iPad Pro 12.9 (2020) review
Our Verdict
The iPad Pro 2020 (12.9 inch) is the best tablet y'all can buy, with blazing speed, long battery life, improved cameras and trackpad support. But it's not a great laptop replacement (however).
For
- Fast A12Z Bionic performance
- Bright display
- iPadOS'due south new and improved cursor control
- Magic Keyboard actually feels magical
- Long battery life
Against
- Charging string also short
- Some apps not optimized for trackpad
- Rear cameras can't do portraits or Nighttime mode
Tom's Guide Verdict
The iPad Pro 2020 (12.ix inch) is the best tablet you can buy, with blazing speed, long battery life, improved cameras and trackpad support. Just information technology'south not a peachy laptop replacement (yet).
Pros
- +
Fast A12Z Bionic operation
- +
Bright display
- +
iPadOS's new and improved cursor control
- +
Magic Keyboard actually feels magical
- +
Long battery life
Cons
- -
Charging cord too brusk
- -
Some apps not optimized for trackpad
- -
Rear cameras tin't do portraits or Night style
The iPad Pro 2020 (12.ix inch) wants to be more than a quasi-computer. Upwards until now, the iPad Pro has was been more similar a tablet on steroids, beating a lot of laptops on speed and battery life only certainly not on computing comfort.
The new iPad Pro is a lot more evolved. iPadOS now fully supports cursor input, and there's a new (pricey) Magic Keyboard with a trackpad and satisfying scissor switches.
iPad Pro 2020 specs (12.9 inch)
OS: iPadOS xiii.four
CPU: A12Z Bionic
Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Display: 12.9 inches (2732 10 2048 pixels) 120Hz
Rear cameras: 12MP wide (f/1.8), 10-MP ultra-wide (f/two.4)
Video: 4K up to 60 fps
Front camera: 7MP TrueDepth
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, optional 4G LTE
Battery: 36.71 watt-60 minutes
Battery life (tested): ten hours 16 minutes
Size: eleven.04 10 8.46 10 0.23 inches
Weight: ane.41 pounds
The iPad Pro 2020 (12.nine-inch) as well ups the ante in the performance department with a A12Z Bionic scrap with an 8-core graphics engine, a new dual-camera organisation that includes an ultra-wide lens and a LiDAR scanner that offers a more than responsive augmented reality experience.
Only make no mistake. As you'll come across in our full iPad Pro 2020 review, the iPad is still a touch-first device, and it will take time for developers to optimize their apps for trackpad input. Overall, this is one of the best tablets ever made, and the closest Apple tree has come up to making a laptop replacement. Anyone looking for an Android-based alternative should check out the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 or S7 Plus.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Cheat canvass
- The iPad Pro'due south A12Z Bionic chip makes this the fastest tablet yet and even more powerful than the Surface Pro 7.
- The cursor control on the iPad Pro 2020 works well overall, but some apps like Google Docs need to exist optimized for text selection to work.
- The new LiDAR scanner supercharges AR apps past making setup instantaneous, though it will have fourth dimension for developers to have total reward of the new ARKit.
- An ultra-wide camera gives the iPad Pro 2020 more versatility for photographers.
- The iPad Pro lasted over 10 hours no our web surfing battery test, which beats most Windows-powered 2-in-1s.
- The Magic Keyboard with trackpad is a swell accessory, if only information technology weren't so expensive
iPad Pro 2020 review: Release engagement and price
The 12.9-inch iPad Pro had a release date of March 25. It starts at $999 for 128GB of storage. You can upgrade to 256GB for $1.099, 512GB for $1,299 or 1TB for $1,499. Upgrading from Wi-Fi to Wi-Fi + Cellular costs $150.
The iPad Pro does not include the Apple tree Pencil or a keyboard. The Magic Keyboard costs $349, and the Apple Pencil (2nd generation) costs $129. Bank check out our iPad deals page for the latest sales and discounts.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Pattern
The iPad Pro 2020 is practically identical to its predecessor, and that'south not a bad thing. This 12.nine-inch slab is almost all screen, with narrow bezels on all 4 sides, rounded corners and an ultra-slim profile.
The biggest visual difference is effectually the back, where you'll find a square camera crash-land in the upper left corner that houses the dual cameras and LiDAR scanner. Aesthetically, it's very much like the iPhone xi Pro.
