Whether you’re working on a project, expressing your creativity, or playing an immersive game, iPad is a fun and powerful way to get it done.
iPad Pro (2022) vs. iPad (2022): Should you invest in the ‘Pro’?
We’ll go through the differences in specs, price, and features to help clear up this murky picture, and to ensure that you get the best tablet for your needs, without wasting cash on capabilities you’ll never use. iPad Pro (2022) iPad (2022) Display 10.9-inch or 12.9-inch IPS running at 2388 x 1668 10.9-inch IPS running at 2360 x 1640 Apple Pencil support Supports Apple Pencil (2nd gen) Supports Apple Pencil (1st gen) Processor M2 A14 Bionic Physical connectivity USB-4 (Thunderbolt) charging and data port, Nano-SIM tray (cellular models), magnetic connector USB-C charging and data port, Nano-SIM tray (cellular models) Storage options 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB 64GB, 256GB Cameras 12MP wide and 10MP ultrawide rear cameras; 12MP ultra-wide front camera with TrueDepth support This is especially true for creatives that can exploit the Apple Pencil’s excellent stylus input, and take advantage of the complete viability of high-end video and image editing powered by the, let’s be honest, entirely overkill M2 core.
While both of these models feature similar resolution front-facing cameras and a 12MP rear wide-angle lens, the iPad Pro features a second 10MP ultrawide rear camera and a front-facing shooter that supports TrueDepth technology for FaceID unlocks and other capabilities.
This streamlined workflow can save you time and enough cash to make up for the iPad Pro’s price difference. Not only does the iPad Pro offer the largest screen size in its 12.9-inch model but it also features the best resolution (2732 x 2048 at that size) and Apple’s ProMotion technology, which boosts the display’s refresh rate to provide much smoother movement when needed, or battery-saving lower refresh rates when the image is static or moving slowly. You might not notice the difference in video, but if you’re playing a ProMotion-supporting game, it’ll be instantly recognizable just how smooth the iPad Pro’s display can be. If basic streaming video and audio are your main concern, the iPad Pro is probably massive overkill. There are folks who will actually make use of the Pro’s lighting-fast M2 core, its upgraded display, and its 2nd gen Apple Pencil support. Instead, put those funds towards accessories like the new Apple Magic Keyboard Folio, or a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones. After all, it turns an already-great tablet into an incredible device for digital art, note taking, project planning, and more. While this change was great for just about everything else, it meant that the 1st-gen Apple Pencil’s built-in Lightning connector would now need a separate adapter cable to charge.
Apple could have added support for the second-generation pencil, but that would mean a magnetic charging connector would be required, likely raising the iPad’s $450 price point. Don’t expect to save cash by choosing the smaller option, but the extra room in your travel bag might be worth it.
Luckily our own June Wan did the work for you, testing out the available leaders to decide that the, the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is the best Android tablet for most people.
iPad Pro
Watch apps and widgets expand on the Home Screen as you move over them.
Apple iPad Pro vs iPad 10.2
The iPad Pro, on the other hand, gives you a lot more power and a bigger screen, which will come in handy for actual work, but it’s a bit expensive for the average buyer.
iPad Pro
Watch apps and widgets expand on the Home Screen as you move over them.
Who is the iPad Pro for?
Then there’s the middle, where Apple has two slim and portable devices without a lot of traditional power: the MacBook and the newly announced iPad Pro. That’s why during its presentation today, Apple didn’t spend time highlighting the amazing games that could fill up its huge, high-res screen — it focused on the productivity apps you’ll be using, like Office and Photoshop. It’s not a great choice for opening three dozen Chrome tabs at once or editing video in Premiere — that’s where the MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro come into play — but you can write a Word document or tweak a photo in Lightroom. When you look at both devices’ specs, the difference blurs even more: they use low-power processors, they offer about 10 hours of battery life, and they have 12(ish)-inch displays.
It’s managed to improve touch control of Windows in a big way, but there’s no hiding that it’s a desktop operating system, designed from day one (nearly 30 years ago) for use with a mouse. And if younger generations prefer the touchscreen to the trackpad, the iPad Pro could eventually become their main computer.
For now, you can’t ignore the realities that separate iPad Pro and MacBook. Many a thought piece has been written on its capabilities as a creation tool and ability to replace the laptop, but it’s pretty obvious that hasn’t happened for most people.
The Surface Pro is the same kind of hybrid device, partway between laptop and tablet, and it’s been finding success. There are some big differences — the Surface Pro is much closer to a laptop in power, and it runs desktop Windows — but it’s still evidence that people are finding a role for hybrid computers.
The new iPad Pro is Apple’s best iPad, but it’s overkill for most people
The biggest upgrade is the M2 chip, which is faster than the M1 processor used in last year’s Pro model. If you’re a 2021 iPad Pro user, it might be hard to justify upgrading to this year’s model, as there aren’t all that many noticeable improvements. And if you’re a standard iPad user – meaning you stream, read, play basic games and surf the web – shelling out $800 or more for the Pro is probably overkill. The M2 processor is fast, which you’ll notice if you’re editing videos, or running multiple complex applications at the same time.
