Apple has revealed that it will hold a “Let Loose” event on May 7th, when it’s expected to introduce multiple iPad updates.
The presentation will stream live at 10AM Eastern on Apple’s website as well as the company’s YouTube channel. The teaser image makes clear that the iPad will be the focus of the event with an Apple Pencil featuring in the logo.
While Apple hasn’t provided any further teasers, it’s widely expected to focus on new iPad Pro and iPad Air models at the event. The Pro is poised to get a major redesign with the M3 chip, OLED screens, and possible additional changes such as a landscape camera orientation.
The iPad Air refresh may be the more significant update at the event for most users. Apple is rumored to be introducing a 12.9-inch model with the same mini-LED screen as on the current-generation Pro. Both it and an LCD-based 10.9-inch Air would use the M2 chip.
As the event graphic suggests, accessories could also play a major role. Apple is believed to be readying a new Pencil with squeeze gestures that might handle quick actions like app shortcuts. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, meanwhile, has said a new Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro could be more laptop-like with an aluminum body and a bigger trackpad.
Store inventory for the iPad Air has already been dwindling this month. Updates for the base iPad and iPad mini might not arrive until the fall.
The event may deliver one of the most important iPad updates in recent years. Apple didn’t refresh its tablet hardware at all in 2023, and that was reflected in sinking revenues for both the brand and the industry as a whole. Tablet shipments hit their lowest levels since 2011 last year, IDC analysts said. New models could lift overall tablet demand while fending off competition from Samsung and a resurgent Huawei.