Apple has finally updated the iPad Pro, their highest end iPad, which hasn’t seen an update since 2018. So, without any further ado, here are our initial impressions with Apple’s highest end iPad for 2020!

Apple released the iPad Pro Third Generation back in October 2018 and this was the biggest change the iPad had since the iPad itself launched in 2010. The home button finally went away, we got FaceID and on-screen gestures, so this iPad was essentially the equivalent to the iPhone X. It was that big of a change.

Now, Apple has usually updated their iPad every year, but for whatever reason, we didn’t get a new iPad in 2019. This was quite strange because we got an iPad Pro Fourth Generation mock-up from our friend Sonny Dickson, we even did a full video on that back in September 2019. It featured a larger, Triple Lens Camera Module but no other visual changes apart from that. But, fast-forward six months and we finally got that iPad Pro.

Unboxing

When we take a look at the box, we get a very similar style on the front with just the screen of the iPad, like we did with the 2018 model. They did change the wallpaper this time, although we actually prefer the way the previous box looked as it made the iPad’s Bezels look thinner, since the wallpaper was black. They do look quite thick on this one. On the top and bottom, we get an Apple logo which matches the colour of the iPad that’s inside. On the sides we get iPad Pro branding, which also matches the colour of the iPad.

When it comes to stickers, there’s a stark contrast in Apple’s approach.

On the back, we get a listing of everything that’s inside, plus the capacity, which in our case is 128GB. It also makes note of the fact that this is the second generation of the 11” iPad Pro. For whatever reason, Apple isn’t calling this the Fourth Generation iPad Pro, even though they were following this trend with previous iPad Pro releases.

When we open up the box and we get the iPad itself. We then get a booklet, which contains the Apple stickers that don’t seem to match the colour of the iPad. Apple is honestly so inconsistent with these stickers. Not all of their products include them, like the Apple Watch for example, and some do match the colour of your device, like with the MacBook Air and Mac Pro. However, some don’t, such as with the MacBook Pro and even the iPhone.

Aside from this, we get the Warranty & Safety Guide as well as the Quick Start Guide, which includes some tips on how to navigate the iPad (button placement and so on). We get a USB-C to USB-C Cable because the iPad Pro, unlike the iPhones, do have a USB-C Port, just like the MacBooks. We also get a Fast Charger, which is the same 18W USB C Charger that we get with the iPhones. What we really like about this Charger is just how compact it is. The UK plug has these collapsible feet, which makes it perfect for traveling, so good job Apple! That’s pretty much all we get inside the box, quite a straight-forward experience so now, here’s what you need to know about this iPad.

Weight & Camera

In terms of design, it looks pretty much identical to the 2018 model. We have the same Bezel sizes, the same colour options, the same exact thickness, the same everything actually, aside from two things.

The first being the weight. The 2018 11” iPad Pro was 468 Grams, while this new one is 471 Grams. The WiFi & Cellular model is 473 Grams. Definitely not something that you’ll be able to tell but it is there. The second visual difference is the Camera Module. We now get a much larger Camera Module compared to before, which now houses a second Camera Module. These modules are very similar to the Cameras that we get on the iPhone 11. Not the 11 Pro, but the regular iPhone 11.

The Main Module is basically identical, while the second module is an Ultra-Wide Angle Module. However, unlike the iPhone 11 & 11 Pro, both of which have a 12MP 120 degree Field of View Module, the iPad Pro 2020 has a 10MP 125 degree Field of View Module. So, the Resolution is a bit lower but with a higher Field of View. We also get a brighter True Tone flash but that’s pretty much it. The module itself is actually smaller than on the iPhone 11 Pro but it is a bit bigger than the mock-up that we showed to you in September 2019. On that mock-up, we had three Camera modules, wheres here we only (sort of) have two.

There is actually a third module, which is this almost invisible black circle and is what is called a ToF Camera. Apple is calling this a LiDAR Sensor but it’s essentially the exact same thing. This Sensor emits laser beams which get bounced around the environment and then get picked up again by the Sensor. Then, based on the time it takes for the beams to get reflected back and the angle at which they get reflected, the iPad can essentially create a 3D map of the environment. The FaceID Camera on the iPhone X and newer, even the FaceID camera on the 2018 & 2020 iPad Pro, already have this functionality. It’s just that now we have it on the back as well.

So, you might be wondering why do we have it on the back? Well, it’s not for scanning faces but for scanning and mapping in the environment in 3D. The biggest difference between this and FaceID, is that unlike FaceID, which works at about 30cm-40cm max, the LiDAR Module on the back of the iPad works at up to 5m, which is a huge difference. This is how it can map the environment in 3D so accurately. Apple even went as far as calling this the best device for AR, in the world!

