iPad Pro vs. iPad: Which tablet is right for you? – Tom's Guide UK

Trying to figure out the buying decision of iPad Pro vs iPad? Since Apple has launched the new iPad Pro 2020, complete with a new Magic Keyboard with trackpad, it’s a good time to do a round-by-round analysis of how these tablets compare.

The new iPad Pro is getting a lot of attention because it’s the fastest iPad yet (thanks to its A12Z Bionic processor) but especially because of its optional Magic Keyboard that includes a trackpad. But the iPad is a great entry-level tablet with a fairly large 10.1-inch display, support for Apple Pencil and an optional keyboard of its own with a touchpad.

For many years, shoppers have found the iPad to be a great tablet, and it’s getting better as iPadOS evolves.. But the iPad Pro is evolving to become a viable laptop replacement, and it’s now more worthy of consideration than before. Here’s everything you should know before buying an iPad or iPad Pro.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Specs 

iPad Pro vs iPad: Design and ports

One is modern, the other is still clutching onto 2012’s looks. That’s right, this is a pretty simple comparison. Even though the 10.2-inch iPad released last year has a slightly bigger screen and slimmer bezels than the 9.7-inch iPad it replaced, it can’t hold a candle to the iPad Pro on design. It still looks a lot like the 4th Gen iPad, which came out in 2012.

The iPad Pro is one of the coolest-looking tablets there is; it’s almost all screen, with a slender bezel, that’s available in both 11-inch and 12.9-inch designs. But even though the iPad Pros are larger than the iPad, they don’t feel bulkier or harder to manage. In fact, the 11-inch iPad Pro manages to feel smaller than the iPad, due to its slightly slimmer chassis. The only bad thing you can say about the new iPad Pro is that its three-camera bump on the back is a bit much, but iPhone 11 Pro owners like myself have gotten over them.

Oh, and then there’s the manner of their charging ports. The 10.2-inch iPad sports the Lightning port (which it has since the aforementioned 2012 iPad), which seems to be on the way out. The iPad Pro, on the other hand, features USB-C, which you can charge with the same cable that charges modern MacBooks and many other devices.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Display

We really like the 10.2-inch iPad’s sharp Retina display. Not only does it boast a dense – 2160 x 1620-pixel resolution, it produces 105% of the sRGB color spectrum. It’s also plenty bright, producing 450 nits of brightness.

The iPad Pro’s displays are even better. First off, they offer shaper resolutions, with the  12.9-inch offering 2732 x 2048 pixels and the 11-inch 2388 x 1668 pixels. You should also expect more colors and brighter panels; both the 11-inch iPad Pro (111% sRGB, 572 nits) and the 12.9-inch (128.4% and 484 nits) outperformed the regular iPad. t 111% (11-inch) and 128.4% (12.9-inch) of the sRGB spectrum, and shined even brighter, at 572 nits (11-inch) and 484 nits (12.9-inch).

The iPad Pro’s big wins in the display category is solidified by its 120hz ProMotion display refresh rate, which is a techy way of saying web pages and other content scroll really smoothly. There’s also Apple’s True Tone technology, which adjusts the white balance of the screen to make it look more accurate, according to changes in the ambient light around it.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Keyboard and Apple Pencil

Last year, I was happy to see Apple finally give the regular iPad a smart connector for its smart keyboards. But, when Apple finally gave the iPad Pro a touchpad, in the new Magic Keyboard? I was both surprised and elated.

Yes, after years of barely budging an inch, Apple has optimized iPadOS for touchpad input. This feature was formerly stuck inside of the Accessibility settings. But it appears that the excited reaction to that kinda-hidden feature inside of iPadOS has let Apple know that the public really wanted a touchpad to make the iPad Pro more like a laptop. 

So, meet the Magic Keyboard, an optional accessory for the iPad Pro that’s coming in May, and even works with the previous generation iPad Pros. Not only does it have that touchpad, but it puts the iPad Pro on a cantilever hinge that grants it 130 degrees of movement, whereas the iPad’s keyboard only lets the iPad sit in one position. Another plus is that the Magic Keyboard is backlit. 

