This is Apple’s new 5G iPad Pro and everything you need to know about it
As expected, Apple has introduced its latest iPad Pro. Launching at Apple’s “Spring Loaded” special event, the new iPad Pro features the M1 chip from the Mac, ultra-fast 5G, a new Liquid Retina XDR display for the larger 12.9-inch model, and more.
The new iPad Pro delivers a massive leap in performance thanks to the M1 chip introduced with the new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini last November. Apple says the 8-core CPU features the world’s fastest CPU cores in low-power silicon — delivering up to 50 percent faster CPU performance than A12Z Bionic, delivering up to 40 percent faster GPU performance.
For the first time, Apple is introducing a 2TB capacity to the iPad, adding support for Thunderbolt and USB 4, making the USB-C port on the device the fastest, most versatile port ever on an iPad, with 4x more bandwidth for wired connections than the previous iPad Pro — up to 40Gbps.
The new Liquid Retina XDR display, available only on the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro, brings front-of-screen performance of the Pro Display XDR to the iPad. Engineered with a new mini-LED design that uses over 10,000 LEDs across the entire back of the display, the Liquid Retina XDR display features up to 1000 nits of full-screen brightness, 1600 nits of peak brightness, and a phenomenal 1 million-to-1 contrast ratio.
After launching 5G with the iPhone 12 last fall, Apple has brought 5G cellular to the iPad. iPad Pro models in the US support millimeter wave, the higher frequency version of 5G, allowing the device to reach speeds up to 4Gbps. The new iPad Pro also features support for eSIM.
The revolutionary M1 chip has been a breakthrough for the Mac, and we’re incredibly excited to bring it to iPad Pro, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. With M1’s huge jump in performance, a groundbreaking extreme dynamic range experience on the 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, up to 2TB of high-speed storage, Thunderbolt expansion, a four-speaker audio system, pro cameras with LiDAR Scanner, blazing-fast 5G connectivity, an amazing video-calling experience with Center Stage — combined with the advanced features of iPadOS and a powerful pro app ecosystem all in a device users can hold in one hand — there’s nothing else like iPad Pro.
Alongside the new iPad Pro, Apple has launched a new white Magic Keyboard, priced at $299 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $349 for the larger 12.9-inch model.
The new iPad Pro will be available to order beginning Friday, April 30, on apple.com and in the Apple Store app ahead of deliveries in May. The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space gray finishes. iPad Pro is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $999 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099 (US) for the Wi-Fi model and $1,299 (US) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.