Apple just dropped a handful of products directly on its website without an event. The glossy marketing pages for the new M2 iPad Pro, 10th Gen iPad, and Apple TV 4K highlight all the hot new features, but there are lots of little details that could be important to you if you take a closer look. Here are a few of the little things you may have missed in Tuesday’s flurry of announcements.
The 10th generation iPad has a landscape-facing camera
The 10th generation iPad is the first to feature the front camera along the long edge so it sits on top when your iPad is in landscape orientation. Given the preponderance of keyboard docks for iPads, it seems silly that the front camera is placed on the short side, at the top when in portrait orientation. During Zoom meetings or FaceTime calls, you are constantly looking to the side.
While the new iPad Pro still has a portrait camera, we think that’s because the housing hasn’t changed at all — the landscape-facing camera will likely come to all iPad models once they all get a significant design update.
Apple
There is no more Space Gray iPad
The regular iPad has been available in silver and space gray for years. The new 10th generation model has four more vibrant colors in addition to silver, but the Space Gray color has disappeared. Luckily, you can still get the 9th generation iPad, iPad Pro, and iPad Air in Space Gray.
Apple Pencil requires (and comes with) a $9 . adapter
While the 10th-generation iPad has a similar design to the iPad Air, with flat sides, no Home button, and Touch ID on the side button, it does. not support 2nd generation Apple Pencil. Instead, you’ll still have to use the first-generation Pencil, which charges by awkwardly plugging a Lightning connector under a cap on the end into your iPad’s charging port.
But wait, the new iPad doesn’t have a USB-C charging port? Yes it does! So now the first-generation Apple Pencil comes with a USB-C to Lightning adapter, which you can plug into a Lightning cable and connect your Pencil to That to charge.
In fact, the first-generation Apple Pencils now come with two adapters, as there is a Lightning to Lightning adapter that also allows you to charge it with a Lightning cable. If you already own a first-generation Apple Pencil, you can buy the USB-C to Lightning adapter separately for $9 / £9.
Apple
Bluetooth 5.0, 5.2, 5.3…
Apple products have had Bluetooth 5.0 for a while, but they’re starting to move to Bluetooth 5.2 and above, as evidenced by the new iPhone 14, AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8, all of which support Bluetooth 5.3. It’s a bit of a menagerie with the new products: the new Apple TV 4K still has Bluetooth 5.0, the 10th-gen iPad has Bluetooth 5.2, and the M2 iPad Pro has Bluetooth 5.3.
Why does this matter? Not at the moment because Apple isn’t doing anything obvious that the newer standards require. But LE Audio is the next big thing in Bluetooth audio, and it requires at least Bluetooth 5.2.
The M2 iPad Pro is Apple’s first Wi-Fi 6E device
Speaking of newer wireless standards, the new M2 iPad Pros are the first Apple devices to support the Wi-Fi 6E standard. Not many Wi-Fi 6E routers are up and running yet, but it’s nice to be future-proofed when you’re spending that much on a tablet.
The 10th generation iPad does not support mmWave 5G
If you opt for the mobile model of the new 10th generation iPad, you will be happy to know that it supports 5G. But note that it only supports the sub-6GHz bands, not mmWave. If you want that super-fast (and short-range) mmWave 5G network, you’ll need to buy an iPad Pro.
Apple
The cheaper Apple TV 4K has no Ethernet or Thread
We are in the odd position to more expensive version of the Apple TV for once. Both models get twice the storage space of the previous generation, which most people don’t even need. But the 64GB model ($129) doesn’t have wireless Ethernet or Thread networking. Double the storage, Ethernet and Thread only cost $20 more ($149), so you might as well go for it.
The new Apple TV 4K is smaller and has no fan
Although it looks similar in photos, the new Apple TV 4K is smaller than the previous model. It is up to 3.66 inches square (by 3.9) and 1.2 inches long (by 1.4 inches). That brings the volume down to about 16 cubic inches, from 21 cubic inches, or about 23 percent smaller. It also weighs half: 7.5 ounces instead of 15 ounces. And it’s now completely fanless, although the old Apple TV 4K’s fan wouldn’t spin enough at any point to be audible, even in a quiet room.
The Siri remote is now USB-C
The 10th-generation iPad isn’t the only product to make the jump to USB-C: the Siri Remote for the Apple TV 4K also has a USB-C charging port. Oh, and there’s no more charging cable in the box, so every few months you’ll need to use one of the two dozen USB-C cables you have around the house to charge the remote.
Apple’s transition from Lighting to USB-C is likely to continue for the next year or so. Here’s a list of all the products Apple will eventually have to change or discontinue to comply with an upcoming EU regulation.
