In the Apple world, the summer months are a little bit of a lull between the software hype of WWDC and the upcoming fall events that will debut new products. If you're in the market to buy one of Apple's best iPad models, though, now makes for a really exciting time as we're seeing discounts across the lineup.

Some models, like the latest M1 iPad Pro are discounted by as much as $100 at Amazon and there are even some savings across on Apple's lower-cost models like the iPad Air and 10.2-inch iPad. Be sure to click through the different colors and configurations to find the model you want and check its discount.

It's unusual to see such steep discounts across the board like this. While Apple won't offer direct savings like this, third-party retailers are certainly trying to move some stock ahead of the fall season.

That being said, these are Apple's newest iPad models and, though the iPad mini is a little long in the tooth, it's unlikely that we're going to see significant upgrades any time soon, especially on the Pro line which just got refreshed this spring. An iPad mini 6 is rumored for this fall, it's less clear if the Air or 10.2-inch iPad will get an updated in the next few months.

The deals at Amazon and elsewhere could expire at any moment. Some products are also on backorder, though there's no reason why you can't lock in the low price today.

What you need to know

• AT&T has announced a new partnership with Delta that will give pilots a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
• Each iPad will be kitted out with an AT&T SIM for 5G connectivity.

AT&T has today announced that it is partnering with Delta to give its pilots a brand new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro for use in the sies. The tablets will also be kitted out with an AT&T 5G SIM card for a "seamless device experience."

The move means that pilots will be able to run Delta apps in the cockpit — although they hopefully won't be playing the latest and greatest Apple Arcade has to offer while they're flying!

We already knew that the new iPad Pro was pretty great, but now we also know that it's apparently the best iPad for pilots, too!

Apple's latest iPad Pro comes equipped with the speedy M1 chip, while the larger 12.9-inch version also has a fancy new mini-LED screen producing improved contrast and brightness — something that could presumably be useful in the cockpit.

What you need to know

• Satechi has today unveiled a brand new stand and hub for iPad Pro.
• The Aluminum Stand & Hub elevates your iPad for use and features six ports for improved connectivity.
• It costs $99.99 and features 4K HDMI, USB-C, and USB-A ports as well as an SD card slot.

Satechi has today unveiled a brand new Aluminum Hub & Stand for Apple's iPad Pro (2021) and previous models from 2018 onwards.

The Aluminum Hub & Stand is designed to physically elevate your iPad for any activity, be it viewing, typing, drawing, or connecting with friends over video. Not only does it serve as a stand for improved use, it also features a hub that vastly improves the connectivity of your iPad. It has a 4K HDMI (60Hz) port, USB-C PD charging, a USB-A port, an SD card reader, a Micro SD card reader, and an audio jack.

The stand is made from aluminum, so will fit right in with your iPad Pro and on your desk with any other accessories. It's also foldable for portability so you can use it on the go.

The new stand is available from both Satechi and Amazon, and through June 6 users can get 20% off at Satechi's own website with the code IPADPRO.

The stand is the perfect companion for Apple's new iPad Pro (2021), which features an M1 chip and Liquid Retina XDR display in the larger 12.9-inch model, making it one of the Best iPads for artists in 2021.

The new stand is compatible with the new 2021 iPad Pro, as well as the iPad Pro (2018), Apple's iPad Air (2020), and can even be used with devices like the M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, as well as older models that have USB-C.

What you need to know

• Apple's iPadOS apps are confined to using 5GB of RAM.
• That includes apps on Apple's new iPad Pro, even the 16GB version.
• Developer Procreate has confirmed it will pass on access to more when available, suggesting Apple could unlock the feature in the future.

A developer has confirmed that apps on iPadOS all have access to the same amount of RAM on the new M1 iPad Pro (2021), even the larger 16GB models.

After announcing its new M1 iPad update, illustration app Procreate confirmed on Twitter that "all M1 iPads have the same amount of RAM available" for developers to use:

It came after one user noted that they were hoping the 16GB M1 iPad Pro might have had more layers and dimensions than they were currently getting because it has more power. As noted by the developer, however, this isn't possible as they're limited across the board by iPadOS.

One Artstudio Pro developer in Procreate's forums claims that stress testing on the new M1 iPad Pro with 16GB of RAM suggests that only 5GB of the iPad's RAM is allocated to the app, with any more causing crashing. User Lucky Clan later noted:

As multiple reports have noted, Apple's iPadOS apps have always been limited in how much RAM they can use by iPadOS. However, the limit seems much more pronounced now because of how much RAM isn't being utilized by apps with a heavier workload (5GB of 16GB is a much smaller portion).

Of course, the iPad needs at least some of that RAM to keep iOS running and will require some to keep the iPad performing well when it comes to multitasking and Split View, app switching, and background tasks. With that being said, there does seem to be some untapped potential that Apple could unlock further down the line.

We've previously heard rumors that Apple may bring 'Pro' apps like Final Cut and Logic Pro are coming to the iPad sometime soon. Apple is also expected to unveil its new iPadOS operating system at WWDC in June, which could well be a prime opportunity for announcing how its new software will be able to unleash some of the iPad's currently untapped potential.

The new M1 iPad Pro is the best iPad available for Pro users, and there are already some discounts to be had on purchases, like the ones found in our roundup of best iPad Pro 2021 deals.

What you need to know

• Illustration app Procreate now supports the M1 iPad Pro (2021).
• Optimization unlocks the power of Apple silicon to bring 4x faster performance.

Procreate has confirmed that its M1 update for the new iPad Pro (2021) is now live and available, after teasing its release last month.

In a tweet Procreate stated:

Procreate says the release button has been hit on the latest update, but that it might take time to roll out from region to region. In a teaser last month the company said:

Apple's new iPad Pro features up to 2TB of storage and 16GB of RAM, as well as 5G and a new Liquid Retina XDR display in the 12.9-inch model, making it the best iPad in recent memory.

What you need to know

• The developers behind the popular camera app Halide have discovered unannounced iPad Pro capabilities.
• The new front-facing ultrawide camera can take some hugely impressive macro shots.

Apple's new M1 iPad Pro has been on sale for a week or so now and that's been plenty of time for the Halide developers to get their teeth into it. The group is normally known for diving into new iPhones to see what their fancy new cameras are capable of. But this was iPad Pro's time. And it turns out there's a pretty huge superpower hiding inside that M1-powered beast.

After testing the new iPad Pro, Halide's Sebastiaan de With penned a lengthy post explaining how its rear-facing cameras are identical to the outgoing 2020 iPad Pro, just as we thought. Around the front though, things begin to get interesting – because Apple's new ultrawide camera is capable of taking some stunning macro shots. And nobody knew about it until now.

The post also points out that while we might have initially thought that Apple has two cameras handling wide and ultrawide duties, it's actually using just the one. It's all about software magic, apparently.

Then, after resting the iPad on his leg, de With noticed that it was capable of focusing on the material of his clothes. So he set about taking some shots of flowers, his finger, and all sorts of things.

These are some hugely impressive shots, even before you remember they are taken with an iPad's front-facing camera.

Be sure to head over to the Halide blog for some more truly stunning images.

Fancy trying this for yourself? Check out our collection of the best iPad Pro deals on the table today.

What you need to know

• Apple's new M1 iPad Pro can download software updates via 5G.
• Apple confirmed the feature via an updated support page.

Apple has updated a support document to include the news that the new M1 iPad Pro can download iPadOS updates and more via its 5G connection.

Spied by 9to5Mac, the document explains that owners of the new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro can set their devices up so they can make use of high-quality FaceTime video, high-definition Apple TV content, and more via the built-in 5G cellular connection. Users will need to enable their iPad to use more data for the new abilities to work, however.

A Low Data mode will remain for those who want to ensure their iPads don't blow through their data allowance, too.

The new M1 iPad Pro has only been on sale for a few days but it is already cementing a position for itself as the best iPad Apple has ever made. Users can find the ins and outs of the new features in that new support document.

