Day one of Apple's WWDC was chock full of new product announcements, from a new iMac Pro to HomePod, Apple's first smart speaker.
Somewhat lost in the shuffle were new iPad Pros: a 10.5-inch version that replaces the 9.7-inch one and an upgraded 12.9-inch iPad Pro. You get bigger screens, the more powerful A10X chip, and a whole set of new multitasking features with iOS 11, which is set to debut in the fall. Read on to see how the four slates compare.
NameApple iPad Pro (9.7 inch)Apple iPad Pro (12.9 inch)Apple iPad Pro (10.5 inch, 2017)Apple iPad Pro (12.9 inch, 2017) 
Lowest Price %displayPrice% %seller% $599.00 MSRP %displayPrice% %seller% $799.00 MSRP %displayPrice% %seller% $649.00 MSRP %displayPrice% %seller% $799.00 MSRP Editor Rating Dimensions 9.4 by 6.6 by 0.24 inches 12 by 8.68 by 0.27 inches 9.8 by 6.8 by 0.24 inches 12.0 by 8.68 by 0.27 inches Screen Size 9.7 inches 12.9 inches 10.5 inches 12.9 inches Weight 0.96 lb 1.57 lb 1.03 lb 1.49 lb Screen Resolution 2,048 by 1,536 pixels 2,732 by 2,048 pixels 2,224-by-1,668 pixels 2,732-by-2,048 pixels CPU Apple A9X Apple A9X Apple A10X Apple A10X Operating System Apple iOS 10 Apple iOS 9 Apple iOS 10 Apple iOS 10 Screen Pixels Per Inch 264 ppi 264 ppi 264 ppi 264 ppi Camera Resolution 12 MP Rear, 5 MP Front-Facing 8 MP Rear, 1.2 MP Front-Facing 12MP Rear, 7MP Front-Facing 12MP Rear, 7MP Front-Facing Read the ReviewRead the ReviewRead the ReviewRead the Review
Design and Display
Fundamentally, you're not looking at a lot of design changes. The 10.5- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are still the sleek, aluminum unibody slabs of metal you know and love. Both come with the usual color options of Space Gray, Rose Gold, Gold, and Silver, and you get the familiar Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the front and the usual placement of ports and buttons on the sides. And yes, that includes the headphone jack.
Where you'll see a difference is with dimensions. The new 10.5-inch iPad Pro measures 9.8 by 6.8 by 0.24 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.03 pounds for the Wi-Fi model and a slightly higher 1.05 pounds for the LTE variant. It's slightly bigger and heavier than the 9.7-inch iPad Pro (9.40 by 6.60 by 0.24 inches, 0.96 pounds), giving you more screen real estate without adding much weight.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro hasn't changed much. It measures 12.0 by 8.68 by 0.27 inches and weighs in at 1.49 pounds for the Wi-Fi model and 1.53 pounds for LTE. That's a tiny bit lighter than the old 12.9-inch Pro (1.59 pounds), but no different in other regards.
With displays, you still have the same sharp, high-resolution Retina displays you'd expect on a Pro model. The new 10.5-inch Pro features 2,224-by-1,668 Retina panel with 264 pixels packed into every inch. Despite the larger size, it's still the same pixel density as the old 9.7-inch Pro (264ppi), but a different resolution (2,048 by 1,536).
The new 12.9-inch Pro has the same Retina panel with a resolution of 2,732 by 2,048 (264ppi). Both screens feature all the high-quality tweaks and features, like a wide color gamut, True Tone, fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, lamination, and anti-reflective coating.
In terms of sharpness, you're not going to notice a difference between the older and newer models. However, if you're someone who uses your device outdoors, you'll see that the new iPad Pros are brighter and the white balance adjusts dynamically to make the viewing experience more accurate.
The other big improvement is ProMotion, a technology that allows for a refresh rate of 120Hz. This increases screen responsiveness, makes scrolling more fluid, and reduces latency when using the Apple Pencil to draw. ProMotion can also reduce power consumption by adjusting display refresh rate to match the movement of the content, increasing refresh when playing games and reducing it for basic web browsing.
Hardware and Software
The performance difference between the new iPad models and the old will come from the A10X Fusion processor with 64-bit architecture. It's likely to be a lot more powerful than the A9X on the older models and will even outstrip the blazing fast A10 on the iPhone 7.
That makes both new iPad Pros the most powerful tablets available, which will likely translate into better performance when it comes to new features like multitasking, split screen, and drag and drop.
Of course, that's not to say the older models won't be able to handle it. All four slates will get an update to iOS 11 in the fall, too. Apple has a good track record with optimizing updates and supporting older devices, so we don't expect the previous generation iPad Pros to have any issues running the new OS.
Camera performance might be a little bit improved on the newer models. You still get the same 12-megapixel rear camera and 4K video capabilities, but Apple added optical image stabilization, cutting down on blurry shots and improving low-light shooting. There's also a higher-resolution, 7-megapixel front-facing camera (compared with the 5-megapixel one on the older models), which will make for sharper selfies and better quality FaceTime video. But aside from that, we expect to two devices to perform similarly when it comes to snaps.
See How We Test Tablets
Potentially, the two new iPad Pros could have a better battery life due to display tweaks and optimizations to the A10X, but we'll have to reserve judgment until we get a chance to test it in the lab.
Comparisons and Conclusions
The 10.5-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi model comes in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options that will run you $649, $749, and $949 respectively. For the model with LTE connectivity you're looking at $779 (64GB), $879 (256GB), and $1,079 (512GB).
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The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is even more costly. For the Wi-Fi-only model you start at $799 (64GB), $899 (256GB), and $1,099 (512GB). The LTE model runs $929 (64GB), $1,029 (256GB), and $1,229 (512GB). The older iPad Pros have been removed from the Apple website and are no longer available for sale.
Upgrading from the older iPad Pros to the new models likely isn't going to be worth it for most users. The improvements to display technology are nice and the new A10X processor is powerful, but the A9X is no slouch either. If your slate is still running fine, you'll probably want to hold onto it because you'll be getting iOS 11 along with its new functionality.