Table of Contents
In October, Apple updated its iPad lineup with a new 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro model in addition to the 10th iteration of the original iPad. The improvements to the iPad Pro models were inside rather than external, even though the design of the 10th generation iPad underwent a tremendous redesign. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, as the iPad Pro’s design was already excellent and the M2 chip boost transforms this version into a powerhouse.
By all accounts, the Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch tablet from 2022 is fantastic. Although it isn’t perfect—the design is the same as its predecessor, the battery life isn’t as good as earlier iPad models, and the iPadOS software still has limitations when compared to macOS—there are a lot of things to like about it. you can read our article on Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review.
The screen is simply amazing, the M2 chip has so much power that most users won’t be able to push it to its absolute limits, and even if the design hasn’t changed, it’s still quite good. With the 2022 model, Apple has improved its greatest tablet even more. Despite the high price tag, it is a remarkable device that is not only the best in its class but also actually delivers – with plenty more in the bank for when you demand that little bit extra. You are in the right place if you’re looking for a Pro tablet.
Design
Comparing the iPad Pro 12.9 to its predecessor—and, indeed, to the version before—there aren’t any notable design improvements. It is still only available in Space Grey or Silver finishes; neither the new iPad 10.2 nor the iPad Air have any of the exciting colour options (2022). Of course, it’s still a pretty attractive design. It feels incredibly slim and sleek in the hands thanks to its enormous surface area and slender frame, and as you would expect from Apple, the fit and quality are faultless.
Since having a small edge to grasp is not a terrible thing on a huge tablet, there is a fairly thin bezel between the borders of the screen and the side of the device. It is thicker than the bezel on the iPhone 14, but we don’t mind that. The corners themselves are gently rounded, which prevents them from being awkward to hold despite having flat sides and right-angled edges.
The location of the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen’s magnetic charging attachment is indicated by a small oval on one of the flat edges. The volume buttons are also located on this side. A USB-C port for charging and two dotted vents for the stereo speakers are located on one of the shorter edges. The sleep/wake button and two more speaker vents are located on the other short edge.
The forward-facing camera, which is also used for Face ID, is located on the front of this short edge. This is the only serious flaw in the design. The iPad Pro is frequently used in landscape mode, and because the camera is located on one of the shorter sides, it frequently rests under your hand when you wish to unlock it while holding the tablet. Or the arm reaching across to touch the screen ends up covering it.
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review: Display
Our evaluated iPad Pro 2022 features a massive 12.9-inch mini-LED screen with a resolution of 2,732 x 2,048 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. That is a large amount of screen real estate for watching your favourite Netflix or YouTube content. Additionally, the stunning XDR display makes everything on the screen look even better if you’re watching HDR material.
We were astounded by the depth of colour and the strong contrast between bright and dark elements in the Avatar: The Way of Water video. The iPad Pro was able to render every shade of blue in Pandora’s world with clarity and distinction. We almost got the impression that we were seeing a movie trailer in a theatre thanks to the big display. It is debatable whether reading comic books on the iPad Pro is better or equal to reading actual books. You can see each panel or splash page’s individual details thanks to the high-resolution display.
You’ll rarely, if ever, need to zoom in or spin the tablet to view things well because the display is big enough to fit an entire comic book page. The iPad Pro is great for reading your favourite comics overall. The iPad Pro’s maximum brightness, measured with a light metre, is 586 nits when adaptive brightness is turned off. This is only somewhat more than the iPad Pro 2021 but significantly more than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 (463). (571 nits).
Magic Keyboard and Pencil 2
Two of our favorite accessories are the Apple Magic Keyboard ($349 USD) and Apple Pencil 2 ($129 USD). The former delivers the iPad Pro laptop-like features, while the latter lets you use the tablet to write or draw on. No matter how forcefully you type, the tablet is kept in place by the Magic Keyboard’s robust base. You can find the ideal viewing angle thanks to the floating cantilever design. also, you can check our article on Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review.
This feature certainly elevates this keyboard over the Galaxy Tab S8’s optional Book Cover keyboard. Hours of comfortable typing can be done on the keyboard alone, and the trackpad is snappy and fluid. As always, the cost of each of these accessories is our sole gripe. Having already paid for an expensive tablet, spending an additional $478 (before taxes) hurts.
Software
The iPad Pro 12.9th generation from Apple ships with iPadOS 16.1. Our review sample was updated to version 16.1.1 with bug fixes during the review process. The mobile OS is still not a suitable replacement for macOS. Even though Apple likes to say that the tablet can fully replace a laptop, this is probably only the case in a small number of situations, especially for productive work.
The creative aspect is unquestionably an exception here, as it is simply easier to use a pen and a touchscreen than a laptop. We appreciate that Stage Manager is now available on the iPad. Bloatware is still absent from the current version of iPadOS, and updates for the iPad Pro 12.9 should last for a very long time. Apple does not give specifics, but we anticipate at least five years of software updates.
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review: Camera
With the exception of the first-ever ProRes video recording capability, the camera arrangement on the iPad Pro is basically unaltered from the model that came before it. Nevertheless, you’re looking at the same 12-megapixel main camera combined with a 10-megapixel ultrawide and a LiDAR sensor for quick autofocus and enhanced AR/3D scanning capabilities, with the latter possibly being one of the camera on the tablet’s primary functions. It’s difficult to imagine someone using a 12.9-inch tablet for any serious photography, especially given that recent iPhones have cameras that are much more capable.