The new iPad Pro is already proving popular among those who have picked one up and you can grab yours while saving some money if you keep tabs on our collection of the best iPad Pro deals we could find.

What you need to know

• Apple's Scott Broderick and Vincent Gu have interviewed with Brian Tong about the new iPad Pro.
• They discussed the iPad's display, power, and why there's no 11-inch mini-LED version.

Apple's Scott Broderick (iPad Product Marketing) and Vincent Gu (Display engineering) have sat down with Brian Tong to talk about Apple's new iPad Pro (2021), discussing features like its new display and the M1 chip.

In a new YouTube video, Tong spoke with Broderick and Gu, discussing the Liquid Retina XDR Display, challenges behind creating it, the M1 chip, Thunderbolt ports, the battery, and more.

Tong asked why Apple had decided to include the mini-LED display in the 12.9-inch model but not the 11-inch, to which Broderick replied:

Tong also asked about desktop versions of apps, the battery, developer tools, and more. You can check out the full interview below:

What you need to know

• Another report says the new iPad Pro (2021) is likely to be delayed.
• Digitimes reports that issues with supply for the mini-LED display will delay the first wave of pre-orders.
• It follows a Bloomberg report to the same effect earlier this week.

A second report says that pre-orders for the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021) are likely to be delayed because of supply constraints for the mini-LED display.

From Digitimes:

The news follows a similar report from Bloomberg on Tuesday:

As Bloomberg notes only the larger iPad Pro sports the fancy new mini-LED display, meaning the 11-inch model remains unaffected.

Apple previously noted at its Q1 earnings call that it expects to miss out on $4 billion in revenue due to supply constraints in this quarter.

You can read our review of Apple's best iPad ever here.

What you need to know

• Reviews of the M1 iPad Pro went live today.
• They revealed that the new iPad works "just fine" with the 1st generation Magic Keyboard for iPad.

Back when Apple announced the new iPad Pro with M1 processor, there was some confusion over whether the current generation of the Magic Keyboard for iPad would work with the new iPad.

Apple attempted to dispel rumors that customers would have to purchase an entirely new keyboard by releasing a support document. The document said that, while the new M1 iPad Pro was "functionally" compatible with the existing Magic Keyboard for iPad, it may not "precisely" fit when it is closed.

While that reassured some, many still wanted to wait until the new iPad Pro and existing Magic Keyboard were actually tested together. As reported by MacRumors, the first reviews of the new iPad went out today and it appears that the new M1 iPad Pro and existing Magic Keyboard for iPad work just fine together when closed.

Brownlee even went as far as to say that, unless you tested them side by side, you probably wouldn't even notice you were experiencing anything different between the two keyboards.

This is great news for everyone who is picking up a new M1 iPad Pro and did not want to have to replace the already pricey Magic Keyboard.

Reviews and unboxings for Apple's 2021 iPad Pro are here, and we've put together a round up of all the best you should check, starting with our own of course...

iMore

Rene Ritchie

iJustine

Christopher Lawley

Brian Tong

SuperSaf

Brad Colbow

Engadget

Justin Tse

TechRadar

The Guardian

The Verge

The 2018 iPad Pro was a watershed moment for so-called personal computing and elicited a breathtaking amount of self-reflection from the industry. Now that the iPad was finally the carte blanche slate Steve Jobs described in 2010, with the form factor, speed, accessories, and operating system to back it up, would the Pro — could the Pro? — be the Mac alternative Apple so clearly wants it to be? Or would it settle somewhere else, as the computer for people who have a set of needs slightly less traditional than the average office worker?

When the 2020 iPad Pro debuted last March, during the early weeks of a pandemic that's only now subsiding, much of the hand-wringing about "What's a computer?" had thankfully faded, though many of my favorite creators had proven Apple right by modifying their workflows to take advantage of what the iPad does better than a traditional MacBook or 2-in-1 Windows laptop.

For this review, I not only compared the iPad Pro to its 2018 predecessor (I don't have the 2020 model), but I used it as my primary computer for a few days, trying to do what many have done before me: seeing whether it could replace my laptop. At the same time, I was keenly aware of highlighting places where the iPad Pro was additive in my life, especially in situations where the MacBook — even an M1 MacBook Pro that can technically open iPad apps and play iPad games — didn't quite add up.

The conclusion I came to isn't particular novel — the iPad is getting closer to being the only computer many people need, especially when paired with the Magic Keyboard — but the constraints built into iPadOS, even after the platform's gradual feature expansion over the past half-decade — are, to me, still an advantage when it comes to doing one thing at a time as well as possible.

iPad Pro (2021): Price and availability

The 2021 iPad Pro series was announced on April 20, 2021, and is available from late May.

Every time Apple announces a new iPad Pro, it has to decide just how much space to leave between it and the other, cheaper models. That's because of all the companies selling personal computers, be it phones, tablets, or laptops, Apple exerts the most control over the components inside them.

Whereas the 11-inch iPad Pro, which lacks the Mini LED display technology found in the larger 12.9-inch model, starts at the same $799 price of the 2020 version, the 12.9-inch model starts at $1,099, a hundred dollars more than its direct predecessor, even though the base model continues to offer just 128GB of storage. The entry-level iPad Air costs $599, though it drops down to 64GB of storage.

For the first time, though, Apple specifies the amount of RAM in each model: 8GB for models with between 128GB and 512GB; and 16GB for the models with 1TB and 2TB of storage. Yes, this year's iPads go up to 2TB. Then there are the cellular options.

With the bump to 5G this year, the price increase between Wi-Fi and cellular models has also risen, from $150 to $200. That means if you want a base 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 5G, you're ponying up $1,299; for the 512GB model, you're stepping up to $1,599.

These prices are important because the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro now use the same M1 chip as the iPad Pro. A MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage costs $1,249; the equivalent 12.9-inch Wi-Fi iPad Pro costs $1,399. We'll get into why a direct comparison may not be entirely fair, but last year, when pricing out MacBook, the iPad always had the power efficiency advantage of Apple's silicon. This year, that's no longer the case.

iPad Pro (2021): The new hotness(es)

The 2021 iPad Pro has four major advantages over the previous model that I want to get into, with varying degrees of relevance to both the new user and the one upgrading from a previous model.

The first is the M1 chip itself, which we've already seen in action in a number of the best MacBooks, and is launching in the new iMac this month. I was very curious to see whether I would feel as significant an impact jumping from an older Apple silicon device, in this case, a 2018 iPad Pro running the A12X on iPadOS, as I did going from a 2018 MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i7 to the M1 MacBook Pro. And the truth is no, the delta isn't even close.

While the M1 is significantly faster in synthetic benchmarks compared to anything Apple's put out before, even the A14 Bionic found in the iPad Air and iPhone 12 series, the day-to-day differences using the majority of the apps I open daily are limited. Like most of Apple's hardware upon release, the iPad Pro already has enormous amounts of performance headroom.

That said, those benchmarks do tell a pretty interesting story. In Geekbench 5, which tests both CPU and GPU performance, the iPad Pro performed nearly identically to the M1 MacBook Pro, with a single-core score of 1714 and a multi-core score of 7,210. That's a 50+ percent improvement over last year's A12Z, another 8-core chip, though the M1 is clocked at a much faster 3.2GHz compared to the 2.5GHz of the A12 series.

What's even more impressive is the graphics performance. I pitted the M1 iPad Pro against the 2018 model running the A12X (if you recall, the only difference between the A12X and A12Z is the bump from a 7- to 8-core GPU) in 3DMark's new, very GPU-intensive Wild Life benchmark and the results were staggering. The A12X ended the test with a score of 3207 and an average of 19.2 fps; the M1 finished with a score of 17201 and an average of 103 fps. (3DMark also lists the A12Z-based iPad Pro as scoring a 3550 on the same test.)

