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2022 iPad Pro.

Sofia Pitt

I’ve been testing Apple’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro for the past several days. It hits store shelves Oct. 26 and comes in 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes.

The biggest upgrade is the M2 chip, which is faster than the M1 processor used in last year’s Pro model. It also supports the new Apple Pencil Hover feature. That means the screen can now detect the tip of the Apple Pencil up to 12 millimeters above the surface of the screen, which might make it attractive to digital artists who often sketch on their iPads.

Unlike the entry-level iPad, the iPad Pro’s price didn’t increase from last year’s model. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099.

If you’re a 2021 iPad Pro user, it might be hard to justify upgrading to this year’s model, as there aren’t all that many noticeable improvements. And if you’re a standard iPad user – meaning you stream, read, play basic games and surf the web – shelling out $800 or more for the Pro is probably overkill.

This is more for video and photo editors, or for people who just want the best iPad with the biggest screen available.

Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

What’s good

2022 iPad Pro and iPad.

Sofia Pitt

I noticed the screen was brighter on the 12.9-inch Pro than any iPad I’ve used before. While watching HBO’s “House of the Dragon” on my TV at home, I often have to go into a dark room to see everything because the show is shot in dark locations and it’s often hard to see if there’s too much light reflecting on the screen. When I watched the show on the new iPad Pro, however, I noticed it was much easier to see the details on the screen, even when I was in a bright room.

The large screen also makes it easier to multitask on the iPad Pro. I liked reading the news while keeping YouTube TV open at the same time.

iPad Pro split screen view.

Sofia Pitt

The Apple Pencil Hover experience is useful if you’re using your iPad to draw. Let’s say you want to mix colors. In the picture below, you can see a demo where I’m hovering red paint over a blue circle. The iPad Hover mode shows what the purple color will look like before I tap my Apple Pencil on the screen.

iPad Pro Apple Pencil Hover experience.

Sofia Pitt

The speakers are clear and loud and better than on any other iPad I’ve used. I tried streaming music from the Pro in the bathroom while blow-drying my hair and I could easily make out a song’s lyrics.

The iPad Pro’s camera is excellent, but it’s also not an upgrade from last year’s model.

2022 iPad Pro camera.

Sofia Pitt

What’s bad

The iPad Pros’ two major improvements are the M2 chip and the Apple Pencil experience. New iPad models often get camera upgrades, or an increase in the screen’s brightness, but this year’s models didn’t.

This year’s entry-level iPad has a new placement of the front-facing camera. It’s now on the long side of the tablet, instead of the short side, which helps you look more centered on the camera during video chats, not to mention it’s more flattering. I’m not sure why Apple didn’t choose to do the same thing on this year’s iPad Pro.

The offset cameras cause it to appear as if I’m not looking directly at someone else during a video chat, since I have to look off to the left to look at the camera. It’s distracting.

I’m a big fan of the Magic Keyboard because it transforms the iPad Pro into a laptop. But the keyboard drains the battery faster. I was watching “The Stranger” on Netflix and started with 78% battery. I kept my keyboard attached the whole time and by the end of the movie, my battery was at 19%.

Should you buy it?

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AI chipmaker Cerebras withdraws IPO

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AI chipmaker Cerebras withdraws IPO

AI chipmaker Cerebras pulls IPO after raising $1 billion

Artificial intelligence chipmaker Cerebras Systems said on Friday that it’s withdrawing plans for an IPO, days after announcing that it raised over $1 billion in a fundraising round.

In a filing with the SEC, Cerebras said it does not intend to conduct a proposed offering “at this time,” but didn’t provide a reason. A spokesperson told CNBC on Friday that the company still hopes to go public as soon as possible.

Cerebras filed for an IPO just over a year ago, as it was ramping up to take on Nvidia in an effort to create processors for running generative AI models. The filing revealed a heavy reliance on a single customer in the United Arab Emirates, Microsoft-backed G42, which is also a Cerebras investor.

In its prospectus, Cerebras said it had given voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States about selling shares to G42. In March, the company announced that the committee had provided clearance.

Since its initial filing to go public on the Nasdaq, Cerebras has shifted its focus away from selling systems and more toward providing a cloud service for accepting incoming queries to models that use its chips underneath.

The announced withdrawal comes three days into a U.S. government shutdown that’s left agencies like the SEC operating with a small staff. In a plan for a shutdown published in August, the SEC said its electronic system EDGAR “is operated pursuant to a contract and thus will remain fully functional as long as funding for the contractor remains available through permitted means.”

On Tuesday, Cerebras said it had raised $1.1 billion at a valuation of $8.1 billion in a private funding round. At the time, CEO Andrew Feldman said that the company still wanted to go public, rather than continue to raise venture capital.

“I don’t think this is an indication of a preference for one or the other,” he told CNBC in an interview. “I think we have tremendous opportunities in front of us, and I think it’s good practice, when you have enormous opportunities, not to let them fall by the wayside for lack of capital.”