That is not to say, however, that the camera quality isn’t good; it is capable of taking great quality images with solid brightness, nice colours, and fair amounts of detail. The front-facing 12Mp camera is perhaps more practical, making it great for occasional FaceTime chats as well as video conferencing services like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. The ultra-wide camera follows you as you walk around the room and automatically crops into your face using Apple’s Center Stage technology. This makes it ideal for presentations and conversations while you’re preparing supper in the kitchen.
However, in video chats, you’re still facing somewhat to the right due to the lack of the improved camera location of the iPad 10. The front camera can only produce at a maximum of 1080p@60fps, while the back camera can capture video in 4K@60fps with ProRes compatibility and without Dolby Vision HDR like iPhone competitors. The video quality is fine, just like the photographs, but it doesn’t have as many capabilities as more modern iPhones, and it’s difficult to see anyone using it for anything other than the occasional spontaneous photo or video.
Audio
The iPad Pro’s four speakers enable it to produce loud, resonant sound, just like its predecessor. Trivium’s “The Phalanx” and “Feast of Fire” sounded almost as well on our loudspeakers as they would have on a stereo. The bass wasn’t as thunderous as we would have wanted, which is why we say almost. On the iPad Pro, audio-focused media like the Waveform podcast and movie trailers like the aforementioned Avatar: Way of Water sound fantastic. You won’t be dissatisfied with the audio quality of the iPad Pro, it goes without saying.
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review: Hardware and performance
The M2 chip, which is an incredible monster, is undoubtedly the main topic of discussion here. It has an eight-core CPU with four cores for high performance and four cores for energy efficiency. This is coupled with 16GB of RAM in the 1TB or 2TB models and 8GB of RAM in the 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB versions. Additionally, a 10-core GPU with a staggering 100GB/s of memory bandwidth can access all of that memory as if it were its own.
This is just an absurd amount of power, as we discussed in our M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M2 13-inch evaluations, and in the iPad Pro (2022), it is fully realized, with no trimming or cutting back to shoehorn it into a tablet. It operates like a desktop CPU with a Geekbench 5 score of 1884 in single-core testing and 8518 in multi-core testing. The Microsoft Surface Pro 9’s Intel CPUs promise to bring some competition to Apple, at least, but we’ll have to see how that goes in our comprehensive review. There hasn’t been anything like it in a tablet before.
However, very few of us will ever push the M2 to the limits of what it is capable of. It’s obvious that it handles iPadOS incredibly quickly – apps open faster than before, and the software was flawlessly smooth and quick during the entire time we used it, never stuttering. Despite working on multi-layered images with enormous RAW photos in Serif Affinity Photo and asking LumaFusion to handle several channels of 4K video with applied colour adjustments, we don’t believe we ever really made the M2 struggle. Even with 8K photographs, each filter you apply in Affinity Photo is instant, regardless of how many tools you experiment with in an effort to make it fail.
Until we ran out of room, we simply kept adding tracks to GarageBand, and none of them interfered with playback quality. The fact that our testing used the 1TB model, which has 16GB of RAM, helps because the 8GB RAM restriction is probably the one that pros would find easiest to exceed at this time. Actually, that isn’t true; the problem would likely arise if someone had purchased a model with a smaller capacity. A “pro” machine’s initial storage should be far more than 128GB, especially considering the price of an iPad Pro 12.9.
Battery life
No of the size or shape, the iPad has always had an official battery life of up to 10 hours. However, most iPads can last longer provided you don’t use too many resource-intensive apps and games. But after using Apple’s newest 12.9-inch tablet for painting, word editing, and watching TV shows, we feel like the company’s 10-hour claim is finally mostly accurate.
Even though we are not what we would classify as an iPad power user—we use it to watch TikToks and YouTube, play the occasional game with a DualSense controller attached, and follow a few YouTube tutorials for drawing on Procreate with the Apple Pencil—even we have noticed a decrease in battery life compared to previous 12.9in models. also, you can learn our article on Apple iPad Pro 12.9 review.
Price and availability
The new iPad Pro 12.9-inch starts at a base price of $1,099, £1,249, or AU$1,899, but you only get 128GB of storage and no 5G wireless capability. That little storage is shockingly inadequate for a “Pro” laptop, but if you want extra space or want to add 5G for always-on, lightning-fast wireless access, you’ll need to budget for additional costs. The Pro comes with storage options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB.
Conclusion
The iPad Pro (2022) is the way to go if you want the best iPad money can buy, notwithstanding how jumbled and complicated Apple’s current iPad lineup is. Since the release of the 2018 model, the iPad Pro has been extremely popular, and in 2022, it is even more impressive.
On the iPad Pro, many things that have made the iPad Pro so excellent throughout the years are still true (2022). It features a wonderful screen, a stunning design, performance that is almost overkill, great accessories, and a tone of software techniques to make the most of the entire package. It’s still difficult to say whether or not you need the iPad Pro, but if you’re determined on a top tablet experience, only the iPad Pro will do.