The iPad Pro 2021 is now officially confirmed as it was revealed at the Apple event on April 20. We've heard a variety of new details about the upcoming tablet, and below you'll find everything we know so far about the iPad Pro 2021.
The iPad Pro 2021 now features the M1 chipset that we've seen offer some top performance in MacBooks products.
We've yet to hear an official release date or how much the tablet is set to cost, but we've seen a look at the design and a variety of specs that you can read about below.
Expect this to be an expensive piece of kit, but the new iPad Pro is likely to be one of the best tablets around in 2021.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next top-end iPad
- When is it out? Currently unclear, but no official
- How much will it cost? Unclear, but definitely a lot
iPad Pro 2021 release date and price
Apple has revealed the new iPad Pro for 2021, but we've yet to hear when it'll be released. We hope to hear more about that before the Apple event is over, and we'll update here when we know more.
Before the launch, one leak suggested that iPad Pro 2021 stock would be limited at first. That may be the case, so you may struggle to be able to buy this tablet because of the ongoing chip shortage around the world.
There’s no official news on what the iPad Pro 2021 might cost, but a variety of analysts have suggested that the price will be similar to previous models. So what does that mean for the iPad Pro 2021?
The previous model started at $799 / £769 / AU$1,329 for an 11-inch model, or $999 / £969 / AU$1,649 for a 12.9-inch one, so the iPad Pro 2021 might come in at a similar price.
Performance and specs
Apple has now included the M1 chip from the MacBook in the iPad Pro.
Breaking news: Everything below this point is based on previous leaks and rumors - refresh the page and you'll find updates in the coming moments as Apple announces more on stage.
Display
There’s one rumor that we’ve heard more than any other about the iPad Pro 2021, and that’s that it will have a Mini LED screen.
This is a type of LCD screen, but one that offers improved contrast ratio and color reproduction over standard LCD displays. It’s also less likely to suffer screen burn-in than OLED, which is currently the display type of choice on high-end phones.
We first heard that the iPad Pro 2021 might have a Mini LED display back in April 2020, and that rumor has popped up multiple times since then, with one source saying this display tech will enter production either at the end of the first quarter of 2021 or in the second quarter.
This feature, then, is looking very likely. However, one source reckons that while there will apparently be both 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 models, only the larger of them will use Mini LED. That's a claim we've now heard more than once.
We’ve also heard, though, that following these Mini LED slates, another iPad Pro could land before the end of the year with an OLED screen. Putting out that many iPad Pros in one year though would be an odd move, and other sources have suggested that Mini LED is the end goal rather than a stepping-stone on the road to OLED.
One other source does mention OLED, but suggests that these models won’t land until 2022, which seems more likely if it happens at all. That claim has now been echoed elsewhere, too, with a source saying the 2021 iPad Pro will have a Mini LED screen, with Apple considering OLED for 2022.
The iPad Pro's screen might be its undoing though, as a report suggests there's a display shortage for the tablet, but no reason is given for why.
Design
While there might be significant changes to the display for the iPad Pro 2021, it sounds like the design might not be undergoing such an overhaul.
The renders below may provide a crude look at the design. These were supplied to 91Mobiles by a “trusted source” and show thinner bezels than the iPad Pro 2020 has, along with squared-off edges, a squarish camera module on the back and a power button on the top edge.
The source also suggests that the slate has quad speakers and a magnetic port to charge the Apple Pencil, just like its predecessor.
So from this it sounds like the design is being tweaked, but nothing more. Another source has suggested similar, stating that the lens glass will now be flush with the camera protrusion and that the number of speaker holes has been reduced by two thirds, but that the design will otherwise remain the same.
The lack of a design change is something that new leaks are specifically stating, though they additionally claim that the iPad Pro 12.9 2021 will be 0.5mm thicker than its predecessor, which would make it 6.4mm thick.
We've heard that from another source now too, so we expect that to be true and it's rumored to be so the company can include the new Mini LED screen technology.
We've seen some dummy units which concur with the above, and also suggest there's an extra camera lens (which is an excellent segue into the next section). Pictured are both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models of the tablet, as well as the iPad Mini 6.
Refreshed iPad Pros and iPad Mini dummies. Triple Camera array on the pros. Central camera up top on iPad mini; slightly thicker. Hard to tell and different in screen size. pic.twitter.com/5Luizv1T2rApril 8, 2021
Camera, specs and features
We don’t know too much about the iPad Pro 2021’s specs yet, but when it comes to the camera, the renders above show a dual-lens one with a LiDAR scanner, which is in line with the current model.
We’ve also heard that the iPad Pro 2021 might have an A14 Bionic chipset like the iPhone 12 range, and support 5G – which would be a first for Apple’s tablet range.
That said, a more recent leak suggests the iPad Pro 2021 could have an even more powerful chipset – one that's on par with the M1 chip in Apple's latest Macs. One leak seems to imply it won't have the M1's battery efficiency, though.
A report from 9to5Mac also spotted references to a never-before-seen chip hidden within the code of the iOS 14.5 beta. The chip in question is the A14X, which is seemingly a variant of the A14 Bionic used by the iPhone 12 series and iPad Air 4 (2020), and suggests the next iteration of the iPad Pro will likely be more powerful and energy-efficient than its predecessor, which is powered by the A12Z Bionic.
And looking beyond the iPad Pro 2021 itself, Apple might be planning to launch a new Magic Keyboard alongside it.
That theory comes from the existence of several patents for tweaked versions of the device, one of which shows touch-sensitive strips in place of a trackpad, along with a microphone and vibration sensors.
Those sensors would be able to detect gestures made on a surface the iPad is placed on (a swipe across a table, for example), and sense the force used to press keyboard buttons, allowing for a different input based on how much pressure was applied.
However, as always with patents, we’d take these suggestions with a pinch of salt, as very often nothing comes of them.
The final leak we've seen so far concerns a next-gen Apple Pencil that may be an accessory you can buy alongside the iPad Pro 2021.
New Apple Pencil pic.twitter.com/CWGQrkU2YnMarch 3, 2021
The source - who has been accurate on Apple iPad leaks in the past - includes a photo that shows a glossy Apple Pencil with a longer tip than we've seen on any previous stylus from the company.
Exactly why that tip may be longer is currently unclear, but it could be that this is for additional features Apple will announce on the iPad Pro 2021.
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