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New ipad Pro adds LIDAR scanner and trackpad support
Read all about Apple’s new ipad Pro, complete with LIDAR scanner and trackpad support
THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK HASN’T STOPPED APPLE RELEASING TWO BRAND NEW IPAD PROS WITH TRACKPAD SUPPORT. The new ipad Pro range comes in two different screen sizes – 11-inch and 12.9-inch and has storage options from 128GB to 1TB. To complement the new ipads, Apple has also released a new Magic Keyboard, which features a superb new floating design and houses a trackpad for the first time.
The exciting new ipad Pros also come with a new LIDAR scanner for sensing the depth of objects in front of it, but the big news is really the trackpad support.
Trackpad support for ipads has been completely reimagined by Apple, so rather than copy the traditional experience of using a trackpad on a Mac, Apple started from the ground up and tried to figure out how a trackpad should interact with a touchscreen device. The results are designed to be intuitive and bring a pointer to the ipad’s screen for the first time. As you move your finger across the trackpad the pointer on the ipad screen transforms to highlight elements of the user interface. And of course, familiar trackpad gestures like pinch to zoom are available and mean you can perform complex operations on your ipad without lifting your fingers off the trackpad at all.
“The new ipad Pro introduces advanced technologies never before available in mobile computing,” says Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Combining the most advanced mobile display with powerful performance, pro cameras, pro audio, the breakthrough LIDAR Scanner and new Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, this is another huge leap forward for ipad. There’s no other device in the world like the new ipad Pro and we think our customers are going to love it.”
The new Magic Keyboard that Apple has released to complement the new ipad Pro features a very cool-looking, floating design. Looking somewhat akin to the old ‘lampshade’-style imac G4, the new design ‘floats’ the ipad itself over the keyboard using a new cantilever stand. This design enables you to attach the ipad Pro magnetically, and you can smoothly adjust its height up and down.
To complete the experience the fullsize keyboard on the Magic Keyboard is backlit, so you can type in the dark with ease. In fact, the only thing that puts us off is the price. For the 11-inch ipad Pro the new Magic Keyboard retails at a hefty £299 and it’s £349 for the 12.9-inch model.
The new ipad Pro comes in two sizes – 11-inch (starting at £769) and 12.9-inch, (starting at £969), both of which feature Apple’s Liquid Retina display, with a P3 wide colour support, and have a refresh
rate of up to 120Hz for super-smooth scrolling. True Tone, high brightness (600 Nits) and anti-reflective coating mean you’ll be able to use the devices outside as well as inside.
Like Apple’s latest iphones, the camera system on the new ipad Pro uses a multilens technology. The ipad Pro features a 12-megapixel Wide camera and a new 10-megapixel Ultra Wide camera that zooms out two times to capture a really wide field of view.
The new ipad Pro also has a performance boost with a new A12Z Bionic Chip. This new chip features an eight core GPU, meaning the new ipad is perfect for graphics-intensive tasks like editing 4K video or making 3D models.
You might be wondering how the new LIDAR changes the way you use your ipad. For your daily use it doesn’t make much difference, but in terms of its potential for the future, it adds a lot. The LIDAR scanner works in combination with the other features like the pro cameras, motion sensors and software in ipados to measure depth in a way that can revolutionise augmented reality apps. The LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) measures how long it takes light to reach an object and reflect back. It’s actually the same technology that NASA is using in its Mars missions! But will the astronauts be taking an ipad Pro with them to Mars? We can’t think of a better device to while away the months on the way to the red planet.