iPad Pro 2022: Everything we know so far!

Source: Pocketnow

The iPad Pro series has been one of our favorites due to the combination of hardware it has made available over the last few years. The devices part of the series tend to ship with some of the most powerful components from Apple's stables and, more often than not, provide an unmatched tablet experience.

With iPadOS 16, new features like Stage Manager, Display Scaling, and Freeform will bring a major overhaul to the tablet, and what better way to showcase it than with new hardware. It is expected that before the end of 2022, we may have the chance to see the next generation of iPad Pro, and in this article, we've compiled all the information that's currently available about these upcoming tablets.

iPad Pro 11-inch (2021)

iPad Pro 11-inch is the best of what Apple offers in a smaller form factor. It comes with the M1 Processor and ProMotion display, which provide a power-packed user experience that delivers on all fronts, be it media consumption or productivity-based tasks.

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iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2021)

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro combines the best hardware available in Apple's tablet stable. It comes with the Liquid Retina XDR display with support for ProMotion and is a choice worth looking at for those who need a high brightness panel when on the go.

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Design

Source: Apple

Starting with the design, the 2022 iPad Pro models are rumored to feature minor changes to the overall design. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believed the tablet would feature a glass back this time, enabling wireless charging via MagSafe.

This claim was pursued by 9to5Mac, who then reported that the fragility of a glass-based construction had made Apple consider alternate solutions to introduce wireless charging on the iPad. The publication's sources, familiar with Apple's design plans, reported that prototypes with a more oversized Apple logo made with glass were in production. The cutout created by this piece of glass would serve as the medium for power transmission, while the rest of the chassis would remain aluminum.

The publication even mentioned the prototype features giant magnets to ensure proper adherence and improved safety, and the charging system could provide faster-charging speeds than that of MagSafe on the iPhone.

All in all, users can expect the tablet to feature some changes. But remember that the overall footprint might not change as much because the displays don't seem to exhibit any significant differences.

Display

Source: Apple

Touching on the displays, while many of us may have expected Apple to add bring over its MiniLED tech to the 11-inch iPad Pro, it seems that 2022 is unlikely to be the year in which it happens. While rumors initially pointed out that this component was making its way to the smaller Pro tablet, recent reports from analysts Ross Young and Ming-Chi Kuo state that in its current form, the addition of this technology is deemed too expensive to deliver.

It wouldn't be wrong to assume that the iPad Pro and its available models are unlikely to change in 2022.

But before we head to the next section, lately, there have been rumors about a 14.1-inch iPad that could be in the works. Whether this is a Pro model or just a standard unit is still unknown, but if you were holding out for a larger tablet, similar to Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra, but from Apple, you may have an option coming as soon as 2023.

Performance

Source: Apple

Next up is performance. Until now, the iPad Pro has been touted to be a device with performance headroom that would help it remain relevant well into the future. Well, it seems Apple is planning to extend this limit further by including the latest M2 processor in the iPad Pro.

The iPad Air's recent refresh with M1 further reduced the differences between it and the 11-inch iPad Pro, so the addition of the M2 would only enhance its position in the market. As for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the upgrade to M2 would mean the tablet can better apply the resources available to use features like Reference Mode and Stage Manager on iPadOS 16.

Source: Apple

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Source: Apple

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For those wondering about performance gap between M1 and M2, the M2 is 18% better than its predecessor in CPU performance and has a 35% improvement in GPU performance. However, it's still behind the bar set by the M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra SoCs. Nevertheless, we hope supply chain issues don't force Apple's hand into shipping the 2022 Pro lineup with the M1 processor.

RAM and Storage

As for RAM and Internal Storage, we hope the switch to M2 brings more RAM options for the iPad. With the features on iPadOS 16 deemed to require extensive amounts of RAM, it only makes sense that Apple also offers the 24GB version of the M2 chipset.

We'd peg the iPad Pro to offer a similar 8GB of RAM with its base configuration and increase the memory as users bump up the storage.

And speaking of internal storage, knowing Apple, we could expect another year of SKUs starting at 128GB and going up to 2TB, but we hope the base model changes shipping with 256GB of internal storage this year.

Pricing and Availability

According to Mark Gurman's newsletter, iPad Pro 2022 is rumored to be available either in September 2022 or October 2022. Since we've previously seen iPad Pro models launch in October, it is more likely to be the date for the new tablets.

As for pricing, if Apple does not ship the 11-inch iPad Pro with the MiniLED display, we'd believe the models would cost the same as the current listings.

What we wish to see!

• Improved Base Storage: The current iPad Pro ships with 128GB of base storage. This change was initiated in 2020 when the iPad Pro models featuring the A12Z received the bump up from 64GB. Well, it is now 2022, and we'd say a move up to 256GB, which will let the iPad Pro handle more local files, is a must-have! There's also Memory Swap on the M-series processors to keep in mind, which allows for smoother functionality of Stage Manager.

• Compatibility with Older Accessories: At this point, we all know that Apple accessories are expensive, predominantly the Magic Keyboard, and buying a new one with every iPad Pro release can be deemed wasteful. I hope the upcoming iPad models remain compatible with the current generation of accessories. It'd be excellent to see Apple integrate better hardware or functionality in a new line of accessories, but backward compatibility should be maintained.

• Improved Battery Life: All iPad models to date have come with a claim, offering 10 hours of battery life, but as these devices have become more powerful and valuable, this figure doesn't always suffice or stay true — depending on the apps in use. Hence, we wish to see Apple upgrade the device to feature larger cells. They've done this with the iPhone 13 lineup, plus rumors already point to this happening for iPad Pro, and we hope they're true.

• Reverse Wireless Charging: We hope the addition of MagSafe to the iPad has the added advantage of Reverse Wireless Charging. The rumored battery size increase and MagSafe implementation would help the device serve as the perfect alternative to power up devices in crunch situations.