Feldman thought the original prospectus from last year was out of date, especially considering developments in AI, the spokesperson said on Friday.

Well heeled technology companies have been quickly signing up for additional infrastructure to handle demand. On Tuesday CoreWeave, which rents out Nvidia chips through a cloud service, said it had signed a $14.2 billion agreement with Meta. ChatGPT operator OpenAI said last week that it had committed to spending $300 billion on cloud services from Oracle.

The government shutdown did not factor into Cerebras’ decision, the spokesperson said.

WATCH: Interview with Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman

Cerebras CEO: Here's why our chips are a more efficient alternative to Nvidia

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Amazon shutters 4 Fresh stores in Southern California as grocery strategy keeps shifting

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Amazon shutters 4 Fresh stores in Southern California as grocery strategy keeps shifting

An employee arranges a salad dressing display at an Amazon Fresh grocery store on December 12, 2024 in Federal Way, Washington.

David Ryder | Getty Images

Amazon is closing four more Fresh supermarkets in Southern California as the e-commerce giant continues to focus its grocery strategy around Whole Foods and delivery.

The closures will take place in the coming weeks, Amazon confirmed to CNBC. They follow the shuttering of four other U.S. locations in recent months, in Washington, Virginia, New York and a Los Angeles suburb.

“Certain locations work better than others, and after an assessment, we’ve made the decision to close these Amazon Fresh locations,” Amazon spokesperson Griffin Buch said in a statement. “We’re working closely with affected employees to help them find new roles within Amazon wherever possible.”

At one Fresh supermarket in La Verne, California, employees were told to gather for an all-hands meeting on Wednesday, according to an internal message viewed by CNBC. They learned at the meeting that the store would close in mid-November, and that employees would receive a severance package, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the details were confidential.

The other three stores that are closing are in cities of Mission Viejo, La Habra and Whittier.

Last week, Amazon said it intends to close 14 Fresh grocery stores in the U.K. and convert its five other locations there into Whole Foods markets.

Amazon said it regularly evaluates its store portfolio, which can lead to opening, reopening, relocating or closing certain locations. In the U.S., the company has more than 60 remaining Fresh stores. Last year, the company removed its “Just Walk Out” cashierless technology from the stores. It’s also been culling its footprint of Go cashierless convenience stores.

Amazon has been determined to become a major grocery player for nearly two decades. The company launched Amazon Fresh in 2007, then a pilot project for fresh food delivery, before acquiring upscale chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017, its biggest purchase on record.

Amazon debuted its Fresh grocery chain in 2020, with an eye toward mass-market shoppers. The rollout has been turbulent since its early days.

The company opened a flurry of Fresh locations by 2022, but the expansion plans ran into CEO Andy Jassy’s widespread cost-cutting efforts as the company reckoned with the impact of rising interest rates and soaring inflation. In 2023, Amazon announced it would shut some Fresh stores and halt further openings temporarily as it evaluated how to make the chain stand out for shoppers.

While it’s closing Fresh stores, Amazon continues to “innovate and invest in making grocery shopping easier, faster, and more affordable,” Buch said. The company still maintains 500 Whole Foods locations and has opened mini “daily shop” Whole Foods stores in New York City.

On Wednesday, Amazon also launched a new “price-conscious” grocery brand that will be offered online and in its physical stores. And last month, Amazon expanded same-day delivery of fresh foods to more pockets of the U.S.

Jassy and other company executives have touted the success of sales of “everyday essentials” within its online grocery business, which refers to items such as canned goods, paper towels, dish soap and snacks. Jassy told investors at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in May that he remains “bullish” on grocery, calling it a “significant business” for Amazon.

WATCH: Amazon grocery could be a trojan horse to more revenue

Amazon's grocery could be a trojan horse to move revenue higher, says Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney

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Quantum stocks Rigetti Computing and D-Wave surged double-digits this week. Here’s what’s driving the big move

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Quantum stocks Rigetti Computing and D-Wave surged double-digits this week. Here's what's driving the big move

Inside Google’s quantum computing lab in Santa Barbara, California.

CNBC

Quantum computing stocks are wrapping up a big week of double-digit gains.

Shares of Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum and Quantum Computing have surged more than 20%. Rigetti and D-Wave Quantum have more than doubled and tripled, respectively, since the start of the year. Arqit Quantum skyrocketed more than 32% this week.

The jump in shares followed a wave of positive news in the quantum space.

Rigetti said it had purchase orders totalling $5.7 million for two of its 9-qubit Novera quantum computing systems. The owner of drugmaker Novo Nordisk and the Danish government also invested 300 million euros in a quantum venture fund.

In a blog post earlier this week, Nvidia also highlighted accelerated computing, which it argues can make “quantum computing breakthroughs of today and tomorrow possible.”

Investors have piled into quantum computing technology this year, as tech giants Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon have embraced the technology with a wave of new chip announcements, multi-million dollar investments and research plans.

Read more CNBC tech news

Quantum computing is the most radical technology in history: Bank of America's Haim Israel

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