Yes, this is just one synthetic benchmark test, but this isn't the first time I've come away surprised by just how much faster the M1 is than previous Apple silicon. That it's in the iPad Pro now, virtually unchanged despite a smaller, narrower chassis than even the fanless MacBook Air, speaks to its versatility.

In day-to-day use, the M1's advantages aren't nearly as pronounced as they are in tests, but the truth is that the iPad Pro flies through whatever you need it to do. iPadOS's constraints may not be to everyone's tastes, and the limitations to multi-tasking and app foregrounding — it's a real bummer that due to sandboxing, the camera automatically disables when you put a Zoom or Google Meet call in the background — but as I tried to use the iPad Pro to get my job done, I found that forced focus worked in my favor from a productivity perspective.

The second major improvement over previous iPad Pro models, at least on this massive 12.9-inch model I'm using, is the new Mini LED display. Apple says that the screen, which is backlit using over 10,000 tiny LEDs grouped into more than 2,500 local dimming zones, is not only more color-accurate but brighter and can generate deeper and richer blacks more akin to an OLED display.

While Mini LED is in its infancy, its main advantages stem from those OLED-like blacks, which are very clear when compared to the older iPad Pro in a dark room. Apple always puts its best LCD displays into its iPad Pro lineup, but you can't fight physics, and having a single backlight makes black scenes appear more washed out and grey. In comparison, the new iPad Pro has far better dynamic range and suffers from fewer flares when displaying content where it goes very dark, and light pixels are densely packed together.

Source: Daniel Bader / Android CentraliPad Pro 2018 (left) | iPad Pro 2021 (right): Mini LED really does improve black levels

This is most obvious when watching content, particularly HDR content such as movies or shows encoded in Dolby Vision, since it's been specifically designed to take advantage of the iPad's wider color gamut, higher contrast ratio, and increased brightness. I watched a few minutes of Star Wars Episode IX on Disney+ in a darkened room next to the 2018 iPad Pro, and the differences were stark.

I do take a bit of issue with Apple's claim that the new iPad Pro's display has "1000 nits max full-screen brightness," since that number can only be reached while watching HDR content. In the vast majority of situations, both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models have the same mediocre 600 nits of brightness as their predecessors, making them difficult to use outside in direct sunlight (though they perform better than the 500 nits of the M1 MacBook Pro).

The third major advantage is the addition of 5G. Now, you'll have to temper your expectations here, because the quality of 5G varies from country to country, but hear me out on this: in the U.S., where millimeter-wave is slowly rolling out across the country, I think it will be considerably more useful on a cellular iPad than an iPhone. iPad usage is more stationary than an iPhone, so I can see a time where catching a mmWave signal on a park bench, on a patio, or even (you lucky few!) inside a coffee shop will be tremendously useful.

The iPad's exclusive support for cellular connectivity among Apple's bigger screens, even in the Apple Silicon era, feels like one of the primary advantages to buy the iPad Pro over an equivalent MacBook, even if its absence from the company's laptop lineup feels more unjustifiable than ever. I spoke to several creators who use iPads as their main computers, and many of them said that the tablet paired with a keyboard and a SIM card feels more "portable" than even a MacBook Air, though most of them used the 11-inch version.

While the price of adding cellular connectivity has risen by $50 over the previous generation, and the inclusion of 5G feels superfluous at best right now, that iPads have extremely long lives in most homes, and I suspect that won't be the case in a couple of years.

The fourth advantage, and one of my favorite new features, is Center Stage. The iPad Pro has the same rear camera setup as the previous model, including LiDAR, but the FaceTime camera is an all-new 12MP ultrawide setup that uses its additional resolution to crop in and "follow" you as you move around the frame. It's a trick that works surprisingly well in most situations, especially when, like I was last weekend, propping the iPad on a table for a family Zoom call with a restless toddler.

That Center Stage works in every video-calling app I can think of, from FaceTime to Google Meet to Zoom to Teams and WebEx, makes it one of those set-it-and-forget-it features Apple employs so well. Even when using the iPad on my desk for daily work chats, the camera made sure to place me in the center of the frame every time. It's a small thing but a nice thing.

The quality of the selfie sensor in the iPad Pro is undoubtedly better than anything in a MacBook, too, making the tablet, ironically, a far better machine for work calls than any of Apple's recent laptops (provided you don't use an external webcam, which isn't possible on the iPad).

iPad Pro 2021: The computer question

My review iPad Pro came with Apple's Magic Keyboard, an accessory that was announced but unavailable during last year's iPad Pro review cycle. When it did debut about a month later, most people praised it for its build and keyboard quality, versatility, and convenience, docking it for its price and weight.

My iPad Pro spent most of its time in that case, which combined weighs just about three pounds, or slightly less than a MacBook Pro. Together, this laptop-like setup also costs a hair under $1,900. Add an Apple Pencil, and the price jumps above two grand.

I kept all of this in mind when I tried to get through a few days of work only using the iPad Pro in its Magic Keyboard case. Aside from its inability to expand its usable canvas with an external monitor (though I did mirror it on my ultrawide for a bit of fun), it wasn't particularly difficult to mimic a MacBook; it even felt like a bit of a break from the freneticism of unchecked macOS multitasking. Slack, Google Docs, Lightroom, Outlook, Todoist, and a whole bunch of Safari tabs worked surprisingly well once I figured out the iPadOS shortcuts using the Magic Keyboard's trackpad and mouse.

Interestingly, despite its massive size, I always enjoyed using the iPad more undocked and held in the hand since its differentiation from the MacBook is in the moments you treat it most like the tablet it was designed to be all those years ago.

This is especially true when gaming on the iPad Pro, from the one-touch ease of Apple Arcade hit SP!NG to the console-quality Divinity: Original Sin 2, which is brand new and exclusive to the iPad among mobile devices and costs a cool $20. I spent a couple of hours diving into Larian Studio's renowned RPG using a DualSense controller connected over Bluetooth, and it was a tremendous experience, but also reinforced the idea that, as Apple battles Epic in court, its tight grip on App Store distribution is limiting the proliferation of console-quality gaming experiences on iOS through Xbox Game Pass, Stadia, and other alternative app stores.

It's encouraging to see studios like Larian treat the iPad like the console it has the potential to become, but it still feels like most developers treat iOS, and specifically the iPhone, as primarily a vehicle for free-to-play experiences.

It's also in the Apple Pencil that I continue to appreciate the iPad's blank slate. I bought myself a subscription to Lake, one of the iPad's many digital coloring books, and spent a few nights unwinding with a sketch rather than scrolling through Twitter. A couple of other times, when I returned to my MacBook for a work-related meeting, I used the iPad's Notes app to jot down handwritten notes instead of noisily clanking away on my mechanical keyboard.

I also want to shout out a few other iPad things that make this tablet a joy to use. Having Face ID on your "computer" is truly marvelous and considerably more seamless than Touch ID built into the keyboard of a MacBook. (Seriously, Apple, bring Face ID to the Mac.) Aside from the backlight technology powering the display, the iPad Pro's TrueMotion 120Hz panel is still best-in-class and makes me even more excited for the inevitable refresh-rate doubling coming to the iPhone.

Source: Daniel Bader / Android Central

The iPad Pro's four-speaker setup is ridiculously good, especially for watching movies — easily the best audio experience in a mobile product. Similarly, the microphone quality in this thing is remarkable. I'm tempted to record a podcast on it and see if my producer will be able to tell the difference (hi, Jim!). I didn't take many photos with the iPad Pro, nor did I use the USB-C port for anything other than charging, but I plan to revisit this review after I've had a chance to do both.

At the same time, I was pretty unimpressed by the iPad Pro's battery life. When using it on a daily basis, I rarely managed to make it through 'til dinnertime before needing to top it up. That the M1 was such a boon for MacBooks speaks less to the efficiency of Apple Silicon than to the long-time inefficiency of Intel's chips. The M1 may be built on the same 5nm process as the A14 Bionic, but it runs 200MHz faster and, along with the brighter, higher-hertz panel, taxes the battery more than the iPad Air.

