iPad Pro 12.9 (2020) Review: A Complete Specifications Guide
Apple has recently launched the iPad Pro 12.9 2020, which is a refreshed version of iPad 12.9 (2018). While announcing the new iPad Apple said, it’ll be a revolutionary product of the iPad history.
The new iOS has a latest A12Z Bionic chip that also supports an 8-core graphics engine. Also, an ultra-wide dual-camera system with a LiDAR scanner. However, if you were expecting an upgrade in ProMotion 120Hz display, then you’ll be a little disappointed because of its irreversible technology. Still, we can expect enhanced augmented reality functionality in comparison to the previous iPad version.
No doubt, the new iPad got some unique and advance changes. And most of the consumers are admiring these small but impactful changes.
Besides, iPad 12.9 (2020) comes with connectivity support of Bluetooth Mouse. Yes, finally, you’ll be able to connect a Bluetooth mouse with the new iPad. Also, there will be a modern yet expensive keyboard- Magic Keyboard with a full cursor input support and scissor mechanism key arrows.
People are considering these new features truly satisfying and magical. Also, Apple representing iPad 12.9 (2020) and iPad Pro 11 as Apple’s top ends models. Obviously, users will get their expectations high. However, it comes with freaking fast speed, up to 10 hours of battery life, still, we can’t compare them with high-end Computers.
Some people thinking about to use it as a Laptop but purchasing the iPad over a laptop will be justifiable?
Here’s we gathered some trustable information and created a whole post on everything we know about iPad 12.9 (2020).
Let’s deep dive in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09_QxCcBEyU&feature=youtu.be
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 Inch (2020) Review
1. Release date
Apple announced the new iPad Pro 2020 on 18 March of 2020 and now available to purchased. However, You’ve to order both of these models from Apple Online Store because the Apple store is still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, Apple released it on 24 March but the Apple store confirmed that due to some reasons, the first delivery of the iPad new models would start on 25 March.
But this is the news of the past. Now you can order the iPad 2020 through this link.
2. Design and Looks
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2020 comes with the dimensions of 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.23 inches. Yes, it’s a bit heavier than the previous iPad model. iPad 12.9 (2020) weights 641 gms, and the iPad (2018) version is 631 gms. However, this is the difference; you’ll see only in WiFi models. You won’t see much weight difference in both cellular models. If you see, it’d be a slightly one.
If we talk about the design of the new iPad 12.9 (2020), it almost looks the same as its predecessor version. On the front side, iPad 12.9 (2020) got a full screen and rounded corners with a meagre amount of bezels in all four corners. Also, you’ll find a TrueDepth camera on the front side, that supports Face Id feature to unlock the device.
On the backside of it, you’ll get a metallic blackish-grey body with an Apple logo in the centre. Also, you’ll find dual cameras and LiDAR scanner in the square box of the left upper side of the body. Well, if we talk about this camera design, it’s a lookalike of iPhone 11 Pro.
While holding the iPad in a landscape view, you’ll see a magnetic stripe on the top to attach the Apple pencil. You’ll find only one port on the iPad, which is USB-C. You can use it to charge the device or to plug-in other accessories. Although here’s a piece of sad new news that new iPad 12.9 (2020) still hasn’t a 3.5 mm jack like the iPad 12.9 (2018) model.
iPad 12.9 (2020) comes in 2 colors. The first one is Silver and the second one is Space grey.
3. Display
The new iPad Pro 2020 comes with the Liquid Retina display. It’s known as the best screens that have used on any new mobile device. The screen size is 12.9 inches with a resolution of 2732×2048. It provides 264 pixels per inch with a refresh rate of 120Hz.
Plus iPad Pro 12.9 (2020) display features an antireflective and a fingerprint-resistant coating with a reflectivity of 1.8 per cent.
Also, the ProMotion technology helps to adjust frame rate, automatically. As a result, the user gets eye-soothing, colourful, crisper and responsive experience while surfing content, watching movies, playing games, reading online articles etc.
Besides, the frame rate will change according to the task you’re doing on it. In simple words, while playing a game, you’ll get a refresh rate of 120Hz, and while browsing online articles, the refresh rate of frames will be lower. That automatic function will help you to save more battery life even when you’re using the device.
