The 2021 edition of the 11″ and 12.9″ iPad Pro devices are here. Apple has brought in a massive upgrade to the iPad Pro. And yes, as you read the title, the M1 chipset from the MacBook finally makes it to the iPad Pro line. Ever since its inception, the chip completely transformed and revolutionized the PC industry with its unmatchable performance and unbeatable efficiency.
Currently, there is nothing that comes even close to what the M1 chip is capable of undertaking. Apple says the iPadOS was already optimized well enough to make this transition as the M1 chip shares fundamentally the same architecture as the A-series processors. So everything here should feel like an even more delightful and surreal experience now.
Noteworthily, the 12.9″ gets the all-new mini-LED display dubbed Liquid Retina XDR. This display employs 10,000 mini-LEDs for exceptional contrast ratio, incredible peak brightness, and amazing picture quality. The display has 2,500 local dimming zones to achieve great contrast.
Moving on, across the 2021 iPad Pro line, we get 5G connectivity with mmWave technology. Storage-wise, we have an impressive up to 2TB capacity. Memory now tanks up to 16GB of RAM. The display on both variants supports the usual ProMotion refresh rate, P3 wide color, HDR and Dolby Vision. Apple has taken the USB-C port game a notch higher with their Thunderbolt technology in addition to USB 4 connectivity for super-fast transfer and read/write speeds.
The front camera is now a new 12MP unit for better clarity and brings in Center Stage mode. This mode uses AI to keep the subjects in the camera always in the frame regardless by making fine adjustments such as panning and zooming accordingly. Speaking of the camera, the rear camera and sensors remain unchanged and are a carry-over from the previous generation.
Pricing starts from $799 for the 11″ model and the 12.9″ variant will set you back $1,099. The 2021 iPad Pro lineup will be available for pre-order starting April 30 and begin shipping in the third week of May.