The new 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999 for a 256GB model. That’s a $200 increase over the entry price of its predecessor. Again, the base version now comes with twice as much storage as before, though the previous 11-inch Pro cost $100 less for the same amount of space. In any event, versions with 512GB, 1TB and 2TB of storage are also available for $1,199, $1,599 and a whopping $1,999, respectively, while cellular models start at $1,199. Like the rest of today’s new iPads, you can now pre-order it today, and it’ll be available on May 15. It’s available in Silver or Space Black.
The new Pros are the first iPads to feature OLED displays. This should result in deeper and more uniform black levels, richer colors and wider viewing angles. This is a particularly noticeable upgrade for the 11-inch Pro, which previously used a more conventional LCD panel without the advanced mini-LED backlighting of its larger sibling. The display still supports a fast 120Hz refresh rate, too, which helps it provide smoother motion than the iPad Air. Apple claims it can reach up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness as well.
In a first, you can also configure the iPad Pros with a nano-texture glass display, which is designed to further reduce glare. However, this option is only available with the 1TB and 2TB models, and it adds an extra $100 to the already-high MSRP.
The switch to OLED has helped Apple slim down the chassis a smidge. The new 11-inch model measures 0.21 inches thin, which is 0.2 inches slighter than before, and it weighs 0.98 pounds, down from 1.03 pounds before.
Internally, the new iPad Pros are the first devices to ship with Apple’s M4 chip, an upgraded version of the 3nm processor that was only introduced last October and is currently found in the company’s latest MacBooks and iMac. We’ll have to get our hands on the new slates to see just how much of an upgrade this is over the M2 and M3 in practice. For what it’s worth, Apple says it makes the new iPad Pros up to four times faster than the prior generation, though it’s not like those tablets were hurting for performance.
It’s worth noting that the 1TB and 2TB versions of the new iPad Pros are technically beefier than their lower-capacity counterparts. More specifically, Apple says those configs ship with 16GB of RAM rather than 8GB and feature a 10-core CPU instead of a 9-core unit.
Like the new iPad Airs, the M4 iPad Pros now situate their selfie cameras along the landscape edge. Beyond that, the usual perks of the iPad Pro are still here: A faster Thunderbolt port, Face ID support, a four-speaker setup, a similar dual-lens camera system with a LiDAR scanner and so on. It’s probably still a stretch to say the new Pros can replace most people’s laptops, but if you just want the most premium iPad possible, one of these would be the device to get.
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Jeff Dunn