When viewed from the front in landscape manner, at that place'southward still a magnetic strip on the meridian edge for attaching the Apple Pencil. The just port is on the right, a USB-C port for charging and plugging in accessories. Like the 2018 model, the iPad Pro houses a TrueDepth camera up front, which enables Face ID for quickly unlocking the device.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2020 measures the same eleven.04 x 8.46 x 0.23 inches and weighs a bit heavier than the previous model at 1.41 pounds compared with 1.39 pounds for the 2018 iPad Pro. That weight goes upwardly just a tad to 1.42 pounds for the Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the iPad Pro.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Display
The Liquid Retina brandish on the iPad Pro 2020 is amid the best screens on any mobile device. Information technology'south bright, colorful and leverages ProMotion applied science for automatically adjusting the refresh charge per unit upwardly to 120Hz.
When watching the trailer for James Bail No Fourth dimension to Die, the iPad Pro'due south display rendered 007's Aston Martin DB5 with exquisite particular equally its twin machine guns popped out of the headlights. In another scene, Daniel Craig'southward stern and boxing-worn face stood in stark contrast to a gorgeous span he was throwing himself off of.
Based on our lab tests, the iPad Pro's display emits an average effulgence of 559 nits, which is considerably brighter than the Surface Pro 7's screen (395 nits) and the panel on the Surface Pro Ten (417 nits).
The iPad Pro's screen also delivers a wide assortment of colors, registering 122.nine% of the sRGB color gamut. The Surface Pro 7 and Surface Pro X hit 102% and 103% respectively. You tin expect very authentic colors equally well, as the iPad Pro turned in a Delta-Due east score of 0.34. A score of 0 is perfect on this test.
iPad Pro 2020 mouse and trackpad support
A long-overdue feature for the iPad is finally here with iPadOS 13.4, and that'south trackpad support. No longer relegated to beingness an accessibility feature, iPadOS at present has a redesigned cursor that appears as a circle on the screen. And this circumvolve morphs into unlike shapes depending on what y'all are doing.
For example, on the Abode screen the cursor disappeared as I hovered over various app icons and the icons themselves became bigger. And in the Photos app the circle highlighted the Share and Heart icons in a small box as I hovered over them. When y'all're in a certificate, web page or electronic mail, the cursor becomes an I-beam for selecting text and right-clicking works for copying text. Annoyingly, Google Docs doesn't even so support selecting text, though.
Because Apple's Magic Keyboard, which includes a trackpad, isn't available yet, I tested it with Apple's oversized Magic Trackpad ($129) instead. This accessory gave me a taste of what to expect, though you tin also use tertiary-party Bluetooth mice.
I swiped with three fingers up to go to the Home screen, swiped up with three fingers and paused to show the App Switcher and switched between apps with a three-finger swipe to the correct. You tin also pull up the dock past pushing the cursor past the lesser of the screen, activate Command Center by clicking the status bar in the upper right corner and pull upward Notifications by clicking the status bar in the upper left corner.
iPadOS' Slide Over and Carve up View gestures are also fairly piece of cake to activate when using a mouse or trackpad. To split the display betwixt ii apps, you but open up an app from the dock and elevate it to the left or right side of the screen.
iPad Pro Pro 2020 review: Magic Keyboard
The Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro 2020 is a huge upgrade over the older $199 Smart Keyboard Folio accessory, but it'south besides a lot more expensive at $349. (The Magic Keyboard for the xi-inch iPad Pro is $299.) What do y'all get for that high cost?
Our iPad Pro Magic Keyboard review explains that while this accompaniment helps make the iPad Pro more like a real laptop — an excellent keyboard and a touchpad help — in that location are asterisks.
Not only is information technology expensive, but docking it with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro brings its weight to almost three pounds (the xiii-inch MacBook Pro is 3.i pounds) and the 11-inch iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard combine to 2.three pounds, which is a half pound away from the MacBook Air.
The keyboard really stands out considering its clicky keys provide a improve feel and stronger feedback than the fabric-textured keys on the Smart Keyboard Folio. The Magic Keyboard uses the same scissor-style mechanism every bit found on the MacBook Air 2020 and xvi-inch MacBook Pro.
We just wish its touchpad had a gesture for activating the dock and that third-party apps could catch upwards to Apple.
iPadOS' recent cursor and trackpad optimizations came just at the right fourth dimension, and we like how effortless it feels to swap between apps by swiping three fingers left and right on the touchpad. It's a smaller touchpad than y'all go on MacBooks, but every inch of it is clickable, different many PC laptop touchpads.
The coolest part of the Magic Keyboard is the floating blueprint that makes it appear as if your iPad Pro is just hovering above your keyboard. You tin can accommodate the iPad Pro between virtually 85 to 130 degrees, which beats the pair of positions the Smart Keyboard Page allowed, just we still wish it moved a bit more.
