The Toblerone-shaped Sonos Roam 2 is $179/£179 and will have some pretty decent audio chops judging by the original. As before it’s the 10 hours of continuous playback and IP67 dust and waterproof rating that appeals from Sonos’ smallest smart speaker for use in the bathroom, the beach or in the park.

Where it differs from the original is really in terms of the controls with separate power and Bluetooth buttons in addition to the standard volume and play/pause controls on top. There’s also a voice control button, too.

One again the Roam is available in colours aside from the standard Sonos black and white – you can pick it up in olive, sunset or wave, too, which is basically green, orange and blue.

You can set the Roam 2 up as part of your Sonos system at home over Wi-Fi or just use it as a Bluetooth speaker when you’re out and about. As you’d expect it also supports Apple AirPlay 2. It also includes Sonos’ Trueplay tech which uses spatial awareness to adjust the sound to your surroundings.

In terms of audio tech, there are two Class-H amplifiers on board, while you can customise the EQ in the app too.

Charging for the Roam 2 via USB-C, though there’s a separately available wireless charger should you prefer that.

• Best Sonos speakers 2024: which Sonos should you buy?

The headphones are, for the most part, standard premium Bluetooth 5.4 active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones with spatial audio.

They’re not unmistakably Sonos, but they are nice and subtle and very well thought out with up to 30 hours of battery life on board and a three-hour life available after a three-minute quick charge.

As usual with Sonos gear, they’re available in white and black. You can switch between transparency, ANC and Aware Mode easily.

However, they do have one killer feature called TV Audio Swap – and that’s the ability to switch audio from your soundbar to the headphones with a single press of the so-called Content Key, which is a volume slider and play/pause/answer/end call button.

This will work with Sonos Arc initially, but Sonos were clear that support would come to all current-generation soundbars over the coming months, even the base-level Ray.

Sonos confirmed to Stuff that this feature works using Wi-Fi, although Sonos is clear in its materials not to state that the headphones use Wi-Fi. Presumably, this is to avoid confusion that Sonos Ace can connect to other Sonos products like speakers and fully integrate with a Sonos system – because it can’t.

That could be seen as a disadvantage, but clearly was too difficult to achieve. However, we’d like to see the ability to swap content from other Sonos speakers.

Another technology is called TrueCinema. It’s coming later this year and is, essentially, TruePlay for these headphones. It optimises sound for your living space for a “hyperrealistic listening experience” says the company.

Sonos Ace does support lossless audio if you are using them wirelessly with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound-compatible device using aptX Lossless. However, those devices remain thin on the ground so much more likely is you can cable them up via USB-C if you’re concerned about having lossless audio.

The headphones use custom 40mm drivers, have wear detection so they pause when you remove them and you can customise the EQ in the app. The spatial audio – from supported services like Apple Music – is powered by Dolby Atmos tech. Comfort has also been paid particular attention to, especially with two different types of foam in the headband.

We’re expecting our Sonos Ace review sample to appear soon and we’ll bring you a full review just as soon as we’re able.

AI is being used by many of these PC makers as a marketing term but there’s more than an element of truth to their AI capabilities.

As with other Copilot+ models, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips are at the heart of the range, with ARM-based processing similar to Apple’s M Series chips and the chips inside your smartphone.

These include massively improved AI capabilities in terms of the neural processing – capable of up to 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS).

Both laptops have up to 26 hours of battery life (up to 22 hours of streaming) and are mega speedy – HP says that large files open twice as fast.

The HP EliteBook Ultra is also available in a blue finish with a smudge-resistant Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating.

One side effect of HP’s new line-up is that it has simplified things for end-users in terms of what they should be buying. Of course it’s still complicated, but now consumers can choose from three different strands – OmniBook for laptops, OmniStudio for all-in-ones and OmniDesk for – you guessed it – desktops. And they have numbers, 3, 5 and 7 depending how premium they are. The top models have X and U suffixes – hence the X suffix on the HP OmniBook X AI PC.

The HP OmniBook X AI PC is available for pre-order for a starting price of $1,199.99/£1,199 with 1TB of storage. The HP EliteBook Ultra AI PC is available for pre-order for a starting price of $1,699.99/£1,200. Both will begin shipping on 18 June.

With Microsoft Copilot+ on board, Dell has debuted five new laptops powered by the ARM-based chip – XPS 13, Inspiron 14 Plus, Inspiron 14, Latitude 7455 and Latitude 5455.

