Apple today announced its 2021 iPad Pro lineup, with the 12.9-inch variant in the lineup making use of mini-LED display panels. The tablets also come with 5G connectivity and an M1 chip.
From a design standpoint, the 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the 11-inch iPad Pro look the same as the 2020 models. The only difference here is that they are slightly thicker. The new iPad Pro features 5G connectivity, with the US variants supporting mmWave 5G for up to 4Gbps download speeds.
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a Liquid Retina XDR display, which offers better contrast, higher brightness levels, and more. It offers 1,600 nits peak brightness and a contrast ratio of 1 million-to-1. The new display is ideal for HDR workflows and content creation. It also has a 120Hz ProMotion Display and all the other goodies the previous 12.9-inch iPad Pro had. The 11-inch iPad Pro continues to feature a ProMotion LCD panel
The new iPad Pro features a 12MP FaceTime HD camera at the front with a 122-degree FoV. This allows for Center Stage, which always keeps you in focus while on a video call. It can automatically zoom out to include other people in a video call when they come in front of the camera.
The 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are powered by Apple’s M1 chip, the same one inside the new 21.5-inch iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. This brings about a 50% bump in CPU performance and a 40% bump in GPU performance.
Apple has also bumped the internal storage to 2TB, which is now up to 2x faster. Interestingly, Apple is now offering the iPad Pro with up to 16GB of unified memory.
There’s also Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 support on the new iPad Pro allowing it to support external monitors with up to 6K resolution and other Thunderbolt accessories.
To go along with the new iPad Pro, Apple is launching the Magic Keyboard in white.
The 11-inch iPad Pro will be available for $799, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will start from $1,099. Pre-orders for the new iPads start from April 30, with retail availability set to begin from the second half of May.