Moreover, the iPad Pro spotlight the display with the brightness of around 600 nits. However, in this tomsguide’s article, you’ll see the average amount of intensity is 559 nits. Also, they mentioned the brightness nits of surface Pro 7 (395 nits) and Surface pro X (417 nits) which is lower than the brightness nits of iPad Pro 2020.
The iPad Pro’s screen is also listing the sRGB colour gamut of 122.9%. Also, it got a Delta-E score of 0.34. And you know what’s the fact, the count of 0 is perfect on this test.
Therefore, these display specifications make sure that you’ll experience great visuals, accurate range of colours, better brightness nits and a responsive display. No matter what task you’re going to assign.
4. Performance
The iPad Pro 2020 includes A12Z Bionic processor with an 8 -core GPU. This new GPU is allegedly designed to boost the iPad’s graphic performance. Also, this will improve the controller experience of the recent iPad Pro. According to Apple, it’ll be the best premier performance boost a user will ever experience in an iPad.
Toms guide also mentioned the overall performance on Geekbench 5. iPad Pro 12.9 scored 4,720 on the multi-core portion and 1,126 on the single-core test. It’s slightly better than the performance of A12X Bionic chip which was 4,635 and 1,114.
The previous iPad had the A12X Bionic chip came with an 8-core GPU. However, the one core was deactivated by default. On the other hand, A12Z comes with eight working cores GPU.
Also, they mentioned the Geekbench 5 test scores of the Surface Pro 7, which was 4,443 on the multi-core and 1,241 on single-core. This test was taken with a 10th gen Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. Moreover, when they ran the Geekbench 5 test on ARM-powered Microsoft SQ1 chip, it wouldn’t run.
For instance, If we take a look at the BaseMark GPU test, the new iPad Pro scored 21,009, compared to 19,588 for the previous version.
As a result, you can expect a better, faster performance in iPad Pro 2020 in comparison to its previous version, but it would be a mild difference.
However, this new chip is made to do heavy workload tasks such as editing, gaming, and playing 4k videos. According to Tom’s guide, iPad Pro took 34 seconds to export a 4k video to 1080p after applying the colour filter and transition in the Adobe rush app which is 46 seconds faster than the iPhone 11.
5. Mouse and Trackpad support
Apple users were eagerly waiting to test a new feature on their iPad, which was the mouse and trackpad support. And finally, Apple brings this new feature in iPad Pro 2020 with iPadOS 13.4.
You will see a re-customized version of the cursor on the new iPad. Well let’s say despite a cursor, you’ll see a circle on the most parts on the screen of new iPadOS 13.4. However, this circle will keep changing their appearance according to the program you just have open or while doing a particular task.
The company focused a lot on improving this feature as Apple says,
“The cursor appears as a circle that highlights user interface elements, text fields and apps on the Home screen and Dock, giving a clear indication of what users can click on. Fluid gestures on the trackpad make it easy to switch between apps, access the app switcher and activate the Dock, Control Center and apps in Slide Over.”
Similarly, when you’ll open a document or while typing a blog post, the cursor gets a shape of “I” which you can use for selecting the text. Also, you’ll be able to basic text, creating options like cut, copy, and paste by pressing the right-click button. However, you’ll not get the selecting text feature in Google Docs.
Also, you’ll see the cursor will be disappeared when you hovered it on the app’s icons, and the icons will highlight and become more significant. Meanwhile, you’ll see this feature on most parts of the screen.
Besides, Apple has added a couple of finger gestures or shortcuts in the new iPad 2020. Users can follow these gestures for completing a specific action. Here’re some features that could be helpful:
- Swipe three fingers upside to go to the Home screen.
- Open recent apps by swiping upside and stopping by in the middle.
- Swipe three fingers to the right side to switch the app from recent apps.
- Click the status bar in the upper left side to pull up the notifications.
- Click the status bar in the upper right side to open the Control Center.
- Push the cursor from the bottom of the screen to pull up the dock.
- Use the Split app screen feature by opening an app then dragging and dropping it on the right side of the screen.
Apple says users will be able to use 3rd party mouse and trackpad with the iPad Pro 2020. Also, Apple added that most of the 3rd party apps would work correctly with it.
6. Magic Keyboard
The Magic Keyboard upgrade was one of the enormous updates by Apple. As every Apple user knows that the previous keyboard had some problematic features, they were waiting eagerly for this update.
