On Tuesday, Apple announced the release of new iPad tablets that have been redesigned with a powerful AI chip, indicating that the company is ready to integrate artificial intelligence into its devices. The latest version of the iPad Pro features a new chip called the M4, which is more powerful than the current chip used in Apple’s laptops and is capable of handling more AI tasks.

The iPad Pro and the ultralight iPad Air are Apple’s first iPad releases in two years, marking the end of the company’s longest period without upgrades since the tablet’s launch in 2010. The new chip makes the iPad Pro the most powerful device of its kind, according to Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies.

Apple has been criticized for being slow to embrace the AI revolution, with Microsoft surpassing it as the world’s largest company by market capitalization. Microsoft has fully embraced AI technology, incorporating AI-enhanced versions of its software and applications and providing tools like the Copilot chat functionality to its cloud computing clients. Analysts anticipate that the capabilities of the M4 chip will extend to other Apple products, including iPhones and laptops. CEO Tim Cook highlighted the importance of generative AI across Apple’s product lines following the company’s latest earnings report.