Finally, I spoke to someone who uses the iPad Pro in a very different way to try to get a sense of what it's like building a creative workflow with the iPad. Isaac Mosna, also known as Canoopsy on YouTube and around the web, has made many videos about how the 11-inch iPad Pro has become his primary computing tool, from writing school reports to sketching storyboard ideas to acting as a viewfinder for his Canon camera to editing photos in Affinity Photo to creating full videos in LumaFusion.

"Every computer task is possible on an iPad," he told me. "It's the best tool I can think of" for getting his work done. Mosna initially started taking the iPad to university class because it was lighter than a MacBook and performed a wider variety of functions. Eventually, he found replacements for all the apps he took for granted on the Mac and modify his workflows to suit the tablet experience. "Apple's accessories make this sheet of glass a full-on production machine," he said. His only complaint?

When you look at how he structures his day around the iPad, it's clear many of those actions would be impossible on a laptop, while others — the more rudimentary ones — would likely take less time on macOS. While I'm not quite ready to switch to an iPad for full-time work, it feels like Apple is getting closer every year to convincing me it's possible.

iPad Pro 2021: The competition

A few years ago, I would have mentioned the top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy Tab as the iPad's biggest competition, but today the comparison isn't even fair; in the battle for mobile operating systems on tablets, Apple's won this fight fair and square.

One could argue that Microsoft's Surface Pro X is a proper competitor to the iPad Pro, but its Qualcomm-powered SoC is much less powerful than the iPad's M1, and the library of ARM-optimized Windows apps is anemic at best and laughably bad at worst. Maybe the Surface Pro 8, with its 11th-gen Intel chip and impending redesign, will be a better rival later this year.

That leaves only other Apple products, and here's where things get interesting. As much as I love the Mini LED display of this 12.9-inch iPad Pro, it's truly too big to just hang out with on the couch; this is a productivity machine through and through. For most people, I'd recommend the cheaper and almost-as-upgraded 11-inch iPad Pro, which still rocks the M1, 5G radios, improved front-facing camera with Center Stage, and starts at a more reasonable $799.

If 120Hz, Face ID, and LiDAR are not essential, stepping down to the $599 iPad Air, which thanks to an iPad Pro-like redesign last year is possibly the most attractive tablet Apple's ever made, is a good idea. It supports the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, has USB-C and LTE, and comes in a bunch of funky colors.

iPad Pro 2021: Should you buy it?

The iPad Pro delights me. When you get past the hand-wringing about whether it can emulate a MacBook and try to embrace the potential in its in-betweenness, it's a really fascinating and useful computer.

But Apple's biggest issue with the iPad Pro has not changed since the first Pro tablet debuted more than half a decade ago: it's expensive. The fact that Apple hasn't balked at this fact and instead continues to raise the price of the larger model means it's likely unconcerned about the thing I'm concerned about: are people buying this thing in addition to a laptop or instead of one?

As I said above, the iPad Pro continues to inch towards a true MacBook replacement, but it's not there yet, and given that the configuration I'm reviewing runs $2,000 makes it a pretty hefty investment, especially as a second machine.

Regardless of the purchase motivation, though, the M1-based iPad Pro is a barnstormer of a computer, a thin-and-light piece of metal and glass that does plenty on its own, and plenty more accessorized.

What you need to know

• Apple's brand new M1 iPad Pro still doesn't have an official release date.
• However, a new report says multiple customers are reporting their devices are now displaying as "shipped".
• It comes following rumors the device will be officially released (and start arriving) on May 21.

Apple's new M1 iPad Pro doesn't have an official release date, but apparently, some customers' devices have already started shipping out.

According to MacRumors:

Earlier this week many orders started showing up as 'Preparing to Ship', and last month two reports, one from reliable leaker Jon Prosser and another from a UK retail source pegged the official release date of the iPad Pro as May 21, we still don't have any official confirmation of this, however. Indeed, many users on the r/Apple's pre-order and shipping megathread are reporting that there expected delivery date is also May 21.

With orders now displaying as shipped it seems that the release date is indeed imminent.

Apple's new M1 iPad Pro is shaping up to be the best iPad for Pro users currently available, with the power of Apple silicon and the M1 chip, as well as a massively upgraded mini-LED display, this is the most powerful tablet that Apple has ever released.

While I was fast asleep last night the news broke that the new iPad Pro had been benchmarked ahead of its release in a week or so. It is, as predicted, incredibly fast. How fast? 50% faster than the iPad Pro that came before it, fast.

Now, that's great news of course. We all like machines that are faster than the ones we had before. Except, the iPad Pro that came before the new M1-powered one was already insanely fast. It was faster than any other iPad Pro that came before it. I never heard anyone say that it needed more power. Yet, here we are.

MacRumors:

Not only is the new iPad Pro faster than the old iPad Pro, but it's also faster than Apple's high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro, too. A machine that runs macOS and all manner of pro-level apps. Pro-level apps that aren't on iPadOS – including Xcode, Final Cut Pro, and more. And that's just the Apple apps.

This all has me wondering what you do with an iPad Pro that's half as fast again as an iPad that was already more than fast enough. Where does all that extra computing power go? Anyone encoding video will see the progress bar move more quickly, sure. But it didn't hang around before, did it? And we have WWDC21 around the corner. Just weeks away, in fact.

Could Apple be about to drop something that will make that extra M1 power worthwhile? My fingers are crossed, despite the fact I think hopes that macOS will be coming to iPad are set to be dashed pretty swiftly. The continued merging of iPadOS and macOS? Now that's much more likely.

Come on Apple. It's cool having an iPad Pro that's faster than anything you were selling a few months ago. But we need the software to go with it! Until that happens I'd suggest checking out some iPad deals while we wait for Apple's plans to reveal themselves.

The iPad Pro (2021) was introduced during Apple's April 2021 Special Event. Whether you choose the 11-inch or 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021), the latest Macs include the M1 Chip, so your iPad will be a powerhouse. If you are planning on upgrading and using an Apple Pencil is a must, it may be a good idea to figure out which models will work.

Unfortunately, if you are looking to use an Apple Pencil with your new iPad Pro (2021), the Apple Pencil 2 is your only choice. In fact, the Apple Pencil 2 will work with any 11-inch iPad Pro, the third generation and above 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and the iPad Air 4. However, it will definitely set you back more than the first-generation Apple Pencil for all the new features.

If you have the first-generation Apple Pencil and were hoping it would work with the iPad Pro (2021), sadly, it's time to upgrade.

The Apple Pencil 2 is an improvement over the original Apple Pencil in many ways. One of its best features is the way it pairs and charges. Apple uses magnets so that the pencil magnetically attaches to the iPad for pairing and charging.

This means no more odd cover over the charging port of the original Apple Pencil, which invariably gets lost, or using the iPad's lightning port. Simply place the Apple Pencil 2 on the iPad Pro, and it's charging. It works so well that the Apple Pencil 2 rarely will run out of battery life. And you also have a place to store it, right on the iPad itself.

Of course, there are other noteworthy features of the Apple Pencil 2. It features low latency precision drawing and writing, a flat edge that you can double-tap to change tools without setting the pencil down, and battery life of up to 12 hours.

If you are ride-or-die with the first Apple Pencil, Apple still sells it for use with the regular plain iPad 6th generation and above, iPad mini 5th generation, iPad Air 3, and original discontinued versions of the iPad Pro. It is still a good choice for drawing, writing, and taking notes. Just beware of the archaic charging method of using the iPad's lightning port and the very real possibility that you will lose the cover of the charging port. Plus, with the Apple Pencil 2 available, the Apple Pencil is not exactly futureproofed.

If cost is an issue, there are many great alternatives to consider. Regardless, if you want the new hotness of the iPad Pro (2021), you're going to have to go for an Apple Pencil 2 as well.

