Apple debuted the first iPad in 2010, and I’ve tested nearly every sequel released since then: the iteratively evolved second-, third-, and fourth-generation models, smaller iPad minis, thinner iPad Airs, and bigger iPad Pros. Thanks to the $329 entry-level iPad and its current brethren, today’s iPa…
Apple debuted the first iPad in 2010, and I’ve tested nearly every sequel released since then: the iteratively evolved second-, third-, and fourth-generation models, smaller iPad minis, thinner iPad Airs, and bigger iPad Pros. Thanks to the $329 entry-level iPad and its current brethren, today’s iPad lineup is the best and most diverse in history — a major evolution over less than a decade.
But eight years into its tablet experiment, Apple continues to struggle with the same question from users: Can an iPad actually replace a laptop?
When Apple introduced its latest iPad Pros last month, it was finally ready to make that claim, albeit in a nuanced way. The new iPads were pitched as more powerful than 92 percent of current laptops, and the most capable members of an already 400-million-iPad dynasty. An all-new model with an 11-inch screen has the same general dimensions as prior 9.7-inch and 10.5-inch iPads, while the “third-generation iPad Pro” with a 12.9-inch screen now has the footprint of a standard sheet of paper. Screen and battery aside, they both share the same internal components, notably including a processor with a Pro laptop-matching CPU and a console-matching GPU.
Judged strictly by their hardware, the new iPad Pros are legitimately awesome. They look professional, feel fantastic in the hand, are thin enough to fit anywhere, and have the best iPad accessories Apple has ever made. But as has been the case year after year before, these Pro tablets won’t actually be able to replace Pro laptops for most professional users.
As much as I’d love to use an iPad Pro instead of a MacBook for work, the 11-inch model remains as much a pure tablet as the first iPad, and the 12.9-inch model still isn’t ready to fully supplant a laptop, even when either is equipped with Apple’s latest detachable keyboard. They’re both ultimately limited by software — both iOS and third-party apps — though I fully expect that millions of people will want to try their hardest to make one of these new iPad Pros work for them, anyway. Here’s why.
While some have suggested that Apple adopted an all-new iPad Pro design this year, the latest models are actually highly refined versions of the very first iPad. They share the same flat sides, minimalist front design, and spartan back, though the new models continue to trim away as much external fat as possible while evolving internally.
Placed next to each other, the 11-inch Pro is just a little narrower and taller than the original iPad (above), while also being slightly wider and shorter than the prior 10.5-inch Pro (below), but both 2018 models are thinner than their predecessors. Apart from a larger camera lens and bulge, the new models are only 5.9mm thick, a relatively small dip from the prior iPad Pros’ 6.1mm (11-inch) and 6.9mm (12.9-inch) bodies, but a gigantic reduction from the first iPad’s tapered 13mm back.
Removing edge tapering makes the aluminum-bodied iPad Pros feel like solid bricks — more serious tools, like the classic iPhone 4 minus its dense stainless steel, yet with soft rather than sharp screen edges. Weighing just over 1 pound, the 11-inch model feels as light as its recent predecessors, while the 12.9-inch model doesn’t feel that much heavier — at around 1.4 pounds, it’s actually 0.1 to 0.2 pounds lighter than the original iPad, and the weight is more comfortably distributed across a larger surface area.
As you might guess, the key difference between the new models is screen size, and that turns out to be a critical differentiator between the 11- and 12.9-inch models. Some reviewers have casually suggested that prior 9.7-inch and 10.5-inch iPad users could easily move up to this year’s 12.9-inch model, but I generally disagree: Depending on the way you use your iPad, that switch could be a huge mistake. If you frequently use the virtual keyboard, you’ll find it impossible to thumb-type with both hands while cradling the device in landscape orientation, and struggle even in portrait mode. The larger model is the smallest 12.9-inch iPad Apple has made, but it’s still a big tablet.
For that reason, I’d suggest you stick with the 11-inch model if you expect to use your iPad Pro frequently as a pure tablet — in other words, without Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio accessory. If you intend to keep your iPad attached to a physical keyboard, either model is worth considering, but the larger version offers extra screen size for multitasking and a little more battery life.
The P3 wide color “Liquid Retina” screens on both new models are beautiful — highly similar to last year’s displays, including the same TrueTone white balancing and 120Hz ProMotion smooth scrolling. This year, Apple has attractively rounded each screen’s edges to match its enclosure’s corner radiuses, just like the latest iPhone X/XS/XR and Apple Watch Series 4 models, here thankfully without any “notch” in the displays.
While the screens are not “edge to edge” as advertised, Apple has substantially reduced bezels to a universal thickness of around 0.3 inches all the way around the screen. That’s still a significant bezel, but enough to preclude the inclusion of a Home button, which gets replaced by a quick swipe-up gesture to exit apps. Additionally, a TrueDepth camera for Face ID replaces the prior Touch ID fingerprint scanner — a point discussed further below.
