Sure, you can run performance tests and see how the M1 chip in the iPad Pro sweeps the track with all other tablets. Too bad it does not change the experience significantly. All the more astonishing is the new miniled screen, writes Ny Teknik’s Peter Ottsjö.
It is not often that you have reason to complain that a gadget has too much performance. But ever since the M1 chip made its debut last autumn, Apple’s own silicon has turned most things upside down.
The same kind of chip that sits in this year’s full-fledged desktop Imac can thus be found in the latest editions of the iPad. But so far, there is hardly any application, no app, anything that makes the M1 on the iPad live up to the potential that has made the latest Macs so remarkable.
The 12.9-inch Ipad Pro I tested this year is – with one spectacular exception, to which I will return – on the outside almost identical to last year’s model, which in turn essentially looked like the version that came in 2018. It is the design language with straight lines where the only bends allowed are where the long sides and short sides of the frame meet. The design is still tight and elegant, even though I’m starting to feel a little measured on it.
But the knowledge that there is enough power under glass and aluminum to make a modern laptop spin with joy disturbs more than it pleases. For Ipad Pro is still no laptop.
Magic Keyboard case and stylus pen cost extra. Photo: Peter Ottsjö
Well, you can use the Magic Keyboard case with tablet and keyboard and, yes, there are some opportunities for multitasking. Despite this, it is seldom pleasant to make any attempts to use it as anything other than a tablet. The iPad OS – and it seems sadly applicable to the upcoming Ipad OS 15 as well – is simply not capable of replacing the versatility of the Mac OS. And what’s chilling is of course that Apple with the M1 chip with a little good will could have let us switch between the two operating systems.
It could also have justified the almost offensive cost of an iPad Pro. The 12.9-inch starts at SEK 13,000, but if you opt for extra storage and Magic Keyboard cover, you are suddenly north of SEK 20,000. Decorate it fully with 2 TB storage, support for mobile data networks and a stylus, and the party stays at almost SEK 34,000. I get dizzy just by writing it.
As a patch on the burnt wallet, you get at least something that no other Ipad has had before: a miniled screen.
Ipad Pro 2021 and Ipad Pro 2020 side by side. Photo: Peter Ottsjö
Miniled is a win-win compromise between the backlight of LCD technology and the superior contrast richness of OLED technology. Like lcd, a miniled screen is backlit but quantity provides quality in this case. The iPad Pro screen – and note that the miniled is reserved for the 12.9-inch model – is illuminated with 10,000 small LEDs, distributed over 2500 local dimming zones. With oled, each pixel emits its own light as needed, but mini-led comes with such a numerous number of dimming zones well close to that deep oled black.
Add to this a brightness of up to 1,000 cd / m² across the entire screen and as much as 1,600 cd / m² locally: this is a portable screen that few, if any, others can match.
When I place this year’s and last year’s Ipad Pro next to each other and look at the same holiday pictures, I get a sore chin, because it has been dropped on the floor. On the 2020 model, I see a high-resolution thing, an image on a screen, what you can expect.
Feels three-dimensional
On the 2021 model, the light and contrasts and color reproduction are so convincing that it almost feels like the memory behind the glass is three-dimensional, like I can reach into the screen. It’s amazingly good, and of course also gives movies and series with hdr support an extra boost.
Ipad Pro and stylus. Photo: Peter Ottsjö
Is it worth buying a 12.9-inch Ipad Pro just for this? Hardly. If you strike anyway? Yes, then I guess you will hardly be able to tear your eyes away from it.
Another minor innovation is the “center stage”, where the camera naturally maintains a centered position of the caller regardless of whether he moves. I have tested the function and it works as announced on Facetime, but it is said that via an API it can also be available for competing video calling apps such as Zoom and Teams.
Almost like last year
The USB-c port supports Thunderbolt, which means that you can transfer files up to 40 Gbit / s and it is possible to mirror the iPad screen in 6k-compatible Pro Display XDR (if you feel like coughing up another 60 000 kronor).
Otherwise? Otherwise, I get refer to my test of last year’s Ipad Pro, because in almost all respects, everything I wrote then is also relevant for this year’s model. Even though the M1 chip could, should be able to, offer so much, much more.
Ipad Pro. Photo: Peter Ottsjö
Ipad Pro 2021 (12.9 inches) in numbers
Measure: 280,6 x 214,9 x 6,4 mm.
Weight: 682 grams (wifi), 685 grams (5g)
Screen: 12.9 inches, 2732 × 2048 pixels resolution with 265 ppi, miniled LCD, 120Hz, hdr10, Dolby Vision.
Camera: 12 MP camera with wide angle and 10 MP camera with ultra wide angle. Lidarsensor. 12 MP selfie camera, wide angle.
Operating system: Ipad OS 14 (version 15 will be released after the summer).
Processor: M1.
5g-chip: And.
Memory: 8 GB/16 GB
Storage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB.
Battery life: About 10 hours.
Award: From SEK 13,000.
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