It isn’t for everyone though, on account of its large size and high price tag, and you may be better served by another more portable and affordable tablet, but make no mistake: this is the best of the best. The biggest caveats are that it’s incredibly expensive, and that it’s an overwhelmingly large device for those who don’t need a screen this big.
This is slightly smaller and costs less than the 12.9-inch model, with a screen that measures just 11-inches across, but in terms of specs it’s an identical tablet.
For those who can handle both the physical size and the price tag, though, the iPad Pro 2021 is an outstanding offering that boasts next-gen power, a fantastic display experience, and everything else we’ve come to love from Apple’s very best tablets.
The new Liquid Retina XDR Mini LED display is gorgeous, with max brightness levels unseen on other tablets – this slate can compete with the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, which felt like a major upgrade for tablet screens just last year. Then there’s the power – much has been made of Apple’s M1 chipset, and this is the first time the company has included its new, own-brand silicon in an iPad.
Probably not, but if you want some truly impressive power that blows every other tablet out of the water, again the latest iPad Pro is a great choice. You likely won’t appreciate having this much power on tap unless you’re intensively gaming, using power-hungry apps, or pushing the tablet to its multi-tasking limits.
There’s a higher-capacity storage variant than ever before at 2TB, a new Center Stage camera feature that keeps you in the frame on video calls, and Thunderbolt 4 support in the USB-C slot.
Battery life is solid – in our testing we found that the tablet would last for around 10 hours on a full charge.
The iPad Pro 2021 is a phenomenal machine that’s a must-have if you’re an Apple evangelist, or if money is no object when you’re buying your next tablet. For a few weeks after launch, the iPad was pretty hard to buy due to supply shortages, but that’s long cleared up now.
The price for Apple’s top-specced 12.9-inch slate is remarkably high, and as we’ve mentioned, you’ll only want this tablet if you want the absolute best iPad on the market. The tablet has an aluminum rear and frame, and the front is glass with a scratch-resistant coating – but you’ll want to buy a case if you want to maximize protection against knocks and scrapes. Both look attractive, but at a time when the company is expanding its color choices for the new iMac with some striking tones, it’s a shame it isn’t giving us the option of a pastel pink or purple iPad Pro. The iPad Pro 2021 12.9-inch measures 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4mm, which means it’s a touch thicker than the last-gen tablet, although it isn’t a difference we particularly noticed in everyday use.
Don’t expect a dramatically different looking iPad Pro here from Apple; instead the company has focused on improving the internals, along with the display. The display is one area where Apple has noticeably upped its game for the new iPad Pro 2021, with a top-end 12.9-inch screen. If you’d prefer a smaller premium tablet you can buy the 2021 iPad Pro 11-inch, but the screen tech isn’t as impressive on that device. The 12.9-inch Pro’s display features new Mini LED technology that offers a crisp image as well as improved brightness. The company calls this a Liquid Retina XDR screen, and we’ve found it to provide a great viewing experience. It’s especially effective when you’re scrolling through social media feeds, or playing an intense game and need the image on the screen to keep pace with the action. The resolution is 2048 x 2732, which works out to 265 pixels per inch, which is similar to the quality you’d expect on a top Android tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. This is one of the best visual experiences we’ve had on a tablet, and if display quality is an important factor in your choice of slate, the iPad Pro 2021 won’t disappoint.
If you’re a more typical iPad user, you may not notice this power jump in everyday tasks, but the new silicon is designed to make the iPad Pro a powerhouse device for those who need it, such as those who want to make music on their tablet, edit video, draw, or perform other power-intensive tasks. That’s a huge gap between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus – which TechRadar currently ranks as the best Android tablet – that scored 2,846. 2TB of storage is the most we’ve ever seen on an iPad, and that’s impressively high if you want to be filling your slate full of video clips, audio and other files that take up a lot of space. 128GB does seem a touch limited if you’ll be filling your tablet with lots of apps, and media on top, so it’s something to be aware of before you make your purchase.
