Rumors have long been circulating about the next-generation iPad Pro. Just a few weeks ago, Bloomberg announced that the 2021 iPad Pro will keep the same design but will benefit from new technologies, such as an A14X chip and a Thunderbolt port. This is a much larger upgrade than last year’s iPad Pro 2020 over the 2018 model. Many users, including me, haven’t found a reason to upgrade the last year, and I’m having a hard time with the idea that this year’s model won’t produce the same situation.
The iPad Pro 2020 is hardly different from the 2018 model. It acquired a secondary camera, LiDAR sensor, and activated a hidden GPU core. The real star of the show was the Magic Keyboard. Apple’s decision to make the Magic Keyboard compatible with the 2018 iPad Pro didn’t help the situation.
Apple knew in 2018 that the introduction of these iPad Pros was a big deal. They gave it their all with a huge event in Brooklyn, New York. The company took over Downtown Brooklyn in the blocks around the Apple Store. They had some of the coolest promotional artwork pasted on the Brooklyn Academy of Music, different artistic renditions of the Apple logo on flags hanging above the building that would keep the area handy and even adorned the logo at the top of the building. ‘Apple Store in downtown Brooklyn. No matter what, it was clear at the time that it was going to be big.
Performance
It’s been two years and five months since the 2018 iPad Pro came out and it hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down or aging. The 2018 iPad Pro’s A12X processor was found to be so powerful that it feels just as fast and efficient as even the latest Mac M1s. The 3rd generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro still ranks as the top multi-core performer on Geekbench, ahead of any other iOS device ever released.
It ranks even higher in multicore performance than the new iPad Air with its state-of-the-art A14 chip. The classic A14 chip outperforms the A12X in single-core and metal performance tests, but doesn’t outperform it so much that it makes a tangible difference in everyday use. The A14X chip is sure to be a beast, however, as it should mirror the performance of the M1 chip used in Apple’s latest MacBooks. Gamers will surely benefit from the increased performance, but power users will not need to upgrade immediately. If anything, the real benefit of the A14X chip will likely be better battery life. If it matches that of the MacBook Air M1, it could be the most durable iPad ever.
Ultimately, using a new processor as the justification for the upgrade isn’t really a good idea when it comes to Apple Silicon. Apple’s chips last a very long time, and their newer chips still perform incredibly well. If you have a 2018 iPad Pro, you know the A12X chip is no slouch, even with iPadOS 14. That could definitely change if iPadOS 15 is a major release with some serious structural changes, but even so, I still suspect the A12X has a lot more life left in it.
Display
The screen of the iPad Pro 2018 is one of the best ever sold by Apple. When the Liquid Retina display debuted in September 2018 on the iPhone XR, I was excited because it was clear that this was the technology that was coming to the iPad. Indeed, a month later, Apple introduced the iPad Pro with Liquid Retina display. It’s a triumph – no iPad display has ever looked as good as the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pro. Realistic color combined with ProMotion made it a display that will last for years. There is simply no other tablet with a screen that comes close.
Soon, however, there could finally be a screen on a tablet that outperforms the 2018 iPad Pros, and that will be the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021. The fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro is widely believed to adopt a mini LED display. This would mark the first time that Apple has used this technology in a flagship product. The benefits of OLED-like technology include things like increased brightness and darker blacks. If there is one complaint about the current iPad Pro’s display, it’s that blacks need to be darker like they are on iPhones with OLED displays. Dark mode users will know exactly what I’m talking about.
The point is, the screen changes on the fifth-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro are mostly subjective. Many consumers just don’t care about the quality of their device’s screen in 2021. Most products shipping today have good screens, and Apple in particular is not known to deliver bad ones. Consumers just want great looking displays, and the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pros have the best tablet displays yet.
Connectivity
The addition of USB-C has helped turn the iPad Pro into a real computer. It has made it infinitely easier to connect to an external display or external storage. The Magic Keyboard added a second USB-C port for charging, freeing up the built-in port for other use cases.
The upcoming iPad Pro is expected to support Thunderbolt, which should enable faster data transfers and allow users to power higher-caliber displays like Pro Display XDR at full resolution. Both of these additions would be great, but they’re not good reasons to upgrade.
Software
The 2018 iPad Pro launched with iOS 12. It didn’t really include any major changes for the iPad, and Apple tried to make up for that with the introduction of iPadOS 13 a year later. With the launch of the 2020 revision of the iPad Pro, Apple released iPadOS 13.4, which added true trackpad and mouse support. It was arguably the biggest iPad update in years stuck in an interim release. iPadOS 14 added a few big updates to the iPad experience, like system-wide scribbling, but nothing that really pushed the envelope.
Long story short, the 2018 iPad Pro hasn’t had a single issue with software versions. Lots of gadgets slow down a bit with every ride, but this iPad Pro stayed as fast as it ever was. This is probably because Apple hasn’t really pushed iPadOS very far. There have been incremental changes rather than fundamental changes that take advantage of the power inside this ultra-slim case.
Conception
Apple iPad designs tend to last a very long time. The design of the iPad 2 spanned three generations, and the original design of the iPad mini lasted almost eight years. When Apple unveiled the edge-to-edge display and square-edge design, it was a safe bet that it was going to stick around for a long time. The 2020 iPad Pro is virtually identical to the 2018 model, aside from the larger camera bump. The iPad Air 2020 also retains the same design, albeit in a variety of new colors.
It’s a beautiful design that Apple has chosen to extend in one form or another to the iPhone 12 family. The entire case is incredibly thin and light, even on 12.9-inch models. The glasses are neither too thin nor too thick. All buttons are solid. The speakers sound amazing. And even the unique camera of the 2018 model still works like a charm.
Apple’s 2021 iPad Pro is rumored to retain the same design as the 2020 iPad Pro. It will more than likely have the same bezels, the same speaker designs, the same camera positioning, the same smart connector. , and more. So if design is the main reason for hardware upgrades, it won’t.
Accessories
The second-generation Apple Pencil still reigns supreme among digital pens. It’s fluid and precise. He clicks directly on the side of the iPad Pro. There is hardly any problem with this. IPad Pro 2018 and iPad Pro 2020 both use the same pencil. There’s probably not that much of a difference with the third-generation Apple Pencil that would be on the horizon.
The real star of the accessory show is the Magic Keyboard. Apple released it alongside the 2020 iPad Pros, but decided to make it compatible with the 2018 iPad Pros. This one-off move was a blow to any justification for upgrading to the 2020 models. Apple could be working on it. a new Magic Keyboard, and if they want to push more people to upgrade their iPad Pro, they have to make it exclusively compatible with the new model. This is certainly a possibility, as the new iPad Pro 12.9 ″ would be thicker than the 2018 and 2020 models.
Conclusion
The iPad Pro is one of the best products made by Apple. It has immaculate hardware that could last a decade, held back by software that is in desperate need of a reboot. IPads, in general, last a long time, but when you hit a “Pro” at the end of that name, they last even longer. It’s getting harder and harder to justify upgrading an iPad on a yearly or even biannual basis.
Have you used a 2018 iPad Pro? Did you upgrade last year or stick to the 2018 models? Are you planning to upgrade to the 2021 models? Let us know in the comments below!
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