Does the Magic Keyboard turn the iPad Pro into a MacBook killer? Almost, but not yet.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Functioning
The iPad Pro 2020 includes an A12Z Bionic processor that offers an viii-core CPU and a new viii-core GPU that'south designed to provide a big boost in graphics performance.
On Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the iPad Pro 12.9 scored 4,720 on the multi-core portion and i,126 on the unmarried-cadre exam. That's a mild improvement over the last iPad Pro with the A12X Bionic chip, which turned in respective scores of 4,635 and 1,114.
By comparison, the Surface Pro 7 scored a lower four,443 on the multi-score Geekbench 5 test and a higher 1,241 on single core, and that's with a 10th gen Intel Cadre i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. The Surface Pro Ten, which has an ARM-powered Microsoft SQ1 chip, couldn't run Geekbench five.
Yous should expect fast real-earth performance as well. The iPad Pro took only 34 seconds to export a 4K video to 1080p after applying a colour filter and transition in the Adobe Rush app. The iPhone 11 Pro needed 46 seconds to consummate the same task.
The iPad Pro does deliver more graphics musculus via the A12Z Bionic. On the BaseMark GPU examination, the new iPad Pro scored 21,009, compared to 19,588 for the previous version.
We're in the process of running other benchmarks, some of which are non yet optimized for iPadOS 13.4, and so stay tuned for updates to this review.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Cameras
The iPad Pro 2020 12.9-inch is a bit heavy to conduct around equally a photographic camera, but it'due south now more capable, cheers to the addition of a 10MP ultra-wide camera that complements the standard 12MP wide camera. To switch to the ultra-wide view you lot simply press on the zoom push to switch from 1x to 0.5x.
Based on the shots I captured, the iPad Pro'southward cameras evangelize fairly sharp and colorful results, fifty-fifty if they're a step behind the iPhone xi Pro. In this shot of blood-red blossoms in flower, the white flowers in the center look clear but the left side of the frame looks somewhat blurry. The magenta and the light olive light-green of the filaments in the flowers stand up out. The petals are a nice fair, just not so white that they're excessively diddled out.
I also snapped this photograph of a bird house, and the iPad Pro did a fine task capturing the bright yellowish roof, the pink ornamental bloom and a xanthous-and-bluish butterfly ornamentation. I could as well make out the birdseed really well, and in that location's a fair amount of detail in the nearby tree bark.
Indoors, the iPad Pro captured a well-balanced pic of a candle, and information technology's nice to run across that the wick didn't get diddled out. The surrounding table runner is a bit fuzzy but overall it's a fairly good shot.
The new iPad Pro also shoots up to 4K video. I shot a quick clip of a residential neighborhood, and the tablet did a fine job rendering piffling details, including a leaf blowing by and a small American flag waving in the wind. Fifty-fifty equally I panned around the footage didn't stutter.
I do have some complaints about the camera. First, the Portrait mode merely works with the 7MP TrueDepth front photographic camera. Second, the iPad Pro doesn't offer a Dark Mode like the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro do. The iPad Pro does offer good exposure in low light, but it's not as proficient as a true Night Mode with Apple's computational photography help.
iPad Pro 2020: LiDAR scanner and AR
The iPad Pro 2020 has a feature we've never seen before on whatsoever Apple device. Information technology has a LiDAR scanner on the back (also known as fourth dimension-of-flying sensor) that measures the time it takes to reach an object and reflect dorsum. The goal is to enable developers to build more than compelling augmented reality apps, though I already notice a big difference with existing apps.
Normally when yous burn up an AR app like IKEA Identify, yous have to spend a few seconds scanning the floor or surface in guild to start using the app. Thanks to this LiDAR scanner, which works in close concert with the A12Z Bionic scrap and Apple's Neural Engine, AR placement is now instantaneous.
I was able to place Ikea'southward Symphonisk table lamp on a table right abroad on a tabular array in my living room and get a close-upwardly view without lag. I also enjoyed playing a round of Angry Birds Isle of Pigs in my dwelling house part; the 3D game board appeared on my floor instantly and I and then started flinging birds into TNT and nearby pigs with abandon.
The next step is for developers to get their hands on Apple'south new ARKit 3.5, so they tin can take advantage of new capabilities, such every bit being to create a topological 3D mesh of a room and object occlusion, which means that AR content can pass behind and in front of large objects or even people.
iPad Pro 2020: Apple Pencil
The iPad Pro continues to support the second-generation Apple Pencil ($129), which lets you describe, have notes and mark up documents.
