Apple unveils iPad Pro (2018) tablets

Today Apple unveiled not one, but two iPad Pro tablets during its "There's More in the Making" event in New York - A 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro. The new tablets feature an all-screen notchless design inspired by the company's newest iPhones. In terms of hardware, the improvements are subtle but significant.

Design

Apple is following its all-screen design trend from its 2018 iPhones on both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros. The 11-inch iPad Pro succeed's the iPad Pro 10.5-inch model, while the  12.9-inch variant is a successor to last year's model. Both new tablets feature thinned down bezels and a slimmer body making them easier to hold and handle.

The iPads have aluminum frames with a matte-finish to ensure they don't slip out of your hands easily. While this allows for a more hardy tablet, the lack of a glass back does mean that there is no wireless charging.

Apple is sticking with LCD panels on both iPad Pro tablets, using the same Liquid Retina display technology it introduced for the iPhone XR. Apple promises the industry-leading color accuracy we've come to expect from Apple products, along with features like True Tone and Night Mode that let us use the iPad Pro differently lit environments.

Both new iPad Pros feature Face ID, Apple's facial recognition technology which first debuted on the iPhone X last year. This also means that the new iPads no longer offer TouchID, which has been sacrificed for the thinner bezel design.

The iPads have a total of 102 magnets positioned inside their frame, which allow connecting their various accessories to them. Besides the Smart Keyboard, you can now also snap on the Apple Pencil directly onto your iPad magnetically, and it will wirelessly charge itself when connected.

Apple Pencil (second generation)

Apple has introduced a brand new version of their Apple Pencil with their 2018 iPads. The redesigned second-generation Apple Pencil is now flat on one of its sides allowing users to magnetically attach it to the side of their new iPads. This ensures that you won't be misplacing your Apple Pencil as often.

The other change with the new Apple Pencil is the addition of wireless charging. When connected to the iPad, your Apple Pencil will automatically begin to charge.

Another new feature on the Apple Pencil is its ability to detect taps. This action enables quick switching between modes: toggling between drawing and erasing in Notes, for instance.

Customers will still be required to purchase the Apple Pencil separately for a price of $129, starting November 7th. The first generation Apple Pencil is still available for $99 for older iPads.

Camera

The new iPads feature a 12-megapixel rear camera with an F1.8 aperture and Smart HDR. On the front, you have a 7-megapixel sensor which includes FaceID, Selfie Portrait as well as the use of Animoji and Memoji.

Hardware

Both new iPad Pros feature Apple A12X Bionic chips, which are slightly more powerful versions of the Apple A12 chip found on the 2018 iPhones. The A12X Bionic has 8 CPU cores and 7 GPU cores. When compared to the previous generation iPad Pro, the new 7nm A12X chip offers up to 35% better single-core performance and up to 90% better multi-core performance. The new 7 core GPU has 2x the graphics processing power of last year's iPad Pro.

Apple demonstrated the capabilities of this chipset by running a full version of Adobe Photoshop (optimized for touch) on stage during its presentation. Customers will be able to try out Photoshop on their new iPads when it hits stores in 2019.

Game developers 2K also revealed the console quality graphics on their NBA 2K Mobile game running on the new iPad Pros...

Apple is offering both new iPads in four storage options - 64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1TB.

Interestingly, Apple has chosen to replace its proprietary ports on their new iPad Pros with USB Type-C ports. Apple stated during their presentation that customers will be able to connect their new iPads to external monitors or connect them to professional equipment like cameras. Additionally, you will also be able to charge the iPads out of the USB Type-C port, which means that you could potentially charge your iPhone off your iPad using a USB Type-C Lightning cable. While this is clearly an advantage for iPad owners, in the long run, it is frustrating for users who have invested heavily in third-party accessories that use Apple's proprietary connectors.

Release and Availability

You can pre-order both the iPad Pro 11-inch and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2018 models starting today, and they will be shipped out starting November 7th. The base 11-inch model starts at $799 while the 12-9 inch model starts at $999.

iPad Pro 11-inch (Wi-Fi)	iPad Pro 11-inch (Wi-Fi + Cellular)	iPad Pro 12.9-inch (Wi-Fi)	iPad Pro 12.9-inch (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
64GB: $799	64GB: $949	64GB: $999	64GB: $1149
256GB: $949	256GB: $1099	256GB: $1149	256GB: $1299
512GB: $1149	512GB: $1299	512GB: $1349	512GB: $1499
1TB: $1549	1TB: $1699	1TB: $1749	1TB: $1899

The Apple Pencil as we mentioned before costs an additional $129, while the Smart Keyboard will cost you $179 for the 11-inch model and $199 for the 12-inch model.