What you need to know

• Geekbench scores have hit for Apple's new M1 iPad Pro.
• The scores reveal that the new iPad Pro is 50% faster than its predecessor.

Apple's new M1 iPad Pro is insanely fast.

As reported by MacRumors, new benchmark scores from Geekbench 5 show that Apple's latest iPad Pro is over 50% faster than its predecessor.

Here is the breakdown of the average multi-core results which show that the new M1 iPad Pro outperforms even the current 16-inch MacBook Pro:

• M1 MacBook Air: 7,378
• M1 iPad Pro: 7,284
• Core i9 16" MacBook Pro: 6,845
• A12Z iPad Pro: 4,656

With scores like that, it's no wonder the iPad Pro is the best iPad available for pro users right now.

Preorders for the new M1 iPad Pro went live on April 30th with the first shipments expected to be delivered on May 21.

What you need to know

• Apple's new 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro is slightly thicker than the old version meaning the Kensington StudioDock won't fit.
• A new version of the StudioDock is apparently in the works that will work as expected.

Following the news that the 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro won't work with the Kensington StudioDock due to an increase in thickness, the company has now confirmed that it has a new version of the stand coming that will work as expected.

Apple announced the refreshed iPad Pro late last month with the 12.9-inch version growing in thickness thanks to a new Mini-LED screen. The difference isn't a huge one, but it's enough to cause issues with things like docks, as Kensington is finding out.

It was confirmed last week that the dock wouldn't work with the new iPad Pro, but 9to5Mac has since been told that there's a new version coming after Kensington confirmed that yes, those with the old version are out of luck thanks to a 0.5mm size difference.

There's no telling when the new version of the StudioDock will arrive, nor whether there will be any provision made for those who already picked one up and plan on upgrading to the newer iPad Pro. If not, I'd suggest checking out some of the best stands for iPad Pro instead.

What you need to know

• The Kensington StudioDock is a popular iPad Pro stand, but it won't fit the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
• Apple's refreshed iPad Pro is slightly thicker, causing problems with the fit.

The Kensington StudioDock is already a popular iPad Pro dock which means tons of people have one despite its $400 asking price. But anyone upgrading to the 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro should note that the dock and tablet aren't compatible. The new iPad Pro simply won't fit.

First spied by Tim Chaten on Twitter, it seems that Kensington has added some test to its StudioDock webpage that says the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro isn't compatible. Which is a shame for anyone who bought one within the last few months and also intends to bag themselves a fancy new Mini-LED iPad Pro.

Kensington doesn't explain why this is the case, but with the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro being slightly thicker than the old one it doesn't take a great deal of thought to suss it. Whether this is a situation where it might fit sort of, remains to be seen. Apple has fallen into a similar trap with its own keyboard, too. The Magic Keyboard will functionally work, Apple says, after initially saying that it wouldn't.

Here's hoping it's a similar situation with that fancy $400 Kensington dock, too. If not, be sure to check out the best stands for iPad Pro when you're looking to bag a new one.

At the recent April Apple event, the company officially unveiled its all-new iPad Pro 2021. Like previous Apple launches, this sparked a bunch of great iPad deals on the soon-to-be previous-gen models. What we didn't expect to see so soon, however, was a price drop on the new iPad Pro itself.

Right now, Walmart has the new 11-inch iPad Pro up for pre-order with prices starting at just $749. That's $50 off its retail price and the best iPad Pro 2021 deal we've seen so far. The discount applies to various colors and capacities making this the best place to pre-order the new device.

Apple gave the iPad Pro a huge power boost by throwing in the M1 chip found in its most recent Mac models. Given how well the recent MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models perform, this iPad Pro is going to be an absolute powerhouse.

Apple also states the RAM in the iPad Pro 2021, which is something it hasn't specified before. The 2020 devices reportedly had 6GB RAM, but the 2021 model has been upped to 8GB on the low end and 16GB on the high end so everybody gets a RAM bump. Plus, you can now get the iPad Pro with as much as 2TB of internal storage.

Another boon for power users is the 2021 iPad Pro's support for USB 4 and Thunderbolt 3. Now you'll be able to utilize its USB-C port to its fullest potential, with blazing-fast data transfer speeds.

The back camera array remains unchanged from the 2020 model but the TrueDepth camera on the front of the iPad Pro has gotten a big upgrade in 2021. It's been bumped to 12MP, from 7MP, for better picture quality and it's now a wide-angle lens so it can get more in shot than before. Plus, a new feature called Center Stage keeps you in the frame on FaceTime calls even if you're moving around.

Since it's only the 11-inch W-Fi iPad Pro model on sale at Walmart at present, you don't get the benefit of 5G in the cellular models or the Liquid Retina XDR display of the 12.9-inch version, but the features described above show how much of an upgrade this device still is.

The iPad Pro 12.9-inch released in April 2021 and is equipped with Apple's M1 chip, a Liquid Retina XDR display with a mini LED design, a Thunderbolt port, 5G cellular speeds, and a new ultra-wide front camera with Center Stage. It is an upgrade in every way from the 2020 model, so it goes without saying that many previous iPad Pro owners will be looking to upgrade.

When comparing the size and weight of the 2021 model and the 2020 model, one spec that stands out is that the 2021 model is 0.5mm thicker. Couple that with the fact that the 12.9 inch Magic Keyboard from last year is unavailable and a new model was released, previous iPad Pro owners are rightfully nervous about having to spend $349 for another Magic Keyboard should they decided to upgrade. If you don't mind a less precise fit, you don't have to worry.

According to an Apple support document, the first generation of the Magic Keyboard is functionally compatible with the new iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2021) with Liquid Retina XDR display. Apple goes on to say,

This is great news for those who own the 2020 Magic Keyboard and are upgrading to the new iPad Pro. Although it remains to be seen just how the keyboard closes and what Apple means by "a precise fit," the keyboard will work, so that is one less barrier to upgrading.

Of course, if you never owned a Magic Keyboard and are purchasing the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2021), you can be assured that the one available now will fit the iPad perfectly. In addition to being available in black, the new Magic Keyboard is available in white for the first time. New iPad owners now have a Magic Keyboard color choice to make. The updated Magic Keyboard is also backward compatible with the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro models.

If you still have the 2020 version of the Magic Keyboard, aren't concerned about a "precise fit," and like the look of a black keyboard, you can keep it and enjoy it with your new iPad Pro. If you never owned a Magic Keyboard, want a choice of colors, or just want it to fit your new iPad Pro perfectly, check out the new version.

When the iPad Pro launched in 2015, it set out to be absolutely the most powerful iPad ever and give people the chance to complete serious work on a mobile platform. Since then, each iteration of the iPad Pro has always pushed the envelope when it comes to power and performance — and the iPad Pro (2021) steps it up to the next level.

Apple's newest darling, the M1 chip, is what's powering the iPad Pro (2021) that Apple announced during its keynote. The M1 chip has 50 times faster CPU performance compared to the original iPad Pro and it is also said that the graphic performance is up to 1500 times better. In layman's terms, the iPad Pro (2021) is going to be a performance monster. But I have to ask, what's the point?

Most people weren't complaining about the power or performance of the iPad Pro (2020), but rather the limitations that the iPad has a platform. That's why I think this story is half-told. Apple's upcoming iPadOS 15 is the other half.

The iPad Pro (2021) itself doesn't change what an iPad can do

While it's completely possible that the iPad Pro (2021) might be the best iPad Apple has ever made, the hardware itself does very little to alleviate any of the issues that stop the iPad platform from truly replacing a MacBook or Mac for a lot of people.

