Design and Build

The iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd Gen (2018) is built of a slim aluminum chassis, 5.9mm thick, and weighs 631g (Wi-Fi) or 633g (Cellular). The device is offered in Space Gray and Silver color variants, and it comes with a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina display and a USB-C port. The lighter design that it carries reshaped the Pro lineup even though it does not have the Thunderbolt support that the newer models offer.

• Aluminum chassis, 5.9mm thick
• 631g (Wi-Fi), 633g (Cellular)
• Colors: Space Gray, Silver
• USB-C port

Display

The 12.9-inch Liquid Retina display used in the iPad Pro 3rd Gen is defined by a resolution of 2732 x 2048 at 264 PPI with the help of 600 nits brightness. The display boasts 120Hz ProMotion, True Tone, or ideal for artists and media enthusiasts and are the unique features. Its overlay is glass that you can draw on scratch-resistant but as all the devices, this 3rd Gen won’t have XDR brightness like the 5th and 6th Gen.

• Liquid Retina, 2732 x 2048, 264 PPI
• 600 nits brightness
• 120Hz ProMotion, True Tone
• Scratch-resistant glass

Performance and Software

Among others, the 7-core GPU of A12X Bionic chip (8-core CPU, 7-core GPU) in the iPad Pro 3rd Gen runs the 4GB/6GB RAM and has the possibility of choosing the storage from 64GB to 1TB. Installing iPadOS 12 or the new version of the OS – iPadOS 17 is quite a light task for this tablet, as it can be seen supporting Apple Pencil 2 and even featuring early pro apps. It can be used for video editing and gaming even though it only scores around 1000 (Single-Core) and 4200 (Multi-Core) in Geekbench 5. They may be video rendering or apps that require super-high performance to run smoothly, which this productivity gadget is not good at, e.g., lags behind the 4th Gen having Geekbench 5 scores roughly 1000 (Single-Core) and 4200 (Multi-Core).

• A12X Bionic chip, 8-core CPU
• 4GB/6GB RAM
• iPadOS 12 (up to iPadOS 17)
• Apple Pencil 2 support

Pricing and Availability

The 3rd Gen iPad Pro 12.9-inch was put on sale in November 2018. The base price was $999 for a 64GB Wi-Fi unit from Apple’s official store and other stores. $150 more should be added for the Cellular models; 1TB models are priced at $1899. If you decide to look for a refurbished product, then definitely set your budget in the range from $500 to $900. The data indicates that people can get a pocket-friendly device and yet have an enlarged and more than enough resolution for multiple tasks through the iPad.

• Starting price: $999 (64GB, Wi-Fi)
• Cellular: +$150
• Refurbished: $500–$900
• Storage: 64GB to 1TB