The screen is massive and the picture quality is excellent, but it’s not an upgrade from last year’s model. The 11-inch model doesn’t have a “Liquid Retina XDR” display, which is just a fancy way of saying it uses mini LEDs that get super bright and colorful.
When I watched the show on the new iPad Pro, however, I noticed it was much easier to see the details on the screen, even when I was in a bright room. The iPad Hover mode shows what the purple color will look like before I tap my Apple Pencil on the screen.
I tried streaming music from the Pro in the bathroom while blow-drying my hair and I could easily make out a song’s lyrics.
The iPad Pros’ two major improvements are the M2 chip and the Apple Pencil experience. I’m a big fan of the Magic Keyboard because it transforms the iPad Pro into a laptop.
7 things I’ve learned from a year of using the iPad Pro
You can learn a lot using a phone or smartwatch for a week, and testing it for a month can give you insights you wouldn’t have otherwise. After several hours of writing and listening to music, I can still go home with enough charge to check social media now and then through the rest of the day and maybe watch a movie before bed. When the top smartphones can power up in minutes, Apple should really work on faster charging tech so it takes less than an hour to get the iPad Pro to full.
When playing popular shooters like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite, I’ve been having real trouble using on-screen controls, as I can’t reach all the buttons or icons. Many smartphones now have 120Hz and even 144Hz screens, and their respective manufacturers make a big thing about it, but I think Apple does it best with the variable refresh rate in the iPad Pros. In that aforementioned coffee shop working situation I can, in a single minute, flip between Spotify, Final Draft, one of a number of note-taking apps, various social media channels and Safari, and the iPad’s variable refresh rate makes them all feel buttery-smooth and easy to scroll through. Sometimes on smartphones with a fixed high refresh rate, things can seem unnecessarily janky, or a little too fast or slick, and this can also really harm the battery life too. Not only is the case looking raggedy, but it hasn’t totally spared the iPad either, and now the corners and some of the edges of the device are a bit dented or scuffed. Touch control is quicker and easier for every task, from gaming and writing to video editing and scrolling through social media.
This totally falls apart when you go to transport the device anywhere though, because not once have I ever put the iPad Pro in my bag, only for it to remain attached when I take it out later.
The Apple Pencil is always falling off, and I can’t count the times I’ve lost the thing in among loads of clutter at the bottom of a bag. It got to a point about six months ago where I gave up on using the Apple Pencil because I couldn’t be bothered to keep rooting around in my bag for it, or where it’d fallen off the device as I was packing it.
Maybe this reflects my laziness or forgetfulness, but I’d call myself an average user so I can’t be the only person who gave up on the Apple Pencil. I was a little disappointed when the original iPadOS was unveiled, as there were no clear meaningful changes from iOS save an annoying sidebar on the main menu which stole space from the apps I actually wanted to use. I don’t have a Mac so Sidecar mode is useless, I haven’t found the split screen mode demonstrably different in any way (since split screen already existed and I haven’t found any apps save Safari that let me view two windows at once), and as previously mentioned I don’t see the need to use a mouse.
Apple iPad Pro (2022) review: there’s nothing quite like it
Apple iPad Pro (2022) MSRP $1,099.00 Score Details DT Recommended Product “It’s big, expensive, and you probably don’t need it. But if you have the cash to burn, the iPad Pro (2022) is the pinnacle of what a flagship tablet should be.” Pros Sleek and modern design It has a stunning design, incredible screen, performance that borders on overkill, great accessories, and plenty of software tricks to take advantage of the whole package.
In other words, you get your choice of an 11-inch or 12.9-inch screen, an aluminum body, USB-C charging, a quad-speaker array, and a square camera housing on the back.
The aluminum body feels premium and cool to the touch, the USB-C port supports Thunderbolt/USB 4 transfer speeds, and the four speakers sound incredible. When you turn the iPad Pro in a landscape view — the most common position for productivity and video calls — the camera gets put off to the left side and creates an awkward angle for yourself on Zoom, FaceTime, etc. The mini-LED screen on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro hasn’t changed at all since it was introduced last year, and that’s not a bad thing at all. The display presents lusciously vibrant colors, deep blacks, incredible sharpness, and it gets more than bright enough for just about any setting.
You’re also treated to a 120Hz refresh rate, which lets animations run smoothly and flawlessly throughout the entire UI.
This is the best screen you’ll find on a tablet today, and if that’s at the top of your must-have list, it’s reason enough to seriously consider the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The M2 is overkill for my iPad workflow of running a few Safari tabs, managing emails on Outlook, and joining Microsoft Teams video calls. It still has a matte finish that feels fantastic to hold and a flat side that can be double-tapped for shortcuts in select apps, and it attaches magnetically to the right frame of the iPad Pro (2022) — where it also wirelessly charges.