The XPS 13 leads the way – as it tends to – in the range, promising a mega 27 hours of battery life thanks to its Snapdragon X Elite chip. The chip combines Qualcomm’s brand new Oryon processor, graphics and neural engine for AI. Where it’s going to find maximum use is with Microsoft’s Copilot+ tech as Microsoft takes the fight to Apple for processing and AI supremacy. Copilot+ is effectively a specification for AI PCs, much like Intel did with its Ultrabook specification in the mid-OOs.

Both Inspiron 14 Plus (available in ice blue) and Inspiron 14 (available in titan grey) have the Snapdragon X Plus inside instead, offering 15 hours of battery life. Then there’s Dell’s Latitude lineup as well offering up to 21 hours of battery from the 12 core Snapdragon X Elite and 10 core X Plus.

As CCS Insight’s Geoff Blaber says: “The Copilot+ specification established by Microsoft means all the initial hardware being launched is based on Snapdragon X Series chipsets. This is a huge coup for Qualcomm, an endorsement of the power and performance it has delivered with Snapdragon X Series and gives it a huge opportunity to finally break into an Intel and AMD dominated PC market”.

The challenge for companies like Dell will be to ensure that it can communicate to customers the differences between the Copilot+ PCs and those with traditional AMD and Intel chips.

• Best Chromebook 2024: portables for school, work and play

These are special editions developed in cahoots with McLaren Automotive, timed to celebrate McLaren’s 60^th anniversary. The two are distinct because of their colour schemes, but both have a finish that’s pretty unmistakable with the McLaren Speedmark logo. While they might be different in design, they’re the same speaker inside.

One is in the interestingly-named ‘galvanic grey’ which really looks the part, with papaya details including the buttons on top – as you can see these stand-out controls look incredible. Widely available, you can pick one up for $899/£799.

The other model is wholly in McLaren’s papaya orange – but good luck getting hold of one of these as it’s much more limited to a mere 60 units (a real shame in our book). As you can see they have special 60th anniversary detailing which looks fantastic. Only available from McLaren dealerships, they are bound to be very sought after in the future.

This is undoubtedly my favourite of the two, even if I can’t quite imagine looking at its extremely orange exterior all the time. Mind you, my Apple Watch Ultra 2 strap is bright orange – or ‘international orange’.

The sound quality of both are simply terrific (after all, they’re the same inside) and completely room-filling in most situations – we gave the standard version of the Zeppelin a full five stars in our Stuff review. The Zeppelin boasts left and right speakers around a powerful 240W central subwoofer.

The Zeppelin has come a long way since its debut as a super-powered iPod dock back in 2007 (yes, it was that long ago). It’s now a superb wireless speaker that – thanks to an update – boasts full multiroom capabilities.

It can be set up alongside other wireless speakers from Bowers & Wilkins in the Formation range as well as the Panorama 3 soundbar. Everything is controlled from Bowers & Wilkins’ Music app which has had a bunch of updates in the recent past. You can also use it with Amazon Alexa, too for full smart home control.

The Zepplin re-work certainly isn’t the first time the two brands have joined together – Bowers & Wilkins has been working with McLaren since 2015 when it first collaborated on in-car audio.

And more recently it produced a special McLaren-themed version of it’s top-end PX8 headphones, too. The Bowers & Wilkins team have a lot of involvement in the development of new vehicles and work with McLaren’s engineers to fine-tune the in-car audio – latterly on the epic McLaren 750S coupe.

• Read more: Google Pixel 8a preview: specs, release date and everything we know

Google I/O 2024: watch now

Here’s what was announced at Google I/O 2024:

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Our original article continues below

The Google I/O keynote starts at10am PT local for Google on America’s West Coast, which is 1pm ET on the other side of the US, and 6pm BST in the UK. Things typically last for around a couple of hours, so tune in with us. If you’d rather check the live stream out via YouTube, that’s cool too. You’ll find it on Google’s YouTube page, where there will also be a version available in American Sign Language for accessibility. Anyone who’s really into Google will also find it easy to stream other sessions and talks from Google I/O 2024. The opening keynote is the main draw for most people, but there’s a full programme running from 14-15 May, and anyone registered with the Big G as a developer can stream along.

You’ll find a handy big ‘Register’ button in the top right-hand corner of the official Google I/O website, where the opening shindig is also being aired in its entirety.

