Design and Build

Apple presents the iPad Pro 12.9-inch 5th Gen (2021) in an aluminum body that's been cleaned up, 6.4mm in thickness, and weighs 682g (Wi-Fi) or 685g (Cellular). The newly displayed model has Dark Gray and Blue colors and incorporates the A12X Bionic chip with a 12-Core GPU that dramatically enhances efficiency. The 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is obviously the star here. The Thunderbolt support over USB-C just brought a vast range of peripherals and accessories to enhance data transfer as well as video and audio output.

• Aluminum chassis, 6.4mm thick
• 682g (Wi-Fi), 685g (Cellular)
• Colors: Space Gray, Silver
• USB-C (Thunderbolt)

Display

The iPad Pro 5th Gen a 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display which has a resolution of 2732 x 2048, 264 PPI, and can give 1600 nits of the brightest spot (HDR). Not only the refresh rate of 120 Hz but also the ProMotion technology, True Tone, and the P3 wide color space are the key factors that make the display so good for photo editing and video streaming. Likewise, it uses screen glass that is scratch-resistant, so even if it has the same quality as the 6th Gen, it amazingly outperforms the standard Liquid Retina of the 4th Gen.

• Liquid Retina XDR, 2732 x 2048, 264 PPI
• 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR)
• 120Hz ProMotion, True Tone
• Scratch-resistant glass

Performance and Software

Although it is no different from the 4th Gen in terms of form factor, the chip of the iPad Pro 5th Gen, called the Apple M1 chip, has an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine with 8GB/16GB of RAM and a 128GB-2TB storage support is undoubtedly the most potent in the series. With the software installed being iPadOS 14, the iPad Pro 5th Gen just as expected has the best user experience of any iPads to date, with support for Apple Pencil 2, and pro-level apps. The device is a bit slower than the 6th Gen, but it is very good in multitasking and 3D rendering and can achieve around 1700 and 7300 in Geekbench 5 tests for single-core and multi-core performance, respectively.

• Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU
• 8GB/16GB RAM
• iPadOS 14 (up to iPadOS 18)
• Apple Pencil 2 support

Pricing and Availability

Some time back, during May 2021, the iPad Pro 12.9-inch 5th Gen was initiated by Apple for $1099 (128GB, Wi-Fi) through them and the other outlets. And, the Cellular models being $200 more expensive seem a good deal with 2TB users needing to reach $2199. There are now refurbished options, which will set you back between $700 to $1400. Such a device is a hot offer for people dealing with professional tasks and production processes that need the power and large, high-quality display of an iPad Pro.

• Starting price: $1099 (128GB, Wi-Fi)
• Cellular: +$200
• Refurbished: $700–$1400
• Storage: 128GB to 2TB