaceTime

The new MacBook Air has a built-in FaceTime HD camera, allowing you to do Group FaceTime calls for up to 32 people via iOS 12.1 and benefits from the new laptop’s better sound quality via the microphone and Siri’s enhanced voice recognition.

Enhanced Security via Touch ID and Apple’s T2 Security Chip

The new MacBook Air now has Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor built right into the keyboard. This enables you to quickly unlock your MacBook Air, authenticate your identity and purchase items online securely with Apple Pay.

MacBook Air comes with a new Apple T2 Security Chip to protect your Touch ID information and to ensure that software loaded during the boot process is not been tampered with. The T2 has an SSD controller with data encryption for everything stored on the SSD, thus making the MacBook Air have a secure boot process and the most secure storage of any laptop. T2 also has a processor that enables Hey Siri features for quick requests like finding files and opening apps.

The new T2 Security Chip also proactively prevents hacking via MacBook Air microphones via a mechanism that terminates the laptop’s microphone from functioning when the lid is closed. This in effect means that no malware installed on the laptop will be able to listen to your conversations after you close the computer via any software hacks and tricks. In new documentation about Apple’s T2 Security Chip, Apple explains, “All Mac portables with the Apple T2 Security Chip feature a hardware disconnect that ensures that the microphone is disabled whenever the lid is closed. This disconnect is implemented in hardware alone, and therefore prevents any software, even with root or kernel privileges in macOS, and even the software on the T2 chip, from engaging the microphone when the lid is closed."

Better Audio Quality

The new MacBook Air also improves upon prior model’s microphone audio quality. The latest model features advanced speakers and better audio processing technology for better stereo playback, louder speakers (25 percent more) with greater bass, dynamic range and fuller sound for a fuller and more immersive audio experience.

Apple's Brooklyn Event Part 2: New iPad Pro Features Edge-to-Edge Liquid Retina Display, 12X Bionic chip and More

New 11-inch and 12.9 inch iPad Pro Models Revealed Today Feature New All‑screen Design, a Liquid Retina display with ProMotion technology, a A12X Bionic chip, and Face ID, Along with a New Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio

New iPad Pro Features:

Stunning Edge-to-Edge Liquid Retina Display

Powerful Apps Shine on the new iPad Pro

New Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio

New Powerful A12 Bionic Chip and Neural Engine

Thinner and Lighter with a Bigger Display

Adjusts to Viewer

Face ID

Group FaceTime

USB-C Connectivity to Larger Displays

Powerful AR and Photoshop Capabilities

Additional Announcements - New Mac Mini

Apple's Brooklyn Event Part 1: Newly Redesigned, Gorgeous MacBook Air

Apple Announces A Long-Waited Update to the MacBook Air and more at its Special Event today at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House

Newly Redesigned MacBook Air

Retina Display

Group FaceTime

Enhanced Security via Touch ID and Apple’s T2 Security Chip

Better Audio Quality