Join us to watch all the action unfold, but if you don’t have time, check back after the event for all the latest news and easy-to-understand analysis from the show, which we’ll be covering in full. In the meantime…

Google I/O 2024: what we expect to see

One of the only guaranteed hardware announcements we expect to see at I/O will be the long-awaited Pixel 8a, which, from everything we know so far, is shaping up to be one of the best-value handsets of the year. The Pixel ‘a’ range has long been praised for delivering a pure, long-updated Android experience with quality camera hardware and the latest Google features to boot, and we expect this year to be no different.

Android 15 will also, unsurprisingly, take up a fair chunk of stage time at Google I/O 2024. Currently available in beta, it includes all manner of new features focused on productivity, privacy, and security. And, of course, this leads us on to the topic of AI — a trend that refuses to slow down its momentum.

We could see updates on Google Gemini (formerly Bard), and we’re hoping to see some powerful new functionality that brings the fight straight to the likes of ChatGPT et al. Improvements to existing AI features like Circle to Search could also be on the cards. CSS Insight’s Principal Analyst & Director Americas, Leo Gebbie believes that “AI will be the major theme for Google I/O and we expect updates from every part of the business, focusing on how Google’s Gemini platform will become more integrated across the board. With Google I/O taking place just ahead of WWDC, Google will be keen to get ahead of Apple in terms of explaining why Google has a stronger position in AI given its extensive investment in Gemini. It will also be interesting to see whether Google transitions Google Assistant to Gemini Assistant given all the chatbot capabilities that Gemini offers combined with Google’s desire to keep building the Gemini brand.”

In addition, we could see a teaser for the next-gen Pixel Fold, and/or an update on the Wear OS smartwatch front, with some other surprises thrown in for good measure. Join us at kickoff on 14 May, and we’ll be sure to update you with all the latest news, as it happens.

• Read more: I think the Google Pixel 8a is the best value phone in 2024, and it’s not even close

These will sit alongside the two it showed at CES 2024 back in January. All feature Amazon Fire TV with Alexa built-in for far-field voice control of your TV without having to use the remote.

It’s a bold move, since Fire TV has traditionally been integrated in cheaper sets. Amazon itself has clearly been , especially since it launched its own-branded Omni QLED sets back in 2022.

• Stuff meets: Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s head of entertainment devices

The full line up of 4K OLED models is the Z95A, Z93A (both previously announced) as well as the Z90A, Z85A and Z80A which have debuted today. The top model boasts a Master OLED Ultimate panel, while the two models below it boast Master OLED Pro panels. The top four models have the very latest HCX Pro AI Mk II panels. There’s also support for Dolby Vision IQ.

Further down the range there are several LED models – W95A which is Mini LED, W90A with Full Array LED, W80A which is LED. All have Fire TV, too,. Then there are Google TV options in the form of the W70A as well as the latest TiVo interface in the W60A, although the W70A will not be coming to the UK.  

Many of the TVs launched at the event have gaming capabilities, including ultra-low latency, up to 144Hz refresh rates, True Game Mode, and the Game Control Board for fine-tuning.

Amazon’s director of Fire TV for Europe, Emma Gilmartin, told the event that Fire TV “is the world’s most popular streaming media player family today”. There are 10 new models in total featuring the streaming-based OS. Gilmartin said the event was “our biggest launch of smart TVs with Fire TV built in yet.”

Panasonic’s latest remove features a MyApp button so you can personalise it to jump straight to your favourite app or service.  

Unfortunately, Panasonic hadn’t provided me with pricing at the time of going to press, so I’ll update this when I get it, which I believe will be later this week.

• Philips’ 2024 TV range celebrates 20 years of Ambilight with an enhanced version of the tech

If iPhone launch event form continues, we can expect it to debut on the 10th of September. And seeing how several features once mooted for the iPhone 15 never reached final production, the rumour mill is swirling about whether they’ll make an appearance here.

Sure, it’s still early to be talking about the 2024 iPhone – but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a good idea of what’s in store for the next generation, in terms of design and hardware.

iPhone 16 name: time for an Ultra?

Suggesting the 2024 iPhone will be called anything but iPhone 16 seems churlish. We’re still a few years off the 20th anniversary of the iPhone; is 2027 when we’ll get a break in the naming strategy? You may recall that Apple launched the iPhone X after a decade of sales and missed out iPhone 9. Could we get an iPhone XX at that point?

