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New iPad Pro Expected This Year With M5 Chip and Two Front Cameras
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A weird issue I am facing is that some websites relying on facial authentication seem to be designed around iPads with the front camera in portrait orientation, and have not been updated for the newer iPads.
Background - a number of government websites in my country (like the one I go to check my income tax) lets me sign in using facial recognition, but it then wants me to hold my iPad in portrait mode, and the camera is awkwardly placed and it's almost impossible to get my face in frame.
I don't know if having a camera in each orientation solves this, but I guess it goes to show there is no one right way to resolve this sort of things.
Background - a number of government websites in my country (like the one I go to check my income tax) lets me sign in using facial recognition, but it then wants me to hold my iPad in portrait mode, and the camera is awkwardly placed and it's almost impossible to get my face in frame.
I don't know if having a camera in each orientation solves this, but I guess it goes to show there is no one right way to resolve this sort of things.
iPad Pro has basically peaked with the M4. Already has the best display, overkill processor, thin & light as it can possibly be.
Now we are left with performance improvements and tiny quality of life improvements, like the dual front cameras.
That said - I imagine this could unlock something pretty cool - two cameras at a decent distance from each other will get a very detailed depth map for 3D selfies, or for 3d telepresence with Apple Vision Pro calls.
Now we are left with performance improvements and tiny quality of life improvements, like the dual front cameras.
That said - I imagine this could unlock something pretty cool - two cameras at a decent distance from each other will get a very detailed depth map for 3D selfies, or for 3d telepresence with Apple Vision Pro calls.
This.
I think they will put 16gb, given the limited amount of features in this M5 model. They need to convince people to upgrade with 1.5 years gap between models.
Apple was never generous with RAM, but I doubt they will be greedy enough to have their flagship iPad (that was heavily advertised as a Mac replacement not long time ago) selling in 2027 with 8gb of RAM
Doesn't surprise me to see so many snarky commentaries 
I, for one, welcome this change. FaceID on my iPad Pro 12.9 M1 fails to unlock the device every now and again – unless I will move closer to the camera when it's in landscape mode. It feels like having two cameras will fix this (at last)
I, for one, welcome this change. FaceID on my iPad Pro 12.9 M1 fails to unlock the device every now and again – unless I will move closer to the camera when it's in landscape mode. It feels like having two cameras will fix this (at last)
Hopefully the Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is better than the M4 version.
Weird choice? So every single laptop with a landscape camera is weird? If you’ve ever used the iPad for Zoom, Google Meet, or even FaceTime, then you already know why Apple moved the camera to landscape. The old camera location required the iPad to be at a weird offset angle, making it difficult to make eye contact. I’ve always thought the iPad needed dual cameras that auto rotated according to the orientation the user had the iPad in.
I bought the first 12.9" iPad Pro when it came out: thrilling device and the pencil was awesome despite awkward pairing and charging... but the device felt balanced and powerful. Fast forward and I decide to upgrade to the 12.9" M4 version. 2xOLED nice, front camera better, new pencil awesome-er, but... Speakers suck, battery life not quite as awesome, no minijack... sad I gifted the other to a needy family, but time marches on and Tim wants his lucre, so...
Dumb question, but why would they need to add a second camera for this? The camera lens is round. It seems like they could put a sensor behind it that could just handle capturing images in either orientation. Seems like a waste to add a whole other lens and housing to be able to capture images in a different orientation.
They've been going 18 months for a while and I agree, 18 months is overkill given there's so little competition in this field.
So maybe they shouldn't have changed it to begin with....
Several years ago, I read about a concept where two under display cameras with image processing to combine their image can give image quality equivalent to one pinhole/uncovered camera. The cameras are placed close , and not on different sides though.
The reason it wasn’t implemented then, was the high compute requirements for fusion.
The reason it wasn’t implemented then, was the high compute requirements for fusion.
My 2018 iPad Pro still handles everything I use the iPad for (media consumption and some journal/note taking). If they allowed us to run MacOS on it, I'd instantly buy the maxed out 12.9". And probably upgrade every 2 years. Wasted opportunity.
In my experience, it's not that big of a deal to just move your hand for a second while you unlock it or authenticate for a payment compared to not being able to hold it in your preferred comfortable way for an entire video call.
A camera for each orientation does seem silly, but it's a thing for me. I usually use mine in landscape and a big selling point to getting the new one was because FaceTime/video calls on my old iPad always looked weird with the camera at the side position since I used it in landscape orientation.
After thinking about it for a minute I have very few things I would like to change about the iPad, 1) the camera actually is one of them and I have thought about this double camera set up. The other thing is 2) fast charging, it takes so long to charge this thing. Everything else boils down to give it more/better software.
I am still rocking on iPad Pro 2018, on daily basis. Notability, media consumption and other light tasks. Since M4/M5 will have OLED technology, will users be able to get similar lifespan from the current generation without any noticeable burn in a few years?
There were other complaints both here and on Reddit so I’m not the only one. I’ve been using screens since they were tiny 12” glass monitors and it’s the only time I have ever had an issue with a screen. I don’t know why but it just really hurt my eyes.