My single favorite feature of the 11-inch iPad Pro is its slightly wider display. Most iPads use a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but the 11-inch Pro has a 1.43:1 screen with a 2388 by 1668 resolution — enough to give you a little extra room for a multitasking app, or fill more of the screen with a widescreen movie rather than black bars. These changes make the 11-inch model a particularly fantastic (if expensive) video player. For better or worse, the 12.9-inch iPad sticks with the same 2732 by 2048 resolution and 1.33:1 aspect ratio as its two predecessors, now slightly cramped with a “swipe up” reminder bar at the bottom of the screen.
Since 2010, one of my least favorite features of every iPad has been the extent to which fingerprints quickly become visible on their displays, and this year’s model is no better in that regard than last year’s. The problem is compounded this time, as users of some early screen protectors have discovered that the latest iPads exhibit touch sensitivity issues when they’re covered with certain materials. There’s also a tiny microphone hole in the screen near the TrueDepth camera, so if you’re thinking of “protecting” the screen, be careful.
The only other iPad body tweaks worth noting all relate to accessories. Apple has nixed the 3.5mm headphone port, swapped the Lightning port for USB-C, moved its three-dot Smart Connector from the left edge to the back above the USB-C port, and added a new magnetic charging connector for the Apple Pencil to the right edge, below the volume buttons. Each of these changes is important enough to address separately below.
Year after year, the iPad chip performance story is pretty much the same: “better than the last iPad, better than the latest iPhone.” This year’s iPad Pros feature Apple’s new A12X Bionic chip, and though we’ve already gone into considerable detail on what that means, here’s the quick summary.
Regardless of whether you buy the least or most expensive new iPad Pro model, you’ll get the same performance: a Geekbenched single-core score of around 5,000, with a multi-core score just under 18,000. That’s CPU performance right in the middle of Apple’s 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros, equipped with Intel Core i7 processors. Those numbers are up 26 percent and 87 percent over the 10.5-inch iPad Pro’s single- and multi-core scores, respectively.
In practice, the new iPad Pros don’t feel hugely faster for most apps than their most recent predecessors, but they’re undeniably responsive when doing anything — loading, running, switching, and exiting apps. The A12X Bionic also speeds Face ID processing to the best level yet, unlocking the iPad Pros faster than even the latest iPhones regardless of your proximity and orientation to the screen. It’s so quick to recognize even a face half-buried in a pillow that I’ve found myself wondering whether Apple has sacrificed scan accuracy for speed.
On the graphics front, the new iPad Pros’ Geekbench 4 Compute benchmark is around 42,200, a nearly 40 percent jump from the prior 10.5-inch model’s roughly 30,300, and 2.7 times better than the original 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple claims that these iPads are able to go toe-to-toe with Microsoft’s Xbox One S console in graphics power. Unfortunately, there isn’t much software to back up that claim, and almost every game you can think of is currently running with black bars awaiting an iPad Pro screen compatibility update.
The new iPad Pros’ camera performance is generally comparable to the iPhone XR’s. In addition to adopting Smart HDR from the new iPhones, Apple has noticeably increased the size of the new iPads’ rear lenses, switching from a smaller 6-element design to a larger 5-element design that produces wider and better contrast photos. Even though the iPad Pros remain at a (quick) f/1.8 lens speed with 12-megapixel output, they capture wider rear images than before, and with more detail in dark and light areas — just like the new iPhones.
The new iPad Pro’s front FaceTime camera preserves the same f/2.2 speed and 7-megapixel resolution as the prior model, but thanks to the Smart HDR feature again delivers considerably better contrast. Selfies no longer look as washed out as they did, and due to a recent fix for the image-smoothing “Beautygate” bug, there’s no apparent detail lost, either.
Like the cameras, speaker performance has been improved at least a little over the last iPad Pros. While the volume level hasn’t changed much, Apple is now using treble-bass speaker pairs within each of the iPad’s four speaker housings, a change that enables the new models to produce more detailed sound than before.
To my ears, the new Pros are cleaner and less bass-heavy than the 10.5-inch model, a better balance that’s consistent regardless of the iPad’s orientation, but some users may prefer the prior bass-heavy skew. Stereo separation is apparent in each orientation, but the separation is more pronounced in widescreen than in landscape mode.
Apple always promises “10-hour” battery life for its iPads, regardless of size, but real-world run times appear to be improved relative to the prior models. Although the 11-inch iPad’s battery is a hint smaller than the 10.5-inch model’s, I found myself getting better than 10-hour run times during normal use, even when the iPad Pro was being used to charge the Apple Pencil. I was able to use the Pro continuously for around six hours of plane travel time, including Wi-Fi browsing, without falling below 50 percent battery life. Users are reporting up to 14 hours of run time from the 12.9-inch model, though obviously numbers will vary based on the apps and brightness you choose.
One bummer with the new iPads is Apple’s continued choice to supply lower-than-optimal spec wall chargers with its devices. Both new iPads come with a short (one-meter) USB-C to USB-C cable, plus a redesigned 18-Watt charger that looks like two small iPhone chargers put together. But if you use a more powerful Apple laptop charger, you can recharge the new iPads more quickly, saving perhaps an hour of time. As its iPad Pros are now overlapping laptop prices, there’s no excuse at this point for Apple to nickel and dime users on chargers.
Just like its industrial design, which is so incredibly polished in all regards that you can’t help but notice the fingerprints all over its body, the iPad Pro’s greatest strength and weakness is iOS.