There’s a bigger chance that Apple will bring its Ultra branding to the iPhone for the first time. There were rumours the iPhone 15 Pro Max was to use it. Insiders think it makes more sense in 2024 because the top-end handset is going to be larger (see the display section below).

The strategy of introducing higher-spec models at premium prices was spelled out in Apple’s Q1 2023 earnings call. “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category,” Tim Cook said at the time. And with so many Apple Watch Ultras on people’s wrists, why not take the same approach with the iPhone?

iPhone 16 design rumours: more customisable buttons

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max replaced the mute switch – once a staple of every iPhone model – with a customisable Action button. Expect the iPhone 16 Pro to take the concept a step further with a new ‘Capture button’. CAD designs leaked by 91mobiles show it on the same side of the phone as the power button, sitting flush to the frame.

There’s been lots of talk online about the power and volume buttons using solid state tech. We’ve seen it before on older iPhone and iPad Home buttons, where haptics make you think you’ve pressed a button but there’s no physical movement. Fewer moving parts mean a lower chance the button will go wrong, and it’s better for waterproofing. Additional haptic hardware will surely be needed; rumours suggest two additional Taptic engines would be needed, which would take up valuable space inside the phone.

The capture button reportedly won’t feature on the regular iPhone 16 models, but they are in line to get an action button instead of a mute switch. Apple has tested a longer Action button design, but this has apparently been scrapped in favour of one that looks virtually the same as the iPhone 15 Pro’s.

Apple has apparently experimented with two different rear camera arrangements for the iPhone 16: an iPhone 12-esque bump with two individual lenses stacked vertically, and an iPhone X-style lozenge containing both lenses. The former is most likely, and has been seen on more internal prototype units than the latter.

We’re not convinced of an iPhone X styling revival, as it would set the regular iPhone 16 apart too much from the Pro variants. Individual lenses make the most sense, but we wouldn’t mind a return to vertical stacked sensors in place of the diagonal ones seen on the last few iPhone generations.

iPhone 16 display: bigger and better?

This year’s Pro iPhones are apparently in line for larger screens than ever. Well-known display analyst Ross Young suggests the iPhone 16 Pro Max (or 16 Ultra, as it may be known) will have a 6.86in panel, up from 6.7in in the current model. That would give it a 19.6:9 aspect ratio, instead of the current 19.5:9. Young also cites iPhone 16 Pro at 6.27in.

Other leakers have since joined in with this prediction, including long-time Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo.

There is some suggestion that the base iPhone 16 could grow to 6.3in, though this seems less certain. The iPhone 16 Plus is also more of a mystery.

Brightness wise, it sounds like things are going to improve. One Weibo tipster reported that the iPhone 16 Pro models will get brighter displays, with a typical max brightness of 1200 nits and HDR max brightness of 1600 nits. That’s an increase of 200 nits from the iPhone 15 Pros, although the HDR brightness remains the same. The source also explained that the new handsets would be using the tandem OLED display tech from the M4 iPad Pro models.

Sadly it sounds like the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will miss out on ProMotion; the 120Hz refresh rate feature is currently exclusive to the Pro variants. According to The Elec, it’ll be 2025 and the iPhone 17 before that becomes standard across the entire line-up, courtesy of display panel supplier BOE. A 60Hz refresh rate will keep both mainline iPhones behind even entry-level Android alternatives.

All the way back in 2022 there were whispers about under-display front cameras coming to the iPhone 16. It’s technically possible – we’ve seen them on some Android phones – but it’s highly unlikely given more recent rumours and leaks. We can’t see Apple throwing away all the work it has put into Dynamic Island so soon after bringing it to the mainstream iPhone models, either. There is some suggestion that an under-display Face ID could appear in 2025 with iPhone 17 Pro instead.

Hardware: the most powerful iPhone yet

You don’t have to be a tech expert to predict that the iPhone 16 will be the most powerful iPhone to date – but we’ve also seen some leaks/rumours to firmly back this up. Tipster Nguyen Phi Hung (via Wccftech) has revealed that the upcoming Apple A18 Pro processor, likely to be found in the iPhone 16, has scored 3500/8200 on Geekbench 6’s benchmark software.

