iPad Pro 2024 Boasts Hidden Feature That Apple Didn’t Disclose
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iPad Pro 2024 Boasts Hidden Feature That Apple Didn’t Disclose
The new iPad Pro, released last month, has garnered widespread acclaim—you can find my review here. However, it includes a hidden feature that reviewers initially missed because Apple didn’t announce it. This feature, now discovered, involves improved indicators for when the microphone or camera are in use.
Apple iPad Pro with M4 processor.APPLE
You might be familiar with the yellow light that indicates microphone activity and the green light for the camera. These lights serve as reminders that help ensure privacy, alerting you if they activate unexpectedly, potentially indicating a security issue. Now, these indicators have been enhanced.According to software expert Guilherme Rambo, the mechanism for activating these lights has been updated. On Mastodon, Rambo explains: “Fun fact about the M4 iPad Pro: it’s the first device to support and use Apple’s new Secure Indicator Light (SIL) mechanism. When using the microphone or camera, the corresponding indicator dot is effectively rendered in hardware (using the display), making it a lot less likely that any malware or user space app would be able to access those sensors without the user’s knowledge.”
The critical detail is that these indicators are “rendered in hardware” thanks to the M4 processor, which is unique to the iPad Pro. This means the lights are displayed on the screen rather than being separate LEDs, enhancing security.
The M4 chip includes a secure enclave, discovered recently, which adds another layer of protection. This prevents malicious apps from bypassing the indicators, as reported by 9to5Mac: “Currently the new iPad Pro is the only device to contain this new security protocol, but it will almost certainly make its way to the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 chip and to M4 Mac models later this year.”
Until those devices are released, the iPad Pro with the M4 processor uniquely offers this advanced consumer protection.While other Apple devices still maintain safe indicator mechanisms, this new feature provides even greater peace of mind regarding camera and microphone usage.