12.9–inch iPad Pro (2021)
Apple’s largest tablet is better than ever — if you can afford it
From $1,099 ($1,299 model tested) From
apple.com
Features 12.9–inch Liquid Retina XDR display (2732x2048 pixels), Apple M1 chip (8–core CPU, 8–core GPU), 8GB of memory (128GB, 256GB and 512GB)/16GB of memory (1TB and 2TB), up to 2TB of storage, Pro camera system with 12MP Wide and 10MP Ultra Wide lenses, 12MP TrueDepth camera, Wi–Fi 6 (aka 802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0, Face ID, Thunderbolt/USB 4 port, 40.88w/hr battery with up to 10 hours battery life
Big things are happening to Apple’s biggest tablet. The 12.9– inch model on test here now sports the M1 — the same Apple silicon System on Chip (SoC) found on the Mac mini, MacBook Air, 13–inch MacBook Pro, and 24–inch iMac.
The 2021 iPad Pro also includes a much improved display. Dubbed the Liquid Retina XDR display, it features 10,000 miniLEDs with 2,596 local dimming zones for improved color fidelity and brightness — up to 1,600cd/m2 in fact — and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
Like its Mac siblings, the 12.9–inch iPad Pro also now comes with a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port connection, enabling you to connect a huge range of peripherals — from Thunderbolt docks and displays to external drives, making it much more flexible.
And the iPad Pro Wi–Fi + Cellular also includes support for 5G, so you can now get even faster connectivity when you’re on the go (conspiracy theorists need not apply). Also on board are Wi–Fi 6 (aka 802.11ax Wi–Fi) and Bluetooth 5.0, plus a Pro camera system with Wide and Ultra Wide lenses on the back and a 12MP TrueDepth camera on the front.