The first number represents a single-core test, while the second shows the multi-core results. If accurate, then the iPhone 16 will be a beastly device indeed. The single-core results represent around a 14% increase compared to Apple’s own formidable M3 chips, while being roughly 23% faster than the predicted score for Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset. Qualcomm’s offering is expected to be around 29% faster in multi-core calculations, but with how tightly Apple knits together its hardware and software, it’s safe to say that the iPhone 16 will not disappoint in the power department, if these leaks prove to be true.

The current iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max’ A17 Pro processor scores 2906 and 7231 for single-core and multi-core results, respectively. Bring on the A18 Pro, we say.

Battery and charging

The iPhone 15 series moved to USB-C and got bigger batteries (the iPhone 15’s is 14% bigger for example), but wired charging speeds didn’t see any major gains. Using the sold-separately 20W USB-C power adaptor, it still takes 30 minutes to hit 50%. When you consider some Android phones are now capable of 150W, and event the rival Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra tops out at 45W, the iPhone sounds particularly sluggish.

There are whispers of 40W for iPhone 16. Expect MagSafe wireless charging to stay at 15W, given that speed has now been incorporated into the Qi2 standard.

Some rumours also point towards a more reliable battery, thanks to stacked battery tech. This is supposed to last longer and have a higher capacity.

5G modem: no Apple chips – yet

It’s no secret Apple is working on its own 5G modem; originally it was expected to arrive with the iPhone 16, but that has since changed. Qualcomm has now announced that it will be in Apple “smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026”. That doesn’t rule out a gradual introduction of Apple’s own chip, which will stay separate from the main A Series chipset at first.

The target will no doubt to have one integrated chip to cover all telephony tech, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 7 (which is set to debut with iPhone 16). That’s likely still years away at this point.

How did this situation come about? Rewind to 2017, when Apple and Qualcomm had a big patent dispute. Apple instead turned to Intel, which had been making decent 4G iPhone modems. Trouble was, Intel wasn’t great at making efficient 5G ones. So in 2019 Apple made peace with Qualcomm – but also bought up most of Intel’s modem division (including some 2,200 employees) so it could take on development. It seems that half a decade on we’re still a little way off seeing the result of this work.

iPhone 16 cameras: even zoomier zoom

Last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max got a persiscope lens, but there’s a better version on the way this year. Indeed, a ‘Super Telephoto’ periscope lens may be set for iPhone 16. This stems from a rumour on Weibo that also suggests that the focal length will get significantly longer for this year’s models. This is firmly in the unknown for now though.

A further report from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests the 5x tetraprism zoom lens will be found on both Pro models for the first time. The iPhone 15 Pro maxed out at 3x using traditional glass, meaning you had to buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max for the best possible zoom. The change is reportedly down to better production yields at supplier Largan, and the fact the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to grow in size – making room for the higher-end camera hardware.

Elsewhere, rumours also point to a special atomic layer deposition (or ALD) anti-reflective lens coating to help eliminate pesky lens flare. It’s expected that this feature will be reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro models. And as for the all-important sensors, Apple is expected to use Sony’s latest camera sensor technology, which splits photodiodes and pixel transistors into two distinct layers. In other words, more light is able to be captured for each individual pixel, allowing twice the amount of light compared to current sensors. It’s very likely that this sensor improvement will be reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, and if true, could result in some pretty incredible low-light shots.

Software: Apple is going in on AI

On-device AI seems to be the new smartphone battleground: Google struck first with the Pixel 8 Pro, but Qualcomm wasn’t far behind with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which will do generative AI of its own. Apple is expected to add something similar to iOS 18, with older handsets relying on the cloud but the iPhone 16 being able to do things locally.

Leaker @Tech_Reve suggests Apple will use a large language model (LLM) to completely overhaul Siri, turning it into the “ultimate virtual assistant”. Apps such as Messages, Pages, Numbers and Apple Music could also benefit from AI-created suggestions and predictions.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims a majorly upgraded microphone will bring greater water resistance and a significantly better signal-to-noise ratio. The move is to make Siri better at understanding you – handy when voice-controlled AI is expected to be one of the main points of focus at the iPhone 16’s reveal in September 2024.

• Apple Watch Series 9 vs Ultra 2: what’s the difference?

The rather odd-looking $700/£600 Dyson Wash G1 is a wet floor cleaner with a cleaning technique that’s similar to the recent Submarine cleaning head (which attaches to the V15s) and taking inspiration from the Dyson Omni-glide double-roller head. Otherwise, it’s basically two tanks for clean and dirty water which is similar to other hard floor cleaners like the excellent Vax Glide 2.

