News reports that Apple’s new iPad product will be delayed until early May 2024

On March 29th, it was reported that since the release of the iPad Pro with the M2 chip in October 2022, Apple has not updated this product line for a year and a half. The latest news on Thursday shows that well-known technology journalist Mark Gurman, who previously revealed a new iPad product by the end of March or early April, has postponed the disclosure of Apple’s new product launch until early May. Since Steve Jobs first launched an iPad product in 2010, there has never been a complete 18 month absence of any new iPad products. This also means that the changes in new products are more significant, leading to delays. Gurman revealed that Apple has been working hard to complete software development for new devices, and the new models of screens also require more complex new manufacturing technologies, which has led to delays in release times. Currently, Apple’s overseas suppliers have increased their production efforts for the new iPad in order to catch up with the new schedule. The hope for a new screen to boost product popularity is partly due to the delayed launch of new products, and partly due to the concentrated release of a wave of purchasing demand in the early stages of the epidemic. In short, the sales of the iPad category have been slowly declining in the past three years. At the same time, the iPad product line is also the only major product of Apple that has recorded a year-on-year decrease in sales in the past two fiscal years. As a result, Apple is also attempting to create bigger changes to stimulate consumers to switch to new products (and various accessories) while replacing faster chips. Gurman reiterated that the new iPad Pro will be equipped with a next-generation OLED display and M3 chip, and Apple will also introduce a newly designed MiaoKong keyboard and Apple Pencil. At the same time, the iPad Air, which has not been updated for two full years, will also undergo a change in its product system. In addition to chip upgrades, Apple will also launch a 12.9-inch version of the iPad Air. This means that if consumers want a large screen Apple tablet in the future, the iPad Pro will no longer be the only choice. The WWDC relay has postponed the release of new products to early May, which also means that Apple’s next major event – the WWDC Developer Conference, which starts on June 10th local time, is only about a month away. Due to investors complaining about the lack of AI functionality in the past two years, this press conference has also been highly anticipated. Gurman also revealed that the “AI content” of this press conference is very high. In addition to the regular release of the latest OS system for smartphones, computers, and watches, and the first major system update since the launch of Vision Pro, Apple will also disclose a new AI strategy. The capital market is also closely monitoring where Apple’s AI comes from. Additionally, although WWDC is a gathering place for software developers, there have been occasional hardware releases in the past few years, such as last year’s Vision Pro. In the Apple ecosystem, besides the iPad not being updated for a long time, there are also many Mac products (Mac Studio, Mac Mini) that are stuck in the M2 era. It is reasonable for updates to appear at conferences emphasizing AI.