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many AR apps in the first place and even the ones that we do have, do not yet take advantage of this yet. They need to use ARKit 3.5, which just got released, to take full advantage of the new LiDAR sensor. Until then, we still get improved Object Tracking in apps such as Ikea Place, but when it comes to object and people Occlusion, that would require an update.

The only place where the LiDAR sensor is taken use of accordingly, is in Apple’s own Measure App. Now, when you measure something, not only will it instantly allow you to measure an object without having to calibrate the app first, but the circle that you use to measure will actually follow an object’s shape. So, if you have a table or a wall, it would automatically detect those and sit flat on them, whereas on the iPhone, this circle would actually go through objects, it would not detect them. Definitely stay tuned for our full in-depth review, a few weeks from now, after we get to spend more time with this and hopefully by then, we’ll also get some updates to the current AR apps.

Specifications

Aside from the weight and the new Camera, something else that’s different on this new iPad is the Processor and the RAM.

In terms of the RAM, we now get 6GB all across the board. Before, we got 4GB on all models except for the 1TB model, which did indeed come with 6GB of RAM. We’ve never really had any RAM management issues on our 2018 iPad Pro. Interesting enough, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has been a completely different story, even though they both have 4GB of RAM. 6GB of RAM should make this iPad a bit more future proof than the last model.

A breakdown of the Processors that we’ve had in past releases.

With the CPU, we get the brand new Apple A12Z Processor. Now, this is interesting because this is the first time since 2010, when Apple launched their first A-series Processor (the A4 on the iPhone) that they’ve added a new name into the mix. Previous iPads have had the A8X, the A9X, A10X, and the A12X. The addition of ‘X’ signifies a more powerful version of the regular CPU models that we got inside the iPhones. Long story short, the only difference between the A12X , which is was what we got in 2018 iPad Pro, and the A12Z, is that the ‘Z’ has eight GPU Cores, while the X from the 2018 model has seven GPU Cores.

Fun fact, the A12X was also manufactured with eight Cores but had one of the Cores disabled. This is how CPU manufacturing works. Only about 60% of the CPU’s manufactured are even usable. From this 60% batch, very few have all of the Cores working perfectly. So, the ones that have issues get rebranded into different Processors, with some of the Cores disabled. The same thing applies to GPU’s. If you buy an RTX 2060, that’s actually a 2080 that had a few manufacturing issues and they disabled some of the Cores.

It seems to us that Apple is just using the exact same A12X CPU, but they’re using a higher quality version of it, that has all the Cores working perfectly. Aside from this, we do get improved microphones. Apple’s calling these ‘studio quality’ microphones. We get WiFi 6 but aside from this, this is still pretty much the exact same iPad.

One thing that we do get which is actually a pretty nice thing to have, is higher base Storage. We go from 64GB ,up to 128GB for the same price, which is nice. For most people, 128GB is generally good enough, however this is definitely not the case with 64GB, especially when you consider that Apple’s calling this a “Pro” device.

The Magic Keyboard

New device, same old 1:1 pricing for US & UK consumers.

Probably the biggest upgrade by far, is this new Magic Keyboard. It not only gives you a similar typing experience to the 16” MacBook Pro, but you also get a Trackpad, which is now fully supported in iPadOS.

But, this keyboard costs $300 (£300 in the UK), so it’s crazy expensive. For the price of this Keyboard and an iPad Pro, you actually end up spending more than you would for a MacBook Air. We would say the MacBook Air is just so much more worth it since you get macOS, which is still far superior to iPadOS in terms of what you can do with it.

Also, this keyboard does work on the previous model as well, which is great. If you have an older iPad Pro or a non-Pro iPad, Logitech released some new Keyboards for those iPads, which also have a Trackpad included, so you’re not really missing out on anything here.

Conclusion

We would say that the best thing about this iPad, is that it made the 2018 model cheaper! You can find it extremely cheap online now.

But, there is said to be a second iPad Pro coming out around November or so. This will feature the brand new Apple A14X Processor, which will be based on a 5nm process and it should give us some major performance improvements. We’ve even seen reports that Apple will be including a miniLED display into this iPad, or at least the high-end 12.9” version, which will give us Black Levels similar to an OLED Display. Apple’s Pro Display XDR is using miniLED. We have 576 Dimming Zones, but the iPad Pro is said to have thousands. So we’re really looking forward to that.