While the Thunderbolt port on the iPad Pro (2021) is certainly a welcome addition and will make it a lot easier to use docks, displays, hubs, and other peripherals, it's still only one lonely port, which is a limitation that Macs don't have. Plus, needing to buy an external keyboard, trackpad, and/or mouse adds a lot of money to the already expensive iPad Pro, especially the 12.9-inch version. And of course, battery life only being about 10 hours is far less than most MacBooks, making it harder to rely on it as a Mac replacement. Software is where a lot of improvement could be made on the iPad Pro, and the upcoming iPadOS 15 is the perfect place to do it.

iPadOS 15 could be a huge update

It's important to remember that iPadOS is still pretty new, and we even called iPadOS 14 a great refinement over the previous iteration. It worked out some of the old kinks, added great features like trackpad and mouse support, and added stability to the platform. It's now up to Apple to blow us all away with iPadOS 15.

I know multitasking is a huge pain point for a lot of people on iPadOS 14. It just doesn't flow as great as it does on macOS. It's certainly gotten better as of late, but Split View and Slide Over still have their limitations.

I'm sure some people think the best solution is just to put macOS on the iPad and be done with it, but I don't think an approach that drastic is needed. That also wouldn't fix any of the hardware limitations I spoke about earlier. The iPad Pro is an iPad, not a Mac, and I think Apple wants to keep it that way. That doesn't mean that iPadOS 15 couldn't be a huge update — especially for the iPad Pro (2021).

It's clear to me that the launch of the iPad Pro (2021) is only half the story. There's so much power and potential inside the M1 that iPadOS can now start to tap into, and if iPadOS 15 doesn't start to take advantage of it, Apple is leaving a lot on the table.

What do you think?

What do you think Apple has planned for the iPad Pro (2021)? What feature do you want to be added to iPadOS 15? Let us know in the comments down below.

What you need to know

• Logitech has a new Combo Touch keyboard for iPad Pro.
• The keyboard is now available for pre-order, starting at $199.99.

Logitech's Combo Touch keyboard for the new 2021 iPad Pro is now available to pre-order.

Logitech announced the new combo keyboard in April following the launch of Apple's new iPad Pro, from Logitech:

The new keyboard has modes for typing, viewing, sketching, and reading. It's available in Oxford grey for both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple announced its new iPad Pro with M1 and a mini-LED display last month, from Apple:

You can take advantage of the best iPad Pro 2021 deals here.

What you need to know

• A new report says the tablet market will decline in the second quarter of 2021.
• But Apple's new iPad Pro stands to help shipments remain stable for the company.
• Apple remains the top tablet brand according to the research.

New research says Apple's new 2021 iPad Pro, one of Apple's best iPads right now, will help keep shipments of iPad stable in Q2 as other vendors see decline.

From Digitimes:

The report says that in Q1 of 2021 global tablet shipments reached nearly 36 million units, up 45.5% on the same period last year. According to the report, Apple remains the top tablet brand, followed by Samsung, Amazon, and Lenovo.

Apple unveiled its brand new iPad Pro at the Spring Loaded Apple event last month. From April:

Apple's new iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 11-inch model and $1,099 for the 12.9-inch model. Pre-orders went live on April 30 and rumor has it they will be released on May 21.

Here we have the age-old quandary: iPad Pro or MacBook? Chances are this is not the first time you've had this internal debate, and the release of an all-new and more powerful iPad Pro only makes the decision more difficult. Let's take a look at all of the specifications of each machine before we decide.

iPad Pro (2021) vs MacBook Air (2020): Key differences

When you analyze the format of a standalone iPad Pro next to a MacBook Air, they may look like two completely different devices. But now more than ever, their technical specs are not so very different. Processors, displays, and storage capabilities are all pretty similar between the two, and when you pair the iPad Pro with a keyboard case, are they even all that different? Check it out:

Upon close scrutiny you will see that there are a ton of similarities here. When it comes to sheer power, memory, and storage, there isn't much difference between an iPad Pro and a MacBook Air. The differences that do exist however, are pretty crucial. Operating system, for example, and touchscreen versus monitor. These are the things you'll need to think about before choosing which device suits your needs.

iPad Pro (2021) vs MacBook Air (2020): The OS dilemma

In my opinion, the biggest difference between the iPad Pro and the MacBook Air is the operating system. Yes, I know, the touchscreen is big too, but we'll get into that later. For me, though, I use my MacBook Air to run some pretty robust programs like Photoshop (the full version), Adobe Illustrator, and InDesign. I have tried the dumbed-down counterparts on iOS and was decidedly unimpressed. That's why it would be hard for me to give up my Mac for an iPad Pro, even if it did have a cool Magic Keyboard case.

With that being said, the iPad Pro now runs on the Apple M1 chip so it has the power to run these types of programs; it just doesn't have the interface. I am wondering if a hybrid device may come out in the future that can run both MacOS and iOS programs. I mean, the MacBook Air can technically run iOS apps now, so the idea doesn't seem too farfetched. Crazy ideas aside, if you use your laptop for big MacOS-dependent programs, then the iPad Pro might not be your best solution. If you don't use these types of programs, then you might not need a MacBook at all.

iPad Pro (2021) vs MacBook Air (2020): Which type of multitasker are you?

They say that MacBooks are better for multitasking, but I'm going to have to disagree here. It totally depends on the type of multitasking you're doing. If you like to keep multiple windows and programs open to work among them at the same time, I can see why the MacOS interface might be attractive. On the other hand, the iPad Pro does offer split-screen functionality now, which does allow a degree of multitasking. You also have to take into account the camera differences here.

With a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 10MP ultra-wide camera on the back, as well as 4K video recording, the iPad Pro offers a different type of multitasking. Using the iPad Pro, you can take high-quality photos and videos and then edit, manipulate, or publish that content all on the same device. For creating and editing content, the iPad does offer some amazing multitasking capabilities that are not currently available on the MacBook Air. If this is how you plan to use your device, then the iPad Pro can handle every part of the process.

iPad Pro (2021) vs MacBook Air (2020): Accessories and touchscreens

Now let's talk display. While the iPad Pro has a slightly better display (XDR Liquid Retina) and an ever-so-slightly higher PPI, there is not a great difference in display as far as visuals go. Since both of these devices have the M1 chip and up to 8-core GPU, their graphics are equally stunning. The main difference here is the touchscreen. Obviously the iPad Pro has a touchscreen that can be used with an Apple Pencil and the MacBook Air does not. So illustrators and other professions that use the Apple Pencil on a daily basis will probably prefer the iPad Pro. It depends on how important the touchscreen functionality is to you.

Speaking of accessories, there's something to be said for a MacBook in that it comes with everything you need. Keyboard and trackpad are all part of the unit, which adds some convenience and affordability. In order to use the iPad Pro like you would use a laptop, you'll need a Magic Keyboard case, which includes a small trackpad. Altogether, that brings the grand total of the largest iPad Pro with keyboard case to $2,748 if you max out all the memory and RAM. The most expensive configuration of the MacBook Air, on the other hand, is only $2,049. That's a pretty big difference, so it's understandable why some budget-conscious shoppers might choose the MacBook Air.

iPad Pro (2021) vs MacBook Air (2020): Which one should you get?

After looking at all the specs and details, I personally would still choose the MacBook Air, but that's because I use more robust programs on the MacOS platform and I like the lower price point of the MacBook Air with the included keyboard and trackpad. Your decision, however, will depend on your own individual needs.

If you work with a lot of photos, editing, videos, and content creation, the iPad Pro might look a lot more attractive since you can perform all of these functions on one device. People who depend heavily on the touchscreen and the Apple Pencil will also like the iPad Pro for obvious reasons. Think about your own needs when it comes to your next high-powered Apple device, and pick the one that best suits you.

What you need to know

• Illustration app Procreate is getting an upgrade for the M1 iPad Pro.
• Optimization will make the software 4x faster than the current version.

Procreate says that an optimized version of its app for the new M1 2021 iPad Pro will be 4x faster than the current one.

Procreate's teaser webpage states:

Version 5.2 of Procreate also brings a slightly tweaked UI and more accessibility options including Audio Feedback through Apple VoiceOver integration. The next version is "coming soon" for Apple's new iPad Pro.

