Why 2024 could be a huge year for the iPad

A new year has begun, and, inevitably, there's speculation about what the major tech companies will deliver. We already know one thing that we can definitely expect from Apple, since the company made the uncharacteristic move of staging the official reveal months in advance (we're talking about Apple Vision Pro, of course).

But something else that we can be fairly confident of in 2024 is that we will get new iPads. If only because 2023 was unprecedented as the first year with no Apple tablet since the iPad was launched way back in 2010 (see our iPad generations list for the full current lineup).

It's worth recalling just how unusual it was that Apple didn't release a new iPad in 2023. Since in 2010, there has been at least one new iPad every year, and often more. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, when some tech companies delayed product development and launches, Apple kept up the pace, launching four iPads in 2020 and another four in 2021.

But the last iPad releases were the 10th generation iPad and 6th generation iPad Pro (both 11in and 12.9in versions) in October 2022. These were also a little unusual in that there was no pre-launch event to announce the devices, Apple simply dropped them in its store. Since then, the only iPad-related release in past year has been the new, and initially confusing Apple Pencil with USB-C.

So what's going on? Is the pace of innovation in the tablet format slowing down? Is there nowhere left to improve on the performance of the current iPad range? Both of these could have been partly true in 2023. The current range of iPads offers almost too much choice, and the Pros provide as much power as most people could need from a tablet. The most obvious missing feature is an OLED display for the Pros.

But customers have been critical of small iterative upgrades in recent years. It could be that, with people hardly clamouring for upgraded specs, Apple is taking more time to consider future advances, avoiding less necessary minor upgrades. It's also true that the iPad line-up had started to look a bit confusing at the end of 2022. The prices of the iPad Air and iPad mini were bumped up to account for the launch of the iPad 10 at a steeper price than the iPad 9, which itself remains available as the most economical iPad. 

Now there are two 'entry-level' iPads as well as two iPad Pros and two devices in between. There's less of a clear distinction between them, with each iPad a little bit more expensive than the lower model while offering a little bit more. That might all be a strategy intended to lead more people to ultimately opt for a Pro, but it makes it hard to know what to recommend for whom. 

Part of Apple's pause in 2023 may have been to evaluate how it can simplify the lineup. But Apple has also been concentrating on other things. There may have been no iPads in 2023, but there were not one but two MacBook Pro drops, the M2 Pro / Pro Max 14 and 16 in January and the M3 Pro / Max version less than 10 months later at the start of November.

I'm not too convinced that the iPad lineup will get more streamlined in 2024. There have even been rumours that Apple may be about to confuse things even more by releasing a 12.9in iPad Air. That would reduce the differences between the Air and the Pro even further, although it would be in line with the decision to launch a larger MacBook Air laptop in 2023, and it could be a result of the introduction of OLED display (and a possible price bump?) on the iPad Pro.

One thing we're fairly confident of is that 2024 will be a fairly important year for iPad after the hiatus. Some rumours even suggest that every iPad will see the launch of a new model. That would mean an unprecedented six new iPads in one year.

The iPad that's most overdue an update is the iPad mini, which hasn't seen an update since 2021. That's led some to suspect the mini may go the way of the late iPhone mini, but insiders have insisted that Apple remains committed to the device. 

But it seems the Pro may be the first 2024 iPad. The Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, has suggested that new iPad Pro models will arrive early in the year and will boast a range of new features, including that long-awaited OLED display. A 12.9-inch iPad using OLED tech could look incredible. It's clear just putting the miniLED 12.9-inch iPad Pro next to its LCD counterpart how visible the difference can be on that large screen – and OLED offers even brigher colours and deeper contrast than miniLED

Other rumoured specs include an upgrade to the M3 chip, and an improved Magic Keyboard accessory, with a more premium aluminium design. This would make it more viable than ever as a laptop replacement.

2024 will be a big year for Apple as a whole, as Apple Vision Pro will be its first entirely new product line since Apple Watch. It's also a device that Apple thinks could define the future of computing, but it hasn't lost interest in tablets. iPads remain in demand and continue to lead the market (see the best prices on the current lineup below – also see our guide to the best Apple deals).