While I’m not much of an artist, using the iPad Pro (2022) and Apple Pencil to take notes throughout the day is a near-perfect experience. Previous Next 1 of 2 Apple Pencil hover showing color blending Joe Maring / Digital Trends Apple Pencil hover showing a brush preview in Notes Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Even something as simple as seeing your brush size before putting Pencil to screen adds extra information that just wasn’t there before. Typing on the Magic Keyboard is lovely, the magnets hold the iPad very securely, and the backlit keys are a huge help for late-night working. It’s a more refined design than the new Magic Keyboard Folio introduced with the iPad (2022), though I do desperately miss the function row that remains absent here. It’s neat seeing three or four overlapping windows open simultaneously, but I haven’t found Stage Manager to make me any more productive compared to using the iPad Pro (2022) without it. The good news is that you can easily disable Stage Manager at any time and forget it’s even there — and that’s how I’ve primarily been using my iPad Pro (2022). The iPad Pro (2022) likely won’t be your go-to photography device, but if you need to snap photos with it in a pinch, the results are fine.
Photos can actually look pretty good when there’s ample lighting, but take pictures in a dark or dimly-lit room, and it’s immediately apparent that you’re not shooting with a flagship smartphone. Apple gave the iPad (2022) a horizontally placed front camera, which provides a much more natural angle for taking video calls. The iPad Pro (2022) didn’t get this new camera placement, and as such, you’ll still find yourself off-center and with no natural way to make eye contact when in a Teams or Zoom call. Combined with the generally mediocre camera quality from the 12MP sensor, this is an area I really want to see Apple focus on in the next generation.
Apple’s iPad lineup has had a significant lead in the tablet space for years, and the Pro represents the best of what it has to offer. The display is superb, performance is top-notch, iPadOS 16 is robust, and its family of accessories elevates the user experience in really exciting ways.
Maybe you want a single screen for writing, drawing, watching movies, and playing games — and money isn’t a barrier.
Wikipedia
The second-generation iPad Pro, unveiled in June 2017, had an upgraded A10X Fusion chip and swapped the 9.7-inch screen for a larger 10.5-inch display. The sixth- and current-generation iPad Pro, introduced in October 2022, includes the M2 chip, Apple Pencil Hover, and ProRes video.
Both sizes employed refresh rates up to 120 Hz, better HDR and TrueTone white balancing. It offers a redesigned camera module, an A12Z processor, 128 GB[a] minimum storage, LiDAR Scanner (<5m distance), and support for the Magic Keyboard with a trackpad that is sold separately.
Smart Keyboard docks are specific with iPad Pro using the visible $connector: magnetic with three pins that provides data transfer and power. [27][28] During the keynote, Apple demonstrated drawing, managing publication layout, and document annotation.
[32] It is similar in design and specifications to the first model, but without the detachable connector, and part of the stylus is flattened to inhibit rolling. These adapters utilize the new USB-C connector, which allows the iPad to connect with HDMI cables, USB ports,[34] and read SD cards. [35] Using an HDMI cable, users can connect their iPad to another display, such as a computer, laptop, or television. The USB and SD card support allows user to transfer and save files to and from external memory storage devices. The Magic Keyboard features the first trackpad designed for an iPad, a hinge to adjust the viewing angle and includes a USB-C port for pass-through charging. The Magic Keyboard provided a proper typing experience and supplied a good trackpad bundled with excellent build quality.
[38] With the launch of 5th generation of iPad Pro on 20 April 2021, a white color has also been added to the Apple Store. However, he criticized the cost of both the unit and its accessories, while noting its slightly slower processor with less RAM compared to the larger 12.9-inch model.
[43] Matt Swider from TechRadar complimented the easy handling, large 256 GB configuration and True Tone display, but was upset about the high starting price. [44] Gareth Beavis gave a positive review, commending the expansive screen and audio quality but stated that the battery life could be made longer. The iPad Pro’s 9.7-inch version set a record among all currently released tablets tested in color accuracy, screen reflectance, peak brightness, contrast rating in high ambient light, and smallest color variation. Max Parker from TrustedReviews and Gareth Beavis from TechRadar both praised the 10.5-inch model’s high-quality audio and performance, though both critics noted that it was expensive.
Reviewing the 12.9 inch second-generation iPad Pro, Lauren Goode of The Verge complimented the quality camera, A10X processor and large screen size, but argued that the device could have been cheaper. The third generation iPad Pro models were praised for their better displays, slimmed bezels, the addition of Face ID and general speed as well as CPU improvements. Ben Sin from Forbes noted that despite the LCD screen, the 120 Hz refresh rate makes it feel more smooth.
[50] The switch to USB-C connectors received mixed reviews; external monitor support and device charging were added at the cost of extra dongles to use older cables and headphones.
[51] Some reviewers noted that although the hardware updates are great steps forward, iOS’s limitations, including the lack of external storage capabilities, prevents the third generation from competing against computers. Users on forum boards have reported the iPad bending after a few days of use, or after carrying it around in a backpack.
[55][56] Nelson concluded that the “two weakest points [were] right dead center on either side of the iPad Pro, [and] the crack happened at the very poorly placed microphone hole and the new Apple Pencil 2 charging duct”. Apple responded to these reports quickly, asserting that this is normal and a non-issue,[58] a response that has been criticized. The LIDAR sensor which Apple added for increased AR capability was touted as a feature only a handful of customers will use. [65] The Verge has criticized that they should have had multiuser support like the Mac but they gave positive reviews to the Mini-LED and cameras.
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