How to watch Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ iPad event on May 7

Apple is hosting a long overdue iPad event on May 7, when the company is expected to reveal updates to the iPad Pro, iPad Air, Apple Pencil, and Magic Keyboard. The hope is to revive flagging interest in the tablets, and possibly take them in a more meaningful direction than they’ve gone so far. Here’s when and where the event is being hosted, and more importantly, how you can tune in.

The Let Loose event is scheduled to start at 7am PT, translating to 9AM CT or 10AM ET. That’s unusually early for Apple, but the company may be hoping to make viewing easier for audiences outside the Americas. Europeans frequently have to tune in around dinner time or later, and people in countries like China or Japan are probably already in bed. China is Apple’s most important individual market outside of the US, so it needs eyeballs there whenever it can get them.

One of the reasons Apple can afford to start earlier is that there won’t be any in-person stage show. Instead the company will be airing pre-recorded video via apple.com, the Apple YouTube channel, and the Apple TV app on devices like Macs, iPhones, iPads, and TVs, including add-on media streamers such as the Apple TV 4K. If you can’t catch the event live, a full recording should appear later the same day. It’s expected to last around 35 minutes.

What is Apple announcing on May 7?

The focus of the event is rumored to be an overhauled iPad Pro. While current 11- and 12.9-inch screen sizes may be largely unchanged, Apple is expected to switch from LCD and mini-LED panels to OLED, improving brightness, color, contrast, and power consumption. Many rival Android tablets already use OLED, but Apple is said to be pursuing maximum quality while reducing the chance of burn-in — possibly with a higher pricetag to match.

The bigger change may be the debut of Apple’s M4 processor, which has yet to appear in any Mac, much less an iPad. This would likely be to support the company’s new generative AI technology, which should be announced at June’s Worldwide Developers Conference alongside iPadOS 18. Since the AI tech is being kept under wraps, Apple is going to have to tread a fine line on Tuesday when selling the possibilities of the M4. It can’t reveal AI capabilities too early — yet it also needs to address complaints that M1 and M2 iPads have been overpowered for the apps they’re allowed to run.

Fewer upgrades are expected for the iPad Air, but there should for the first time be a 12.9-inch option in addition to the existing 10.9-inch model. Both sizes are likely to stick to LCD, but see their internals switch to the M2 chip. That’s what’s currently in 2022 iPad Pros, and holding there instead of shifting to the M3 may be a way of further distinguishing the Pro lineup while keeping the Air’s prices reasonable.

As for the new accessories, an updated Apple Pencil — possibly called the “Apple Pencil Pro” — could gain a squeeze gesture and haptic feedback, the former potentially replacing the double-tap gesture on the second-generation Pencil. New Magic Keyboard cases may debut to accommodate the redesigned iPads, as well as expand trackpad area and add more aluminum for extra stability.