The accessory also lets y'all double tap on the Pencil to toggle the eraser on and off. And it'due south just as piece of cake as before to charge the Apple Pencil; you magnetically attach information technology to the elevation of the tablet and it automatically begins charging.
I like that you can wake up the iPad Pro's display with the Apple Pencil and go correct into the Notes app. However, I recall this add together-on is all-time suited for artists or anyone who needs to sign documents on a regular ground.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Battery life
The iPad Pro 2020 12.9-inch is rated for x hours of wireless web surfing. We're in the process of running our battery exam, but in everyday use, the iPad Pro has delivered strong endurance. I have started my workday unplugging at 7 am and have used the tablet for streaming video, taking photos, give-and-take processing and checking email, and it was downwards to 39% by 4pm, so the iPad Pro should be able to final you through nearly days.
The new iPad Pro lasted 10 hours and 16 minutes on the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi on 150 nits of screen brightness. We will exist running the test a few more times to arrive at an average, just this result looks promising versus the Surface Pro 7 (merely seven:thirty) and Surface Pro X (9:45).
My biggest overall gripe with the iPad Pro is its short 1-meter USB-C charging cable. It wasn't long enough to reach from my wall to my dining room table, and even on my home office desk, information technology was a challenge to charge the iPad Pro without taking the surge protector off the flooring and placing it on my desk. Apple tree really needs to include a longer cable, though you can buy a 2-meter cable for $19.
iPad Pro 2020: Can the new iPad Pro supplant a laptop?
This is a complicated question to answer. I do think the iPad Pro 2020 can supervene upon a laptop for some, especially those who want to travel very calorie-free and creative pros who want to exercise content creation and editing on the go.
Based on my own experience, though, I wouldn't supersede my MacBook Pro with the iPad Pro 12.9. The biggest reason is that the Chrome browser isn't optimized for iPadOS -- at least not still. I spend a lot of time in Chrome on a daily basis, bouncing betwixt email, real-fourth dimension traffic reports and Google Docs, and not having a bookmarks bar that's always visible is a dealbreaker for me.
In improver, I'g someone who jumps from tab to tab in the browser and just expects to start editing documents in Google Docs; on the iPad Pro, you have to open up a divide app and even then you can't get-go editing until you tap the pen icon.
I also expect iPadOS to be smart enough to recognize when a keyboard is fastened and to respond accordingly. For instance, if yous're on the Home screen and start typing, nothing happens. I would wait Spotlight search to come upward then y'all can only type in the name of an app and get. Fortunately, you tin can but hit Control + Space Bar to launch search. Same thing with the App Shop; you should be able to just start typing without having to tap the search icon.
To be off-white, iPadOS has only been effectually as its own thing since September, but I would similar to run into developers outset improve optimizing their apps for cursor and keyboard support without sacrificing the iPad Pro's bear upon-first approach.
iPadOS 14: Features
iPadOS 14 introduces a wide range of improvements, including redesigned widgets that show more info on the habitation screen and redesigned apps that include sidebars and pull-downward menus to provide more PC-like versatility. We particularly Apple Pencil upgrades, like the new Scribble feature that automatically converts handwriting to text and Shape recognition.
Other enhancements include pinned conversations in Letters, site translation in Safari and spatial audio support if you employ AirPods Pro.
iPad Pro 2020 review: Verdict
The iPad Pro 2020 represents an important milestone for the iPad. Past offering a existent keyboard with touchpad, it's a much closer competitor now than ever before with the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Pro Ten. And the iPad Pro gives you snappier performance and longer bombardment life for your money. You also become better cameras with the iPad Pro and the ability to run a new course of AR apps, ii areas where the Surface Pros are far behind.
Still, it'south articulate that developers have not yet optimized their apps for the new cursor control powers in iPadOS, and Apple and its partners should push the platform fifty-fifty further to brand the iPad more touchpad- and keyboard-friendly. I also wish Apple tree included a larger charging cablevision; aye, you get a lot of endurance from this tablet, simply the length of this cord now looks like a joke given the bigger ambitions of this device.
Overall, I highly recommend the iPad Pro 12.ix for those who want a tablet starting time and a laptop second, and nosotros can confirm that the Magic Keyboard is the accessory that iPad Pro owners desire when it comes time to type. Information technology's almost a game-changing accessory for the world's about versatile tablet.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/ipad-pro-12-9-2020
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