However, It’ll cost you $349, which is a little more expensive than the previous Smart Folio Keyboard which has the price tag of $199. Plus it comes with a bulky weight of around 641gms which is 57% heavier than the previous version.
Although the new Magic keyboard comes with soft and comfortable keys with a scissor mechanism of 1mm. It is the same scissor mechanism technology that you may already have seen in the keyboard of MacBook Air 2020 and 16-inch MacBook Pro. Almost every user appreciating the build quality and the comfortability of this keyboard, even after using it for long hours.
Moreover, iPad Pro get attaches to the Magic keyboard using the magnetic connection of the keyboard. Because of the hinge in it, the iPad will appear as it’s floating in the air which gives you a futuristic feel. You’ll be able to rotate it up to viewable angle from 85 to 130 degrees.
Users will also get a USB C port which you can use to charge the iPad. However, you’ll not be able to connect any accessory like external disk and displays through this port which is quite disappointed.
Besides Magic keyboard comes with a folio-style design. This design helps the user to keep their iPad safe from any accidental stroke even when they are not using it.
7. Augment Reality and LiDAR scanner
From the past few years, Apple is considering the Augment reality features in its devices. Augment reality technology allows a user to interact with the real-world environment through computer-generated information. Photos, videos, and audio are the primary examples of this technology.
To make a further step in this technology, Apple added a new feature in the new iPad Pro 2020. And, you haven’t seen this feature in any Apple product before. It’s the new LiDAR scanner.
LiDAR scanner will measures the time is taken by an app to reach a real-world object and then reflect back. It measures the devices that are five meters away at the photon level at nano-second speeds. Now imagine the image you’ll get when the iPad will get data from its two cameras plus it’ll also get depth points measured by the Lidar scanner.
In simple words, gone are the days when you use to stand still to scan a real-world object through your Apple device. The main objective of adding a LiDAR scanner in the new iPad is to get an accurate real-world image, with an instantaneous and without any lag. This new update will help to run 3d games and applications in a better and smoother way.
Subsequently, iPad Pro 2020 also introduces an app named “Measure” which allows its users to calculate a person’s height automatically through the LiDAR scanner. Also, Apple will add the ruler view, some new vertical and edge guides to help people measure the objects in an accurate and faster way.
Also Read:– Apple MacBook Pro 2020 13-inch
8. Cameras
Let’s talk about one of the most appreciative features of the iPhone products, which is their cameras.
Similarly, Apple introduces a new dual-camera system in iPad Pro 2020 12.9-inch. Users will see two cameras in the new iPad, one with 10MP ultra-wide lens and f/2.4 aperture and the other one have 12-megapixel wide-angle with an f/1.8 aperture.
On the other hand, the previous iPad version had only a wide camera of 12 MP. The new ultra-wide camera supports zooming from 1x to 0.5x. The new cameras come with a default field view of 125 degrees. However, Apple said that users could obtain two times a more full field of view, different cinematic perspectives, and multi-camera use by using zoom in/out features. Users can activate it by simply pressing one of the two switches to an ultra-wide view on the zoom button.
The quality of captured photos in the new iPad was not as high as compared to the iPhone 11. Still, it has sharper and better colour quality than its previous version. It works well in both indoor and outdoor shoot. Likewise, The focused object in the picture will be seen as relatively sharp, with a natural amount of colours with the right amount of details. However, you’ll see the unfocused area slightly blurry as compared to the focused object in the picture.
Besides, iPad Pro 2020 19-inch will comes with great camera features such as 5x digital zoom, True Tone Flash, 63-megapixel panoramas, noise reduction, smart HDR and Live Photos support. iPad Pro 2020 models come with auto image stabilisation, but like the previous models, they are also lack of optical image stabilisation.
After that, if we talk about video new iPad can record 4K videos at the frame speed of 60/per second. Also, you’ll be able to make slow-motion and time-lapse videos. Plus the cinematic video stabilisation can help you to make stabilised videos at 720p to 1080p without using a stabiliser device.
Also here’s a sample video by tom’s guide which is recorded on iPad Pro 2020.
Moreover, tom’s guide mentioned their camera dislike by telling some low points of iPad Pro 2020. Like you can use portrait mode only with 7MP TrueDepth front camera. It doesn’t offer a low light camera quality as we see in iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. Also, night exposure quality is not good as compared to the quality we get while using true Night Mode with Apple’s computational photography assistance.
