Apple updated its iPad Pro line with the latest M2 chip for 2022 but changed little else. Is the minor spec bump worth the upgrade?
Apple announced updates to both its base model iPad and its high-end iPad Pros this week. While each line features some marquee improvements, both sets of tablets are seeing perhaps more modest upgrades than were expected (or hoped for).
Where the standard iPad sees more outward changes thanks to a new design, the iPad Pro family receives mostly inward-facing improvements, such as a new processor and updated video recording capabilities. So even though it doesn’t look different, internal changes can make a big difference. With that in mind, should you spend your hard-earned money on one of the new iPad Pros, or are you better off sticking with your existing model? Let’s take a closer look.
No Base Price Increase
Apple is maintaining the base price for its Pro tablets this year. The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099 (both with 128GB of storage), the same as the 2021 models.
The extras add up, though. For example, Apple increased the cost of cellular models. Where the 2021 11-inch iPad Pro with cellular was $949, the new model costs $999. Moreover, a totally maxed-out 12.9-inch iPad Pro with cellular and 2TB of storage costs an eye-watering $2,399. That’s as much as two MacBook Airs.
No Screen Upgrade? Really?
The screen is one of the most essential aspects of any tablet. Rather than boost the resolution or brightness, Apple carries over the screens of the existing 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models. That means you still get a 2,388-by-1,668-pixel LED on the 11-inch model and a 2,732-by-2,048-pixel mini-LED display on the 12.9-inch one. Both feature the same 264ppi. Given that these are professional models, on which Apple portends that creators will be editing photos and piecing together 4K video, the screens could be sharper.
We can’t stress enough, however, the differences between the 11-inch and 12.9-inch displays. The latter’s mini-LED panel is a major upgrade over the former’s LED. For example, the LED panel can push out 600 nits of brightness, but the mini-LED reaches 1,000 nits (typical) and 1,600 nits (peak). Moreover, the contrast ratio on the latter hits a blistering one million to one.
While the core specs of the displays may not have changed year over year, Apple has improved the way the new iPad Pros interact with the second-generation Apple Pencil. The devices have a new level of sensitivity with the Apple Pencil hover action, so they can detect the stylus up to 12mm above the display. This lets you see a preview of the mark you’re about to make without actually touching the screen. For digital artists, this could be a game changer. For everyone else, though, it’s more of a nice-to-have than a need-to-have feature.
M2 for You
The M2 chip is where things get interesting with the iPad Pro. This is, without question, the single most significant year-over-year upgrade.
The M2 introduces notable improvements to the GPU, for example, which has 10 cores compared with eight in the M1. In addition, the new chip supports ProRes video recording, so even though the camera itself stays the same, you get access to more editable video with the new iPad.
While we can’t say for sure how the M2 will perform in the iPad Pro before we run our own benchmarks, we can look at how the M2 compares with the M1 in Apple’s laptops.
For example, the M1 MacBook Air got Geekbench 5 scores of 1,706 and 7,422 on the single- and multi-core tests, respectively. The M2, on the other hand, got 1,887 and 8,725. That’s not a major difference, but 10% and 15%, respectively, are still solid improvements that will help pros with their workflows.
If you plan to use the iPad Pro for video editing, you get ProRes support and the M2 Media Engine. This helps the iPad Pro handle all aspects of video better, and can be reason enough to upgrade for videographers and filmmakers.
Unchanging Cameras
Apple hasn’t upgraded the iPad Pro’s camera hardware—but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of new camera features.
On the back, you get the same 12MP main camera at f/1.8 and 10MP ultra-wide shooter at f/2.4. The front offers the same TrueDepth camera with a 12MP wide-angle sensor at f/2.4. The new iPad Pros gain support for 4K ProRes video, but that’s not coming from the camera; rather, the M2 chip enables this feature.
In addition, Apple is upgrading the Pros from HDR 3 to Smart HDR 4 for photos. This can lead to slightly improved images thanks to some extra computational power.
Making Connections
The lone port on the iPad Pro is a USB‑C connector with support for Thunderbolt and USB 4. That’s the same as last year. There’s also support for 5G with mmWave and sub-6GHz on the more expensive cellular models, also like last year. The new iPad Pros do, however, drop legacy GSM/EDGE support while adding a few 5G bands along the way.
There are some other minor but worthwhile upgrades in terms of connectivity. First, Apple pushes the tablets from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 6E. They’ve also been upgraded to Bluetooth 5.3 from Bluetooth 5.2. Of course, you need Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth accessories that support these upgrades to see any benefit, so keep that in mind when deciding whether to upgrade.
How Long Do They Last?
Both of the new iPad Pros have the same “up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi or watching video” battery estimates as the 2021 (and 2020) models. Of course, we need to perform our own tests to determine exactly how long the new models last compared with last year’s, but we have to imagine that Apple would be advertising an improvement if there was one.
Make the Right Choice
The upgrades between Apple’s 2021 iPad Pro models and the new 2022 models are few, but for power users, there might be enough to make it worth the leap from an older model. In summary, you get the M2 processor, ProRes video recording, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, some fresh 5G bands, and improvements to what you can do with the Apple Pencil.
Ultimately, you should determine if these upgrades will make a big difference in what you use your existing iPad Pro for. That said, if you own a 2021 model you should likely save your money and wait for a bigger upgrade to come around. If you have an older model, however, the 2022 iPad Pros are worth considering.