Up to this point, the year-old iPad Pro has blown every other tablet out of the water. It’s a creative powerhouse used by engineers, photographers, designers, architects and more, and for a lot people it’s powerful, beautiful and versatile enough to replace a laptop in most situations. Now, with the launch of its latest generation of iPad Pro, Apple is again catering to its most creative users.
As was true with previous iterations of the iPad Pro, the new models are faster, brighter and generally more beautiful than predecessors, but this time around Apple gave the iPad Pro a new hardware redesign with many iPhone XS-esque features. Both new models have a full edge-to-edge display with slimmer bezels (50-percent narrower) and a TrueDepth front-facing camera – no notch, though – so you can unlock the new iPad Pro with Face ID. And you can do this whether you’re holding it in portrait or landscape modes. Both now have beautiful Liquid Retina displays that are brighter and more pixel-rich; Apple says that they produce 48-percent “more color.” The displays support ProMotion, True Tone and Smart HDR. And with the TrueDepth camera, they’re able to make Animojis and Memojis just like on the new iPhone XS.
As for sizes, there are still two iPad Pros. The old 10.5-inch iPad Pro has been upgraded to have an 11-inch screen, but it’s housed in the same size body. There’s a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but it has a smaller body and overall form factor than the previous 12.9-inch iPad Pro; Apple says that the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro is essentially same size as an 8×11 piece of paper. Both of the new iPad Pros are 15-percent thinner and have 25-percent less overall volume. Bigger screens. Small body. They look good.
The new iPad Pros run on Apple’s new A12X Bionic processor and 7-nanometer chip, making them Apple’s most powerful iPad Pros ever – by a long shot. Apple says its single-core processor is a 35-percent faster CPU and its multi-core processor is a 90-percent faster CPU than its predecessors. Its graphics are up to 1,000 times faster.
Another big upgrade comes in the form a new USB-C port (no Lightning port), meaning you’re easily able to hook it up directly to a DSLR to upload photos, or you can hook the iPad Pro to a 5K external monitor, too. Both these upgrades are significant and they push the new iPad Pros further into the realm of Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops. Both the new iPad Pros have a 10-hour battery life and come with an 18-watt power adapter.
A second-generation Apple Pencil was also announced. It can magnetically attach to the top of each of the new iPad Pros, and when it’s there it automatically charges. When you tap the screen with the new Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro will automatically open the Notes app, too. There are also more touch gestures on the Apple Pencil, so you can easily switch from pen to eraser (and other software-based things in specific apps). Additionally, Apple announced a new Smart Keyboard Folio that magnetically clips to the new iPad Pros and has multiple viewing angles. Both of the new accessories need to be purchased separately.
The last surprise was price – the vastly upgraded iPad Pros aren’t that expensive. Apple is going to keep its old 10.5-inch iPad Pro in its lineup, and it’ll start at $649. The new 11-inch iPad Pro will start at $799, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will start at $999. Both of the new iPad Pros are available in 64GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage capacities.
The new iPad Pros are available to pre-order today. You can expect them to ship and be in stores starting November 7.
Order Now: $799+ (11-inch)Order Now: $999+ (12.9-inch)
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