Apple Discusses M1 iPad Pro in New Interview, Including Lack of XDR Display on 11-Inch Model

Apple marketing employee Scott Broderick and display engineer Vincent Gu recently spoke with Apple Bitz XL podcast host Brian Tong about the new iPad Pro, including the M1 chip and the Liquid Retina XDR display.


While the Apple employees dodged many of the questions asked in the interview, they did reveal that the new 11-inch iPad Pro's lack of a Liquid Retina XDR display is at least partly due to weight considerations. The latest 11-inch model weighs 1.03 pounds, while the 12.9-inch model weighs 1.5 pounds, in part due to the heavier XDR display.

"What we know about the 11-inch user is that they just love bringing a super powerful iPad with them in a portable one-pound design," said Broderick. "They just love the form factor of that. Whereas the user who is embracing the 12.9-inch display, they were looking for the largest canvas to do their most creative work on that product, and that made sense to bring that XDR technology to the 12.9-inch display for the iPad Pro."

The interview also discusses the capabilities of the iPad Pro's newly added Thunderbolt support, the new Center Stage front camera feature that automatically keeps users perfectly framed during video calls, and more.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

goonie4life9 Avatar
42 months ago
Yowza, their comment about the XDR display is some top quality spin! I wonder what they’ll say when they add it to the 11-in iPP in the next update.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FasterQuieter Avatar
42 months ago
This is painfully boring to watch. They are so constrained in how they speak.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haincha Avatar
42 months ago
I was going to upgrade from the 2018 iPad Pro 11" model, but without the XDR screen, I will hold off another year until it's there. My current iPad Pro is still in good shape and not really running into any issues with it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G46&Fbnth5 Avatar
42 months ago
They wanted to keep the price lower.
Next generation of Pro 11’ will have the XDR display.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
42 months ago
The new Xdr display has massive shadow issues I would not get it, I’m returning mine, also m1 will always be over kill, this interview was kinda pointless they never answer any questions
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
42 months ago
… or they couldn’t source more XDR displays.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)