However, the Magic Keyboard is very pricey. It costs $299 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $349 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

The good news for the regular iPad is that Logitech is offering a keyboard called the Combo Touch Keyboard Case with Trackpad. It has a backlit keyboard with a trackpad as well, as well as a built-in kickstand that offers 40 degrees of movement. The cost is just $150.

As for the Apple Pencils, much like the recommended pencil for standardized tests, we go with No. 2. The iPad Pro is the only Apple tablet that supports the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil ($129), which conveniently magnetically snaps onto its top edge, where it also charges. That’s a whole lot better than the regular Apple Pencil ($99), which charges by removing its little cap — which is so easily lost — and plugging it into the Lightning port on the side of the iPad. Not only does that look awkward, it just doesn’t feel right either, like the connector may snap off in the port.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Performance

It’s hard to say how much faster the iPad Pro will be, when compared to the normal iPad, but it’s fairly safe to say this is not going to be a fair fight. 

That’s because the iPad Pro rocks the new A12Z Bionic chip with Neural Engine and an 8-core graphics processor, a combination so snappy that Apple says it “outpaces most PC laptops available today.” It’s made for the pro-level applications, such as editing the 4K video that the iPad Pro can record (the iPad can only capture 1080p video), and optimized for the more demanding apps, like the Procreate drawing app and the more-complete Photoshop that Apple and Adobe have worked to bring to the stage. 

Meanwhile the iPad’s A10 Fusion chip is far from new, having debuted on the iPhone 7 in 2016. It’s not a slow chip, it’s just not as fast. On the Geekbench 5 general performance benchmark, the iPad Air (2,519) even beat the iPad (1,429), and the Air uses an A12 Bionic chip, which will most certainly be outpaced by the A12Z chip.

Oh, and the iPad Pro’s for more tricks, thanks to the LiDAR Scanner in the cameras, which greatly improves performance in AR (augmented reality) apps. Those apps, such as Ikea’s app that lets you place items around your rooms, should move even faster, with objects rendering at a speed Apple describes as “instantly,” among other enhancements.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Battery life

While we’ll likely see faster charging on the iPad Pro with its USB-C port, the iPad may win this round in the end. Apple rates the new iPad Pro for lasting up to 10 hours (for both models) when surfing the web, a time that the iPad beat with a time of 11:58 on our battery test. We can’t wait to test the iPad Pro’s endurance for ourselves.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Value and price

While this face-off feels a little lopsided in the iPad Pro’s favor, let’s break down how much you’re gonna pay to get these devices, to see how much more expensive the Pro is. For starters, its $799 price tag is so big, it covers two iPads, with $141 left over (just $18 shy of the iPad’s Smart Keyboard’s price). 

And if you get the 11-inch iPad Pro with both the new Magic Keyboard (the touchpad beckons) and the 2nd Gen Apple Pencil, your total is $1,227… which is more than twice as much as it costs to get the two iPads with Smart Keyboard covers and Pencils. So, you’re going to need to ask yourself how much you need pro-level apps, and how much you want to spend to get them moving speedily on a tablet.

Because at this price, in this economy? The iPad’s $329 price is still one of its best features, at least in Apple’s ecosystem.

iPad Pro vs iPad: Early verdict

Overall, the iPad continues to be a great value, especially for students or for anyone who wants a solid tablet for work and play. You’re not going to get the fastest performance, but the regular iPad lasts a long time on a charge and it offers a bright and colorful display. And even though the first-gen Apple Pencil isn’t ideal, you can still write and draw on the iPad. With third-party accessories like Logitech’s keyboard, the iPad can pinch hit as a mini laptop.

However, if you want the power to truly replace your notebook, the iPad Pro has the potential to do just that. Its A12Z Bionic processor should be able to keep pace with — or exceed — the performance of Windows laptops. And the dual camera system combined with the LiDAR sensor will let you capture content and use a wide variety of AR apps without lag. 

Once we’ve seen how the iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard works in our own hands, we’ll start to get a better understanding of the case for spending so much more than what it costs to get a regular iPad. But for the iPad superfans among us, those who are already editing videos and podcasts on the tablet, the new iPad Pro looks like it could be worth the splurge.

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