Apple revealed its next-gen iPad Pro, and it now comes with the same M2 processor seen on the MacBook Air M2 and 13-inch MacBook Pro. While many features of both the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models are identical to last year's iPad Pro with M1, the upgraded M2 chip and upcoming iPadOS 16.1 update bring a few interesting features.
Instead of the expected Apple October event, Apple announced the new iPad Pro 2022 in a press release. This is likely due to the limited amount of changes the Cupertino-based tech giant brings to the table. Fortunately, that also goes for the price of the updated iPad Pro.
For a better look at what the iPad Pro with M2 offers, we've got you covered.
iPad Pro 2022 price
Like the iPhone 14, Apple has kept pricing the same for its latest iPad Pro. Prices will start at $799 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and at $1,099 for the larger 12.9-inch model. The iPad Pro is now available on the Apple Store.
For the 12.9-inch model, doubling storage to 256GB brings the price to $1,199. From there, you can buy a 512GB model for $1,399, or pay $1,799 for 1TB and 16GB of RAM. If you can't store in the cloud, or work with gigantic files, the 2TB model with 16GB of RAM costs $2,199.
As for the 11-inch model, the 256GB version will set you back $899, while the 512GB model is priced at $1,099. The 1TB and 2TB models cost $1,499 and $1,899, respectively.
Opting for the 5G model adds $200 to whatever configuration you select.
iPad Pro 2022 design
If you're a fan of the sophisticated aluminum design, slim display bezels, and flat-edge shape like on previous iPad Pro models, then you'll be happy to know Apple hasn't changed a thing on the latest iPad Pro.
The iPad Pro comes in either 11-inch or 12.9-inch models and sticks with the usual Space Gray and Silver color options.
The rear of the iPad Pro sports a centered chrome Apple logo below a squircle camera module housing dual vertically oriented lenses and a LiDAR sensor. You can also expect antenna bands hugging the top and bottom of the slate.
Like previous models, the edges of the iPad Pro 2022 are flat, with a power button on the top-right corner, volume up and down buttons and a SIM card slot on the right, and a USB-C port on the bottom. However, this time the iPad Pro 2022 models will move from 3-pin to 4-pin connectors, hopefully for improved power delivery.
Size-wise, the 11-inch model sports dimensions of 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches and weighs 1.03 pounds, while the 12.9-inch comes in at 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.25 inches and 1.5 pounds — the same as 2021's iPad Pro.
iPad Pro 2022 display
Also making a return are the Liquid Retina LED and Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED displays on the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2022 models, respectively. This means a 2388 x 1668-pixel resolution on the smaller model and a 2732 x 2048-pixel resolution on the big iPad Pro.
While many were hoping for the jump to OLED, and even the move to mini-LED on the 11-inch model, Apple has stuck with the same display as on previous Pro models. With this being the case, we already have an idea of how good the 12.9-inch edition will be.
In non-HDR content, the iPad Pro 2021's display showed off sharp colors when viewing content. When HDR is turned on, however, brightness jumps up to absurd levels, allowing colors to burst off the screen. As our iPad Pro 2021 review notes, photo quality becomes much closer to what you find on an OLED TV or laptop panel.
In the review, our colorimeter registered 563 nits of brightness when showing non-HDR content, while HDR content hit 1,251 nits when using the entire screen. It also produces 115% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
We could see subtle changes to the iPad Pro 2022's display once we get our hands on it. Stay tuned for that review.
iPad Pro 2022 specs
Here's the real change: Apple equips the iPad Pro 2022 with its M2 chip. This is the same chip found in this year's MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, which means this is arguably the most powerful tablet on the market.
The eight-core CPU with four performance cores and four efficiency cores is a 15 percent bump up from the M1 according to Apple. The ten-core GPU will deliver 35% faster graphics than M1. As with the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple is pushing the 16-core Neural Engine's enhancements as well with the ability to process up to 15.8 trillion operations per second — that's 40% more than M1 for machine learning tasks. Memory bandwidth gets a bump as well up to 100GB/s, 50% more than M1. From a raw hardware standpoint, you either have 8GB or 16GB of RAM depending on your configuration.
We tested the M2 processor in our MacBook Air M2 review, and it reached 8,919 in our Geekbench 5.4 test. It also transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 7 minutes and 52 seconds and could breeze through juggling multiple apps. It's definitely better than the M1 chip, which scored 7,298 on the Geekbench test in our M1 iPad Pro review.
All in all, expect a jump in processing power, along with a few updated features coming with iPadOS 16.1 that will help Apple's tablet stand out from the iPhone's usually identical iOS updates (of course, the M1 iPad Pro will be getting the same updates).
iPad Pro 2022 features
One interesting feature the iPad Pro 2022 brings to the table is the new Hover experience with the second-gen Apple Pencil. With the iPad M2, the Apple Pencil can detect up to 12 mm above the display, allowing users to see a preview of their mark before they make it. This also allows users to sketch and illustrate with even greater precision, and makes everything users do with Apple Pencil even more effortless.
"For example, with Scribble, text fields automatically expand when the pencil gets near the screen, and handwriting converts to text even faster," as Apple's announcement states. "Third-party apps can also take advantage of this new feature to enable entirely new marking and drawing experiences.
Outlook
The iPad Pro 2022 delivers the power of M2, but little else in terms of hardware enhancements. We'll have to put it through its paces once we get our hands on it, but offering a chip upgrade at the same price as last year's iPad Pro with M1 is welcome. Whether this grants it improved battery life or changes how it performs in a way that will be apparent to most users is something we'll need to answer when we get our hands on it for review.
In the meantime, you can check out our iPad buying guide to see which Apple tablet is best suited for you, along with our face-off between the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra vs. iPad Pro 2021.