Apple announced its new M1 mini-LED iPad Pro at its Spring Loaded April event. From that report:

There was a little something for everyone at Apple's 'Spring loaded' event. It was only one hour long, but it was jam packed with new products, including AirTag, colorful new iMacs, and even an updated Apple TV 4K.

Another one of the big announcements was the next generation of iPad Pro (2021), which ditches the A-series chips in favor of the M1 SoC. And those who go big with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will have the brand new Liquid Retina XDR display, which is even better for dealing with high-brightness and high-contrast HDR content.

But who is the new iPad Pro (2021) for? Let's dive in.

Those who want a replacement for a laptop

Now that the iPad Pro (2021) has the M1 chip, it is the most powerful and best iPad yet. Since it has the M1, it is on pretty much the same level as the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini with M1, and the upcoming M1 iMacs.

If you are someone who does not want to purchase another computer, which would be at least $999 if you're looking at the MacBook Air, then the $799 starting price of the iPad Pro with M1 is more reasonable. For example, a maxed-out 11-inch iPad Pro with 2TB of storage and 16GB of RAM will be $1899 for the Wi-Fi-only model. The equivalent for a MacBook Air will cost $1999. Of course, you'll want something like the iPad Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Folio to maximize productivity, but there are also a ton of great Bluetooth keyboards and keyboard cases for much less.

Unless you do something like programming or development, an iPad Pro can be a great replacement for a laptop, especially for students. The iPad Pro lets you access your email, take notes, manage your schedule and tasks, and pretty much anything else you could need with a huge plethora of apps to pick from in the App Store. The only real limitation is that it uses iPadOS 14, not macOS, but if you can get past that, the iPad Pro is a competent work machine. And now that it packs in the M1 chip with four performance cores and four efficiency cores, everything will be faster and snappier than ever before. The new iPad Pro also uses Thunderbolt/USB 4 for charging, displays, USB hubs, and more, so you should not have problems using your favorite peripherals.

And for those who get the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021), you'll have the absolutely stunning new Liquid Retina XDR display. While this would be best suited for those who need an iPad Pro for graphical work or photo and video editing (which I'll get to shortly), this improved display means your videos should be even more brilliant in terms of color.

Those who need to do a lot of photo and video editing

This applies more to the 12.9-inch model, but those who do many serious photos and video editing should consider the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021). The Liquid Retina XDR display has 2500 dimming zones and peak brightness of 1600 nits to help make HDR content look the very best. It was also built to deliver extreme brightness, deep blacks, and other subtle details that you wouldn't see with the regular Liquid Retina display on the 11-inch iPad Pro.

And when you combine this display with the M1 chip, you should be able to seamlessly edit and render videos in seconds. Plus, with the new Thunderbolt/USB 4 port, you can plug in the best digital camera or your microSD card into a hub for fast data transfer. The 128GB/256GB/512GB models have 8GB of RAM, and the 1TB/2TB models have 16GB of RAM — this is the first time the iPad Pro has gone past 6GB of RAM. So yes, your heavy photo and video editing should render in a blink of an eye.

Those who deal with graphic design or digital art

We named the 12.9-inch iPad Pro as the best iPad for artists, and that continues with the 2021 model, especially since it has the new Liquid Retina XDR display.

Like those who need to edit photos and videos, those who create digital art and dabble in graphic design will need a display that can show the best colors possible. The Liquid Retina XDR display on the 12.9-inch iPad is the best iPad for the job, and you also get the most screen space to work with. That means the biggest canvas with the best drawing apps for iPad and Apple Pencil, so you can let that unlimited creativity flow.

Now that the iPad Pro has the blazingly powerful M1 chip working with graphic design and digital art has never been so smooth on an iPad. Not only do you get the four performance cores and four efficiency cores, but you also get an 8-core GPU. This should be plenty of power to handle any graphics-intensive work you need to do on the iPad Pro.

Those who want to create audio content

One of the best things about the iPad is that it uses a touch screen, which you don't have on Macs yet. With a touch screen, it's much easier and more intuitive for things like music creation, and the new iPad Pro (2021) is a great fit for any musician.

The power of the M1 chip means you'll be able to create music through various apps, like GarageBand, faster and smoother than before. There will be no latency between what you tap and what you hear. The bigger 12.9-inch iPad Pro would offer more space to play with, but the 11-inch should also suffice. Those who work with other audio content, such as creating podcasts, should be able to use the iPad Pro with their existing peripherals thanks to the Thunderbolt/USB 4 port, and editing audio is easy with the touch screen interface.

Are you getting an iPad Pro (2021)?

The new iPad Pro (2021) is certainly the most powerful iPad that Apple has released to date. Now that it packs in the M1 SoC and moves away from the former A-series chips, it's the iPad for professionals.

Are you getting an iPad Pro (2021)? What are you planning to use it for? Let us know in the comments!

What you need to know

• Apple's brand new iPad Pro features 5G connectivity.
• Apple says that carriers will offer buyers subsidies of up to $200 to make the leap.

A new report notes that carriers will offer iPad Pro buyers subsidies of up to $200 to make the leap to 5G.

From Bloomberg:

As per Apple's website, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint will all offer buyers $200 gift cards when they buy a new 5G iPad Pro, whilst AT&T will ofer $150. Carriers have previously done this for iPhone 12, but report notes the strategy "is more unusual for iPads".

Apple's new iPad Pro features a brand new mini-LED display and Apple's M1 chip, from the announcement:

What you need to know

• Logitech has a new keyboard case for Apple's new iPad Pro.
• The Logitech Combo Touch is a detachable, backlit keyboard for both sizes of iPad.

Logitech, maker of some of the best keyboard cases for iPad Pro, has unveiled a brand new keyboard alongside Apple's new iPad Pro announced this week.

From Logitech:

The keyboard case has modes for typing, viewing, sketching, and reading is available in Oxford Grey. The new keyboard is available for the new 11-inch iPad Pro for $199.99 and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro for $229.99.

Apple announced its new iPad Pro at its April Apple event yesterday, featuring an M1 processor, a mini-LED display, and a new front-facing camera. From Apple:

What you need to know

• Apple released a brand new iPad Pro with M1 at its Apple event yesterday.
• It includes a beefier TrueDepth camera with a feature called Center Stage.
• A new report says that Center Stage will be available to third-party apps and developers.

At its April Apple event Tuesday the company unveiled a brand new iPad Pro featuring an all-new M1 processor and a mini-LED display.

One major new feature is the iPad's new front-facing camera and Center Stage technology, as explained by Apple:

A new report says Center Stage will be available for third-party apps. From Federico Viticci:

It means the feature could be included in other apps like Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and more.

As mentioned, the new iPad Pro is also powered by Apple silicon thanks to the M1 chip. It has an awesome new mini-LED display, up to 2TB of storage, and even up to 16GB of RAM.

Here at iMore, we've always been pretty high on the iPad Pro (2020). It's fast, powerful, and its gorgeous display has always looked beautiful. None of that has changed, but if you're looking to buy an iPad Pro right now, waiting for the new iPad Pro (2021) may be your best option.

There are several differences between last year's model and the iPad Pro (2021), both inside and out. But for the first time, the 12.9-inch version and 11-inch version of the iPad Pro (2021) will be different. In fact, if you want the most powerful and most feature-packed iPad Pro (2021), you'll need to get a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021) with at least 1TB of storage — that's a lot of money.

The iPad Pro (2021) promises to be a performance king

The biggest story surrounding the iPad Pro (2021) is the inclusion of Apple's M1 chip. We've seen just how crazy the performance has been in both the MacBook Air with M1 and the MacBook Pro with M1, so we know that the M1 chip is going to be a boost over the 12Z Bionic from the iPad Pro (2020).