Dyson’s philosophy with the Wash G1 is to constantly clean the rollers so – unlike with a mop or many other hard floor cleaners – dirty water is not spread over the floor. Instead, the design is intended to get dirt away into a removable tray and waste water into the caddy as soon as possible, using a filter that separates dry debris away.

Like the Submarine, the water usage is designed to be mega efficient, with a meagre 1 litre tank covering 290 square metres. 26 hydration points ensure the highly-absorbent microfibre rollers are constantly cleaned.

There are two rollers that counter-rotate and different modes depending on the type of floor being cleaned – and how stubborn the stains are. The user has full control over this, rather than the machine being on one mode constantly – so you can power it up to deal with a stubborn stain, or use on low mode when you just need to freshen an area up.

You are able to add a detergent to the water should you wish, though Dyson doesn’t mandate this unlike with many other floor cleaners.

When you’re done cleaning, a self-cleaning mode will saturate both rollers with clean water on the boost setting in preparation for the next clean.

The Dyson Wash G1 will be available later in 2024 – as we mentioned it has a rather high price of $700/£600 – Dyson products generally do carry a premium, but it’s over double the cost of comparable hard floor cleaners, so it’ll be interesting to see how it does.

• Dyson’s Supersonic Nural will actually protect your scalp

By any stretch of the imagination, it can’t be said the iPad Pro premium tablet is underpowered.

With a brand new chip that’s later in generation than anything in a Mac, Apple is hoping to boost flagging iPad sales by putting out a device that’s not only Apple’s thinnest ever, but with unbelievable power, too.

And with a new Apple Pencil Pro, it’s a serious upgrade. And those who use an iPad Pro for any kind of art or design work will definitely benefit from the new Pencil.

We’re testing out the 13in model (which replaces the 12.9in), but there’s a 11in model and both are available in 256GB (a new starting size), 512GB, 1TB and 2TB versions. This time around both sizes have the same spec sheet; the only difference is the size.

Design: the thinnest of them all

What is particularly stunning is just how thin the iPad Pro is. It was pretty thin anyway, but the new 13 incher (no, not 12.9 anymore but 13) clocks in at a mere 5.1mm. It’s the thinnest product Apple has ever made, even more so than the iPad nano – you probably know that already, even if that maybe has to do with an ill-received marketing campaign. The 11in model is a little thicker at 5.3mm.

Some are concerned about the bendability of this design and time will tell whether this will be an issue. Our 13in model certainly didn’t feel like it had any flex and of course in a case such as the Smart Folio (now with more viewing angles) this will offer some protection.

In a practical sense, it’s not the thinness that’s actually appealing, but the gains it makes in terms of weight. The last iPad Pro wasn’t the lightest and adding a keyboard meant it weighed more than the MacBook Air, If you add the new Magic Keyboard to the 13in tab, it’s noticeably more lightweight – around 150g less in total.

Without the keyboard, the 13in model is 579g, while the 11incher is 444g. For the 2022 refresh, these figures were 682 and 466g.

Apple has moved the camera to the top edge of the tablet. This is much more useful than on the top edge, partly because our finger kept obscuring the camera unit for Face ID with our 2022 model.

The device is available in both silver and space black. We’ve got the space black but teamed it with the white and silver keyboard raher than the black/grey one.

Display: packing an incredible punch

The OLED display (labelled Ultra Retina XDR) is a real stunner. It will be an incredible tool for viewing content with great contrast even though the peak brightness of 1600nits hasn’t increased over the previous generation.

There’s also a nano-texture glass option ($100/£100 extra) for the 1TB and 2TB models should you want it – although we haven’t seen it out of the launch space, this is absolutely stunning to look at with super-low reflectivity even in a bright room.

Performance and key specs

The reworked slab has Apple’s M4 chip on board as opposed to the widely expected six month-old M3 and it’s more graphically capable. It’s 3nm again, but it’s a ‘second generation’ manufacturing process. It’s shockingly powerful for a tablet chip even if multi-core performance doesn’t live up to the hype. The single-core performance scores are quite incredible though, even beats Intel’s top-line Core i9-14900KS.

