iPad Pro (M1) vs iPad Pro (M2): The only reason to upgrade isn’t the chip

Apple has updated the iPad Pro, its high-end tablet aimed at business users. Essentially, it’s the same tablet that was released in 2021, but it does come with a few key new features. Let’s see how the 2022 iPad Pro compares to what it replaced, the 2021 iPad Pro.

12.9-inch iPad Pro (2022)

11-inch iPad Pro (2022)

iPad Pro (M2): Design

Apple hasn’t changed the build of the iPad Pro with the 2022 update. The company still offers two sizes: 11-inch and 12.9-inch. The 2022 and 2021 iPad Pros have the exact same dimensions, the same bezels, the same buttons, speakers and microphone, and the same silver and space gray color options. As with the older model, the iPad Pro does not support Touch ID in the power button. Instead, it’s the only iPad to use Face ID.

For your reference, here are the measurements for the iPad Pro:

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro: 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.25 inches (280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4 millimeters); 1.5-pound (682-gram) Wi-Fi model; 1.51 pounds (685 grams) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• 11-inch iPad Pro: 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches (247.6 x 178.5 x 5.9 millimeters); 1.03-pound (466-gram) Wi-Fi model; 1.04 pounds (470 grams) Wi-Fi + Cellular

The iPad Pro is now in its fourth generation with the same design, which was introduced in 2018 at a special event in Brooklyn, NY Apple has made a cosmetic change: the 2022 iPad Pro now has an “iPad Pro” on the back. Previous models only had “iPad”.

Apple

iPad Pro (M2): performance and features

Like the design, many features between the 2021 and 2022 iPad Pros are the same, but there are some major updates in the new model.

Processor

This biggest upgrade of the new iPad Pro is the chip: the 2022 model has an M2 processor, which replaces the M1 that was used in the 2021 model. It is the first tablet to have an M2 chip (the iPad Air still has an M1), and one of two Macs, the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M2 is a powerful chip, with eight processor cores divided into four performance cores and four efficiency cores. In our tests, the M2 is about 15% faster than the M1.

The iPad Pro’s M2 chip also has 10 GPU cores, an increase from the M1’s 8 GPU cores. In benchmarks, the M2 improves graphics performance by about 30% over the M1. The M2 also has an improved media engine that includes acceleration for ProRes video, and Apple claims the M2 can transcode ProRes video three times faster than the M1. Apple also claims that the M2’s 16-core neural engine is 40% faster and the unified 100Gbps memory bandwidth provides a 50% boost.

The iPad Pro memory configuration has not changed. On models with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage, you get 8GB of unified memory, while 1TB and 2TB models come with 16GB.

Apple Pencil Overview

This is the major change that users will immediately notice between the old and the new iPad Pro. While both models support the 2nd generation Apple Pencil, the 2022 model has a new feature that Apple calls Hover.

The iPad Pro 2022 can detect the pencil up to 12mm from the screen, allowing users to preview a mark for greater accuracy before applying it. You can also make adjustments, such as resizing a point before placing it, and text fields expand on hover. And it works like a UI pointer, so you don’t have to keep tapping the screen to expand tabs and links.

Apple

Hover won’t be available on older iPads, so if you’re using this feature and relying on it, you should stick to 2022 and newer iPad Pro models.

Connectivity

The iPad Pro continues to use USB-C (with Thunderbolt 4 support) to connect a charger, hard drive, or other accessories. The 2022 iPad Pro also has Bluetooth 5.3, which is an upgrade over Bluetooth 5.0 in the 2021 model (although there’s no noticeable difference yet). And the iPad Pro continues to have 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave) connectivity as an option.

As for Wi-Fi, the iPad Pro 2022 supports Wi-Fi 6E, which allows the tablet to take advantage of the 1200 MHz spectrum. You’ll need a Wi-Fi 6R router to take advantage of it, but it’s a nice continuation over the 2021 iPad Pro Wi-Fi 6.

Display

The displays are identical between the 2022 and 2021 iPad Pros. This means that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro has a Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED technology, while the 11-inch iPad Pro has a Liquid Retina LEDs. Both have ProMotion, but the 12.9-inch model is superior with a peak brightness of 1600 nits when viewing HDR content, more dimming zones for better brightness control and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000 : 1.

Cameras

Like the display, Apple hasn’t changed the camera on the 2022 iPad Pro. The rear camera has two cameras, a 12MP Wide paired with a 10MP Ultra Wide that has 2X optical zoom, a 5X digital zoom and ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (the 128GB iPad Pro can record ProRes video at 1080p at 30 fps). The front camera is a 12MP ultra-wide unit that can use Center Stage during FaceTime calls.

Storage

Storage options for the 2022 iPad Pro are the same as the 2021 model: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. If you want to record 4K video in ProRes format, you need to get a model with at least 256 GB of storage. The 128GB model records ProRes video at 1080p at 30fps and does not support 4K ProRes shooting.

Prices

Prices in the US for the 2022 iPad Pro are the same as the 2021 model. However, prices outside the US have increased significantly. Below are price comparisons for each model in the various storage configurations.

11-inch iPad Pro price

12.9-inch iPad Pro price