There’s 5G connectivity on this tablet for the first time, which means you can make the most of next-gen internet speeds if you opt for a more expensive cellular version of the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro 12.9 2021 with Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil (Image credit: TechRadar)
Optional accessories are available for the iPad Pro, and the two main highlights are the existing Apple Pencil 2 as well as a new version of the company’s Magic Keyboard. We found that the iPad Pro was capable of lasting the full 10 hours that Apple claims, with us performing a variety of tasks including web browsing, streaming video, writing in a word processor, gaming, and bouncing around a variety of apps.
Unlike with Apple’s iPhone 12 series of smartphones, you do get a charger included in the box with the new iPad Pro 2021. Fast-charging isn’t that remarkable on the iPad Pro 2021, which means it takes a little longer to charge than some Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus.
If you’re looking for solid battery life that will last you a whole working day plus a bit extra, the iPad Pro 12.9-inch should suit you just fine. Your older tablet’s screen is looking tired One of the true highlights of the iPad Pro 12.9-inch is its gorgeous display.
If you just need a tablet that’s great for browsing the web, and can run a variety of apps and play most games, you probably won’t need the new iPad Pro. If this iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) review hasn’t helped you decide on which tablet to buy, perhaps these three alternatives might pique your interest.
Samsung’s Ultra-tab is a potent rival to the iPad Pro – it’s not quite as powerful but it has a bigger, better-looking screen and a stylus that you don’t have to buy separately.
4th Gen (2020) Trade-in Value (Top Deals)
You can sort through buyers by prices and find the best values for selling your device. We make it painless to sell your iPad Pro by connecting you with the highest-paying buyback stores and offering FREE shipping to all buyers.
The M2 iPad Pro is likely arriving very soon–here’s what to expect
Apple last updated the iPad Pro line in April 2021, bringing the M1 processor to the platform for the first time and Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED technology to the 12.9-inch model. Development of the next model is well underway, but when will the new iPad Pro launch, and what design changes, new features and tech specs can we expect? Apple always likes to bestow the best of its processor line-up into its pro tablets, which is one of the reasons they are so ridiculously powerful. Various news outlets, including Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, are reporting that the new iPad Pros will feature glass backs rather than the current aluminium ones.
There have been other reports though that suggest the glass backs have proved problematic, as they make the iPads more prone to breakages and may also add to the weight. This rumor is much more tentative, but we could see Apple allowing the back of the new iPad Pros to act as a wireless charging pad for devices like the iPhone 14 or AirPods Pro.
Apple has recently introduced some new shades to the Mac line up that could be shared with the iPad Pro. While this update will likely be a smaller refresh, Apple has bigger things planned for future iPad Pro models.
There were early rumors that Apple would equip the new 11-inch iPad Pro with a mini-LED display like its larger sibling. Another rumour posted by 9to5Mac states that Apple has been experimenting with a new design for the iPad Pro that would see the infamous notch come to the platform for the first time.
We’ve seen other reports that say Apple is thinking of positioning the cameras on the longer side of the chassis, essentially making them landscape orientated devices. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14, it’s possible that Apple introduces something similar on the iPad Pro.
Apple is said to have been working on under screen Touch ID for some time but hasn’t introduced the tech in any device. Display analyst Ross Young shared in the MacRumors Show in July 2022 that he expects under-display Face ID to first arrive on the iPad. If Apple switches from aluminium to glass on the back it could actually increase the weight of the iPad Pro.
According to ET News, Apple is looking into adopting “dry etching,” which is a process that can lead to thinner and lighter displays.
Sources in the supply chain have indicated that an Apple supplier (BOE) is working on gigantic 15-inch OLED panels that could plausibly end up in an iPad at some point in the future. What’s more, the respected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed in June 2021 that Apple itself has been testing 14-inch-16-inch iPads, and that devices in such a form factor will “continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop”.
More recently, in July 2022, DSSC analyst Ross Young has claimed that a 14.1-inch iPad Pro is in development at Apple that could launch in early as 2023. When the report was published in January 2022 BOE was said to still at an early stage of development, and the project is unlikely to yield actual commercial products for another year or two – and may never do so at all, sources say, “due to the difficulty of the technology”.
But considering how expensive the 12.9-inch model already is, and how much more commercially successful the company’s cheaper and small alternatives are, it seems like a long shot for a 14- or 15-inch iPad Pro to appear in the near future.
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