Earlier this week, Apple unveiled a ton of new products at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event. Among the series of products announced at the event are the is M1 iPad Pro and M1 iMac. Since both the iPad and Mac use the same M1 chip, the announcement led to a ton of speculation that the two product lines could be merging in the future.
In an interview with The Independent, Greg Joswiak and Apple hardware chief John Ternus addressed the speculation and reiterated Apple’s position that the iPad and Mac are not merging anytime soon.
Apple says it has no plans to merge iPad and Mac
Joswiak said Apple has no plans to merge the two products. Instead, the addition of the M1 chip to the iPad Pro lineup is a part of the company’s effort to create the best products in their respective category.
“There’s two conflicting stories people like to tell about the iPad and Mac. On the one hand, people say that they are in conflict with each other. That somebody has to decide whether they want a Mac, or they want an iPad. Or people say that we’re merging them into one: that there’s really this grand conspiracy we have, to eliminate the two categories and make them one. And the reality is neither is true. We’re quite proud of the fact that we work really, really hard to create the best products in their respective category.”
Ternus noted that Apple is not going to “get all caught up in” theories of “merging or anything like that,” as it is focused on making both products better. “We’re pushing to make the best Mac we can make; we’re pushing to make the best iPad we can make,” said Ternus.
When asked about why Apple decided to bring the M1 chip to the updated iPad Pro models instead of the standard A-series chip, Ternus said Apple silicon has “always gone into the iPad Pro,” and right now, the M1 is “is the best” Apple silicon Apple has available.
On the topic of the new mini-LED display featured in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro which rivals the Pro Display XDR, Ternus said that shrinking it was a “huge undertaking” that required more LEDs.
“Shrinking it was a huge undertaking,” says Ternus. “If you just look at the two products, obviously the iPad is a lot thinner than a Pro Display XDR, and the way the architecture works – you have the LED backlight behind the display.”
One of the headlining features of the M1 iPad Pro is something called Center Stage, a face-following digital zoom feature, which uses the ultra-wide camera and machine learning during video chats to ensure that users are always in the frame. Ternus said the feature is “liberating” when on a video call with larger groups.
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