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The iPad Pro has been a favorite for many due to its combination of hardware and performance since the redesign in 2018. Changes from then have slowly trickled down to the entire lineup, giving us several options ranging from $329 up to $2,3999. This article focuses on the higher end of that price bracket, covering everything new with the iPad Pro models for 2022.
For ease of understanding, we’ll refer to these models as M2 iPad Pro throughout this article. We are prefixing the size of the display where essential.
Pricing and Availability
The 11-inch M2 iPad Pro and 12-9-inch M2 iPad Pro are available for pre-order, starting from $799 to $1,099, respectively. Deliveries and retail availability will begin next week on October 26, 2022. There are still five storage options available, with a base of 128GB going up to 2TB. Apple will also continue to offer Wi-Fi + Cellular models that support sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G.
We’ve listed the exact prices and variants in the table below.
| Storage | iPad Pro 11-inch | iPad Pro 12.9-inch |
|---|---|---|
| 128GB |
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| 256GB |
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| 512GB |
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| 1TB |
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| 2TB |
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iPad Pro 11-inch (2022)
Apple’s latest and greatest iPad Pro comes with the all-new powerful M2 chipset. It also supports Apple Pencil’s new hover feature. Check out all the deals on the device using the links given below.
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iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2022)
Apple’s newest 12.9-inch iPad Pro is powered by the M2 chipset, which brings improved CPU and GPU performance along with faster connectivity. It also supports the new Apple Pencil hover experience. Check out all the deals using the links given below.
Technical Specifications
| Tablet | 11-inch iPad Pro | 12.9-inch iPad Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $799 | $1,099 |
| Dimensions | 247.6 (height) x 178.5 (width) x 5.9 (depth) mm | 280.6 (height) x 214.9 (width) x 6.4 (depth) mm |
| Weight | 466 grams (Wi-Fi only) 470 grams (Wi-Fi + Cellular) | 682 grams (Wi-Fi only) 685 grams (Wi-Fi + Cellular) |
| Display | 11-inch Liquid Retina
|
12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR
|
| Processor | Apple M2 | Apple M2 |
| Processor Features |
|
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| Internal Storage and Memory | 8GB of Unified Memory (RAM) 16GB of Unified Memory (RAM) | 8GB of Unified Memory (RAM) 16GB of Unified Memory (RAM) |
| Rear Camera |
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| Front Camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture |
| Connectivity | 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 | 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Ports | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| Colors | Silver, Space Gray | Silver, Space Gray |
| OS | iPadOS 16.1 | iPadOS 16.1 |
Design
Moving onto the design, the M2 iPad Pro models are identical to their predecessors, at least on the outside. The squared-off edges for the sides and rounded corners are still present, meaning the device will continue feeling light and easy to carry. The square camera array, akin to the iPhone, is also present and remains unchanged. The heavily rumored glass-based construction and MagSafe support didn’t make it to this generation.
You’ll still find the power button along the top, the volume rockers and Apple Pencil’s magnetic connector on the right, and the Thunderbolt-enabled USB 4 Type-C port on the bottom.
Upon flipping around to the front, you’ll see the Liquid Retina panel based on LCD technology on the 11-inch M2 iPad Pro and the Liquid Retina XDR panel based on mini-LED technology on the 12.9-inch M2 iPad Pro. If you’re someone who uses their iPad in landscape mode, you’ll still find the front camera to your left— along the side where you find the power button.
We would have liked to see Apple reposition the front-facing camera hardware as they have on the 10th Gen. iPad. Ideally, it can swap places for the Apple Pencil’s docking hardware with the Face ID array, but it seems that’s a change for future generations.
Display
As mentioned earlier, the 11-inch M2 iPad Pro still features an LCD. While many indicated the switch to mini-LED was coming, the rumor backtracked as the expensive nature of technology posed a block. So, for the second year running, the mini-LED display remains exclusive to the 12.9-inch M2 iPad Pro.
Other specifications, like brightness—typical peak brightness and HDR-related output— and ProMotion, also remain unchanged. Both models top out at 600 nits for standard content. The mini-LED panel on the 12.9-inch device can hit peaks of up to 1000 nits when viewing images or video files, even going up to 1600 nits in some cases.
Apple is also using electromagnetic signals from the Apple Pencil to introduce the Apple Pencil Hover. The feature allows iPad Pro to interact with the stylus when it’s up to 12mm away from the display. Hovering over interactive elements will bring contextual menus or other elements to improve your user experience. Unfortunately, this feature is exclusive to M2 iPad Pro models, although the hardware seems unchanged.
Apple’s announcement didn’t touch upon the rumored 14.1-inch iPad Pro, so if you’re holding out to get a larger tablet, your wait will continue a little longer.
Processor, RAM, and Storage
Next up is performance. The iPad Pro is a device with performance for days to come. The statement has remained true for the lineup since its redesign, and with this refresh, the ceiling on performance further increases, as iPad Pro now features the M2 processor.
Apple claims performance improvements of up to 15 percent on the CPU end and up to 35 percent on the GPU side. To deliver these gains, the M2 processor features advancements for the 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU—up from the 8-core GPU seen in 2021. The 16-core Neural Engine also sees gains, as it can process 15.8-trillion operations per second—a 40 percent improvement over the last generation.
Memory bandwidth, which Apple made a big deal about while announcing Stage Manager, is also upped this year, allowing the device to read information faster. As for RAM on iPad Pro, models with 128, 256, and 512GB will ship with 8GB of unified memory, and those with 1TB or 2TB will have 16GB.
The iPad Air’s recent refresh with M1 further reduced the differences between it and the 11-inch iPad Pro, so the addition of the M2 processor creates a more difference between the two devices. As for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the upgrade to M2 means the tablet can better apply available resources available to use features like Reference Mode and Stage Manager on iPadOS 16.
Camera
Camera upgrades on the iPad appear relatively slow compared to iPhone, as improvements in the latter tend to trickle down to the tablet as and when Apple deems the features worth using on the iPad. ProRes video recording and Smart HDR 4 make their way to iPad Pro for this generation. However, camera hardware remains identical to the 2021 iPad Pro, meaning these improvements depend on the M2 processor. We’ve detailed the exact hardware specification in the table below.
| Tablet | 11-inch iPad Pro | 12.9-inch iPad Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Rear Camera |
|
|
| Front Camera | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture | 12MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture |
Battery
Battery performance on iPad Pro will also remain unchanged this year. Apple is sticking to its claims of 10 hours of media consumption—surfing the web or watching videos— on Wi-Fi. The endurance drops to nine hours if using a cellular network. Charging times for the 28.6 Wh on 11-inch M2 iPad Pro and 40.88 Wh cell on 12.9-inch iPad Pro also see no claimed upgrades, and we believe they’ll remain the same as Apple continues to ship a 20W USB-C adapter with iPad Pro.
Is the M2 iPad Pro worth buying?
If you own any iPad Pro released in or after 2020, the newest M2 iPad Pro is far from being an essential upgrade. When comparing the 2021 M1 iPad Pro and 2022 M2 iPad Pro, you’ll see the new generation features very few differences. Yes, it has better components, but it’s effectively a refresh.
Exclusive features like Apple Pencil Hover might prove convenient for some, but a lot of what’s new is software-based and is already available in past generations. So, an upgrade is currently unnecessary but if you’re a new buyer, going with the latest is advisable, especially if it’s not pinching your pocket.