What's more? If you're the type of person who loves getting a data plan for their tablet, all iPad Pro (2021) models are compatible with 5G. They're even compatible with mmWave 5G (that's the super-fast kind), whereas the iPad Pro (2020) can only achieve a 4G connection.

While the iPad Pro (2020) is rocking a USB-C port, the iPad Pro (2021) takes it a step further by making the USB-C port a USB 4 and Thunderbolt 3 compatible port. This allows the iPad Pro (2021) to utilize its USB-C port to its fullest potential, with blazing-fast data transfer speeds.

While Apple usually isn't very forthcoming with how much RAM is actually included with its devices, all the iPad Pro (2020) models reportedly had 6GB of RAM. That means that the iPad Pro (2021) includes a RAM upgrade for all models since the lowest amount of RAM included in this year's iPad Pro is 8GB. You can even get an iPad Pro (2021) with 16GB of RAM if you opt for buying models with 1TB or 2TB of storage. Oh yeah, don't forget that the iPad Pro (2021) now offers a 2TB storage model whereas the iPad Pro (2020) only went up to 1TB.

While both the iPad Pro (2020) and iPad Pro (2021) have the same back camera array — including the LiDAR sensor — the front TrueDepth camera in the newest models got a pretty big upgrade. Jumping from 7MP to 12MP, the TrueDepth camera on the iPad Pro (2021) will offer much better picture quality for video calls and pictures alike. It's an ultra-wide-angle lens, meaning to will be able to see more than the previous version of the camera. Apple even boasted about how a new feature called Center Stage will aim to keep you in the center of the frame on FaceTime calls by cropping the image as you move.

Here's where the story of the new iPad Pro (2021) gets a little weird. The 11-inch iPad Pro (2021) and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021) have different screens.

The 11-inch iPad Pro has the same screen that you're used to seeing on the iPad Pro (2020) — the 11-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology (called Liquid Retina display by Apple); however, the same can't be said for the 12.9-inch models.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021) will now be sporting a Liquid Retina XDR display, which promises to be the best screen for viewing and working with HDR content. The screen is backlit by a new mini-LED that offers a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. If you've wanted a mobile machine to work with and edit HDR content, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2021) is the best iPad for the job.

iPad Pro (2020) vs. iPad Pro (2021): Should you upgrade?

This is the biggest upgrade we've seen in the iPad Pro lineup in years, and might even be the biggest upgrade since the product first launched. The M1 chip has proven to be an absolute beast in performance — it was built for the Mac after all — and the upgraded RAM is bound to be a boon to anyone who calls themselves a pro.

If you have an iPad Pro (2020) and you find that you push it to its very limits right now, upgrading to the iPad Pro (2021) will likely achieve a performance boost. That being said, the iPad Pro (2020) is still a great tablet, and if you aren't dying for the new features upgrading isn't necessary by any means.

If you're buying a new iPad Pro right now, it's hard to imagine why you wouldn't opt to get the iPad Pro (2021), especially since they start at the same price as the 2020 models did when they launched.

What you need to know

• The rumored 2021 iPad Pros may feature 5G mmWave connectivity.

Reported by MacRumors, Apple may be bringing 5G mmWave support to its iPad Pro models next year. Rumors have suggested that the company is planning to release a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro and 11-inch iPad Pro with mini-LED displays next year, and now there are more rumors saying that the new models may get the cellular connectivity currently featured in Apple's new iPhone 12 lineup.

Apple currently relies on 5G modems built by Qualcomm, but recently acquired Intel's modem business with the goal of developing its own antennas for future devices. It appears that the company is getting closer to making that a reality.

A recent report lines up with previous reports that Apple is working to release the new iPad Pros with mini-LED displays in the first half of 2021. While details are scarce about the inclusion of 5G in those models, it would be a natural progression for the company since the technology is already packed into the iPhone.

What you need to know

• A new report has Apple releasing an iPad Pro with a mini-LED screen in the first half of 2021.
• That's expected to be followed by a new model with an OLED screen in the second half of the year.

Apple has long been rumored to have a new iPad Pro with mini-LED and OLED screens coming at some point in 2021 and now a new report pins that down as the first and second half of the year, depending on which technology you're looking for.

In term of OLED, The Elect has Apple launching an iPad Pro with the screen technology in the second half of 2021, with Samsung Display and LG Display set to provide the panels. B both companies already work with Apple on iPhone.

However, mini-LED is going to arrive before that, with a target of the first half of 2021 mentioned. And while the move to mini-LED could see the screens themselves become thicker than traditional LCD, the positives far outway that negative.

The iPad Pro was last given a refresh in March of this year, although that only added a slight speed bump and the LiDAR Scanner that is now present on Apple's high-end iPhones. A full refresh, complete with external redesign, is likely to come alongside the change in screen tech in the first half of next year.

Of course, that's assuming The Elec's data is correct. We've been here with component suppliers before – and it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that this isn't Samsung Display or LG Display talking itself up for whatever reason.

Money. It's always money.

What you need to know

• Apple is reportedly launching a mini-LED display-equipped iPad Pro in the first quarter of next year.
• The displays are said to be coming from LG.
• They would offer many of the same benefits as OLED screens.

Apple will launch a new iPad Pro with a mini-LED display as soon as the first quarter of next year if a new report by ETNews turns out to be on the money. The Korean tech outlet claims that LG Display has plans to begin mass production of the new screens by the end of this year.

Rumors of a mini-LED iPad have been and gone all year and DigiTimes has made similar noises about a potential early-2021 launch before. Now, it seems, plans are afoot to get everything ready for the big launch.

That's also an important point to consider. Apple is thought to be moving more products to mini-LED sooner or later.

The use of mini-LED will bring many of the same advantages of OLED, including improved contrast, power efficiency, and brightness capabilities. The new screens will also likely be thinner and lighter than the standard LCD-based screens that are in use today.

What you need to know

• An anonymous Twitter user has shared details of a potential new pair of iPad Pro models.
• @L0vetodream says two iPad Pro tablets will arrive in the first half of next year.
• They'll include faster chips, 5G, and a new mini-LED screen.

Apple might have just launched a mildly refreshed iPad Pro but we're still hoping for something a little more exciting. That might come in the first half of 2021 according to a source on Twitter. User @L0vetodream says that the tablets will come with Apple's A14X processor, 5G, and a new mini-LED screen.

The inclusion of Apple's A14X chip is a no-brainer if the A14 is what ends up powering the iPhone 12 later this year. Apple would likely follow its existing playbook of adding an "X" to the existing iPhone's chip and cranking up the performance. That's barely news.

The existence of 5G is more interesting. It stands to reason that Apple would move to 5G eventually and @L0vetodream says the iPad Pro will use Qualcomm's X55 modem. That would enable support for both mmWave and sub-6GHz 5G – the best of performance and availability all in a single package.

The inclusion of min-LED is also interesting. Apple has yet to ship a product with the display technology although rumors of its arrival have been swirling for months. It would allow Apple to skip OLED on its tablets while still getting the benefit of increased power efficiency and improved display characteristics.

Whether all of this will come in the first half of next year remains to be seen. But this is the same Twitter user that shared various iPhone SE details before it was announced so they are definitely worth paying attention to.

What you need to know

• Analyst Jeff Pu has given his prediction for Apple's rumored Mini-LED devices.
• He says that they'll launch next year.
• Specifically, he referred to a new iPad Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a 27-inch iMac.

Industry analyst Jeff Pu has predicted that Apple will release several new mini-LED based products in 2021.

As reported by MacRumors:

As the report notes, this reflects predictions from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has previously stated that Apple's Mini-LED-based lineup will be delayed until next year. From the most recent report:

Specifically, Pu says that Apple plans to release a new 16-inch MacBook Pro, a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a new iMac. Kuo has also suggested there will be a 14-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch iPad Mini.

Mini-LED is a lot smaller than current offerings, perhaps making future devices thinner and lighter. They should also bring iOS devices improved contrast ratios and are much cheaper to produce than standard LED displays.