• Apple iPad Pro OLED vs MacBook Air M3

Naturally, there’s a step up across the board from the M3, but this time there’s a redesigned CPU with extra efficiency cores (6) as well as the neural engine which is 60x faster than Apple’s first neural engine back in 2017’s A11 Bionic. We feel like there have to be more reasons why Apple has stepped forward to M4 rather than using M3 and we reckon we’ll hear more about that at Apple’s developer conference next month.

Software: there has to be more soon

We can’t help but think we’re only getting half the story in terms of the software side with the iPad Pro and Apple surely has to act here. Apple clearly isn’t about to bring macOS to the iPad, even though that’s actually what a lot of people want (or say they want). Instead, we’re faced with a device with software in the form of iPadOS that’s still a smartphone or tablet OS with some multitasking bits tacked on.

Let’s take an example. I got some files emailed to me, some on Google Drive and some on OneDrive which I need to get into Dropbox. On the Mac, I simply open both links in the browser, download them and drag them into Dropbox. On the iPad, I need to export each via the relevant apps and then share it across to the Dropbox app in a lot more steps. It’s not even about multitasking or power – it’s more the logic of working across several apps.

We know there will be new AI-powered elements from Apple’s software side and it’s interesting to hear Apple using AI termology during the iPad Pro’s launch (like Intel’s favoured ‘AI PC’ lingo) to replace the Machine Learning label it has used for years.

Apple says the M4’s Neural Engine is capable of up to 38 trillion operations per second “which is faster than the neural processing unit of any AI PC today… M4 makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence.” More to come here, we feel.

Connectivity and camera: one plus one

Naturally, there’s also support for the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard as well as 5G eSIM with cellular models.  There’s no physical SIM slot. Or a headphone jack for that matter since if you want wired headphones you can just plug them into the USB-C port with an adapter.

In terms of cameras, both front and back are 12MP (back: wide, front: ultrawide). There’s a single camera on the rear now, but it’s joined by a LiDAR scanner and new True Tone flash designed for better document scanning.

Audio playback has always been a strength of the iPad Pro thanks to the quad speakers and that hasn’t changed here despite the thinner design.

Apple Pencil Pro: a welcome addition

The Apple Pencil Pro is also a new and somewhat impressive partner, too. It’s only compatible with the new iPad Air and Pro and it apparently has a new charging architecture, but in reality that capability works very similarly to the existing Pencil 2 (which isn’t compatible with the new devices).

It can be found using Apple FindMy, which is excellent news for those who regularly lose them – it can get knocked off its magnetic base too easily.

• Apple Pencil models compared: which is best for you and your iPad?

The powerful part is that there’s a new sensor in the barrel that you can squeeze. This brings up a tool palette on the display which means you can switch brushes/tools as well as select line weights and colours.

You can also double-press to invoke the eraser. There’s also a gentle haptic engine with a light tap that provides confirmation, too – this all works really well and we found that by the second go we had got used to it.

Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of your selected tool and you can see that on the display with Apple Pencil Hover. If you want a cheaper Pencil, you can also choose the Apple Pencil USB-C but because of the lack of pressure sensitivity, we wouldn’t recommend this unless it’s just for note-taking.

The Magic Keyboard has also been redesigned this time out and it looks a lot better than last time around which marked easily and generally didn’t look like it cost $299/£299. This time around it is still eye-watering in price at $349/£349 but you do get a keyboard that is similar in quality to that on a Mac with a large trackpad to boot.

Apple iPad Pro verdict

As you’d expect, 2024’s iPad Pro makes gains. But the performance gains here are quite staggering. But the question is why has Apple upgraded the Pro quite so much? Is it to take people away from their Macs? Is it to discourage others from even trying to develop tablets? To revive iPad sales? Is it all of the above?

Also, whisper it quietly, but we’re at a stage where the iPad Air also now has an M2 chip and even the base level iPad has a lot to offer, now at a cheaper price point (RIP the home button). The iPad Pro now offers a level of power that most people won’t ever need – it’s for the 1% who design or draft with the Apple Pencil and as such the Pencil Pro is also a serious upgrade for them.

• iPad Pro M4 (2024) vs iPad Air M2 (2024): which should you pick?

Apple is also targeting Pro users who haven’t upgraded from much earlier models, but there has to be more to come in the iPadOS department at Apple’s developer conference next month. Surely there has to be to power up the software to match the terrific power on show here.

Apple iPad Pro tech specs

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