9. Battery life
Moreover, come to another important aspect of Apple device, which is battery performance. In iPad Pro 2020 12.9 inches, you’ll get a 36.71-watt-hour battery. Apple improved here as the iPad Pro 11-inch comes with a 28.65-watt-hour battery.
Most of the users found that the new iPad can give 10 hours as a battery backup. They used it for basic daily tasks such as checking E-mails, browsing the internet, taking photos or streaming videos. However, battery backup time can reduce to one hour if you use the iPad over a cellular network using LTE.
Likewise, you can charge iPad Pro 2020 over USB-C charger with 18W power adapter that you will get with the iPad. You’ll get a 1-meter cable with the charger which is a con because of its small length. Although Apple also provides a 2-meter cable that you can buy in $19.
Also Read:– Apple & Google Are Collaborating to Develop Covid-19 Contact Tracing for Devices
9. Apple Pencil
Apple introduced Apple Pencil first time in 2018, and till now it comes with two generations. iPad Pro 2020 12.9 inch supports the second generation of Apple Pencil, which costs around $129.
You can draw, sign the documents and can feel the paper-like writing experience with it. Don’t Also you don’t have to pick a tool simultaneously to work with Apple pencil. All you have to tap twice on the screen to change it to an eraser from a pen or brush.
Further, the thickness of the line will depend on the pressure you’ll put on the screen through this pencil. And when you tilt the pencil, it will detect automatically to work as a shading pencil.
Moreover, iPad will wake up and take you to notes app when you double-tap on its screen with Apple pencil. Also, you’ll be able to use third-party apps with the Apple pencil. Although you’ll feel a bit less smooth experience while using it with third-party apps as compared to Apple default applications.
You can attach Apple pencil to the top of iPad easily. Using the magnets iPad connect to the Apple pencil and start charging it. Plus iPad will begin showing the charging percentage of it.
10. Prices and Where to Buy
There are a total of 20 different models of iPad Pro 2020. However, the new iPad only comes in two colours- Space Grey and Silver.
We made a separate category of all iPad models based on the storage memory. In that category, you’ll find four variations of iPad Pro, which are 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. The bigger the storage, the higher the price.
Plus you’ll find two other variations, the first one is based on Wifi connectivity and the second one comes with the Celluar network. The model with the cellular network cost higher than the model with the wifi connectivity.
Here is the price table to understand you better about all these variations:-
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 1 TB silver | $1649.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 1 TB – Space Gray | $1649.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 128 GB – Silver | $1149.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 128 GB – Space Gray | $1149.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 256 GB – Silver | $1249.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 256 GB – Space Gray | $1249.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 512 GB – Silver | $1449.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Cellular, 512 GB – Space Gray | $1449.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 1 TB – Silver | $1499.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 1 TB – Space Gray | $1499.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 128 GB – Silver | $999.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 128 GB – Space Gray | $999.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 256 GB – Silver | $1099.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 256 GB – Space Gray | $1099.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 512 GB – Silver | $1299.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2020): Wi-Fi, 512 GB – Space Gray | $1299.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro-Magic Keyboard (2020) | $349.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro Smart Keyboard Folio (2018) | $199.00 |
| 12.9-inch iPad Pro Smart Keyboard Folio (2020) | $189.98 |
| Apple Pencil | $99.99 |
Certainly, you can order it from Amazon and Apple official online store. Although all offline stores are closed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
In short, here is the review of iPad Pro 2020 12.9 version. Now there is a big debate over iPad that will the new iPad replace the Laptop. Well honestly, if you want a lightweight device because you travel from place to place and create content, let me tell you a few points. First, if you combined iPad with the magic keyboard, it weighs around 1342gms which is nearly heavy as a Macbook Pro 2020 13-inch. Second Chrome isn’t well optimised with the new iPad. Also, you will find a bit of trouble while doing multitasking on it.
Consequently, Apple has made a lot of improvement in the new iPad but still, we can’t compare it with a laptop. Yes, you can go for it if you’re looking for a tablet first to organise your daily goals such as making a to-do list, browsing internet and drawing with Apple pencil. Although let’s see if we’ll see another update in WWDC 2020.
Hope this post will help you to find more about iPad Pro 2020 12.9 inches. Tell us your opinion in the comments. And share with us how’s your experience with it.
