2021 Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Wi‑Fi, 256GB) - Space Gray

Very fast, very capable, great screen. Coming from a 3rd gen iPad Pro 12.9”, this is not as big of an improvement as I thought it would be. Yes, this is faster but unless you’re a pro or gamer, you probably won’t notice a big difference from the chips a few years ago. The picture, taken on my iPhone XS max, shows a comparison between the 3rd gen iPad Pro 12.9 from 2018 (right) and the new one (left). As you can see in the picture, the contrast ratio is much better on the new, 5th gen iPad Pro 12.9. It’s a little hard to capture on the iPhone but the colors and look of HDR content is excellent. What Apple doesn’t tell you about is the bloom around text and controls on dark screens. It is not quite as bad as this picture makes it appear but it is still quite annoying. Personally, I find the lack of contrast in the older screen more annoying than the bloom in the new one, so I’ll stick with a new one. The other thing that Apple doesn’t tell you is that this new iPad is heavier than the old one by about 50g. It’s not a dealbreaker but it is noticeable. I would say this is definitely an improvement but had I known what I do now, I would’ve just kept my old one for another year or two. I took off two stars because I mainly updated for the screen and Apple really wasn’t honest about light bloom levels. This is really an excellent device; I just don’t like false advertising and expected better.

The 2021 iPad Pro 12.9" with M1 is the premier tablet on the market. Smooth, fast, and beautiful. Apple made a few changes to the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9", most notably the inclusion of the M1 chip and the gorgeous XDR display. The M1 chip is a nice addition, but right now, it still feels like overkill. I switched to the M1 MacBook Pro in 2020 and the improvements were astounding. Those improvements don't really seem to have quite the same impact on the iPad, and that's mostly because it's still a victim to iPadOS. I don't imagine that Apple has any plans on allowing its iPads to run MacOS, due to cannibalization of the MacBook market, but iPadOS has its limitations. I do not think the iPad is ready to replace your laptop quite yet, but the power is there to do so. Apps do tend to pick back up where you left them off more quickly than in previous gens. The XDR display, overall, is pretty gorgeous. Streaming movies, TV shows, YouTube, etc. is really something else. It is a pretty nice and noticeable upgrade over the previous gen. With that said, the XDR display does also suffer from some moderate blooming effects, most notably when you have a bright white image or text displaying against deep black background. It's not terrible, but it is something to be aware of. The battery life is essentially identical to previous generations, and Apple reflects that in its specs. What additional battery life that might have been gained with the M1 chip was probably immediately sucked away with the inclusion of the XDR display. Battery life is totally fine, it's just not better. Is it worth upgrading? If your iPad is at the end of its life or you just really, really want the top-of-the-line tablet on the market, sure, it's a great option. If you have a previous gen iPad Pro and you're perfectly happy with the quality of the display, it probably isn't worth upgrading. At least not until they bring MacOS to the iPad...

Disappointed, I heard some people mentioning the XDR display had some blooming. In use it’s not acceptable. I have a iPhone 12 Pro Max and 2020 iPad Pro 12.9 for work and wanted to replace my MacBook Pro at home with another 12.9 iPad Pro, and. This display is junk, the chip is super snappy. Back to the drawing board Apple.

I wish I would have listened to the other reviews regarding the bloom. It's really noticeable. Once you notice it, you will notice it everywhere. Using the dark theme really brings it out. I can't imagine who approved this at Apple. The contrast ratios are lies. Skip this generation or get the 11".

Sounds: 4.5/5 - loud and sounds good with minimum rattle. Not premium speakers though. Screen: 3.5/5 - the blacks look great, the contrast is extremely wide, everything looks great, but there is a ton of backlight bleed for someone who notices that thing. Areas with a thick black section will have light bleeding over from the nearby lit areas. Picturs uploaded at different brightness intervals. It may not bother some people, I found that I can see it drawing or watching movies with the black background down to about 20%, but I have a keen eye for displays. Display is very bright so high brightness isn't always required anyway, may be an issue for some digital artists who use black backgrounds. It was a bit more noticeable than I was hoping. Drawing quality with pencil 5/5 - keep in mind light bleed may be an issue for you with blacks backgrounds but other than that I like using this in Photoshop. M1 chip is amazing, but this needs more testing. Slightly thicker, but not noticably heavier. I feel like the new magic keyboard tilts back further, I could be wrong but get that one if you scoop up this iPad.

The tablet is good it’s faster than any tablet on the market and it shows the screen is nice and the battery life is basically all day. However I’ve noticed that with the new mini led display when leds are lit around leds that aren’t the light tends to bleed pretty noticeably.