Apple unveils M1 silicon-powered iPad Pro 5G; India price and availability details

Apple on Tuesday (April 20) pulled the wraps off the much-awaited iPad Pro (5th Gen) at the Spring event streamed live online from its HQ in Cupertino.

Like the previous generation, the new iPad Pro is available in two sizes --11.0-inch and 12.9-inch but comes with fully beefed up internal hardware.

As speculated, Apple's 12.9-inch model comes with a micro-LED-based Liquid Retina XDR display with TrueTone, ProMotion and P3 Wide gamut technology. This will enable the device to offer brighter and more contrast display options.

"Engineered with a new cutting-edge mini-LED design that uses over 10,000 LEDs across the entire back of the display, the Liquid Retina XDR display features up to 1000 nits of full-screen brightness, 1600 nits of peak brightness, and a phenomenal 1 million-to-1 contrast ratio to enhance creative workflows," the company said.

On the other hand, the 11.0-inch iPad Pro model features a standard Liquid Retina XDR display with TrueTone, ProMotion and P3 Wide gamut technology. Everything else such as the camera, processor, and other key aspects remains the same.

The new iPad Pro (5th gen) series is the first iPad series to boast Apple's proprietary M1 silicon, which we see in all the latest range of powerful Mac devices.

Apple M1 chipset comes with The 8-core CPU design features the world’s fastest CPU cores in low-power silicon and is backed by the 8-core GPU. They are paired with 16-core Apple Neural Engine, an advanced image signal processor (ISP), a unified, high-bandwidth memory architecture with up to 16GB of memory, 2x faster storage, make iPad Pro more capable than ever.

Key aspects of Apple M1 silicon. Credit: Apple

With M1 Silicon at the heart, the new iPad Pro promises to deliver up to 50 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster GPU performance compared to the predecessor (with A12Z Bionic). Aso, for the first time Apple is offering 2TB storage for an iPad.

It also boasts a feature-rich dual-camera module-- main 12MP wide camera (f/1.8 ) + 10MP ultra-wide ( f/2.4) 5P lens, Sapphire crystal lens cover, Autofocus with Focus Pixels (Wide), brighter True Tone flash, and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) support.

On the front, it features 12MP ultra-wide TrueDepth with 122-degree field of view, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, Portrait Lighting, Retina Flash and more.

"The ISP and Neural Engine in M1 unlock even more capability from the pro camera system, bringing support for Smart HDR 3 for the first time to iPad Pro. And in low-light conditions, the ISP and LiDAR Scanner quickly and accurately focus images and videos to capture incredible details from almost no light at all," the company said.

The iPad Pro (5th gen) supports the new Center Stage, a new experience for video calls. It makes full use of 122-degree field of view on the new front camera and the machine learning capabilities of M1 to recognise and keep users centered in the frame.

Key features of the iPad Pro (5th gen) display. Credit: Apple

If the user moves around, Center Stage feature automatically pans to keep them in the shot. When others join in, the camera detects them too, and smoothly zooms out to fit everyone into the view and make sure they are part of the conversation.

Also, for the first time ever, iPad Pro features Thunderbolt and USB 4 Type-C port. This makes it the fastest, most versatile port ever on an iPad. It supports 4x more bandwidth for wired connections than the previous iPad Pro — up to 40Gbps.

Thunderbolt supports 10Gbps Ethernet and opens up a massive ecosystem of high-performance accessories, like faster external storage and even higher resolution external displays, including the Pro Display XDR at full 6K resolution, all connected using high-performance cables and docks.

Environment-friendly aspects of the new iPad Pro 5G. Credit: Apple

It should be noted that the new iPad Pro now features an enclosure made with 100 per cent recycled aluminum, and 100 per cent recycled rare earth elements in the magnets of the speakers and enclosure.

"iPad Pro remains free of harmful substances, meeting Apple’s high standards for environmental responsibility in materials, renewable electricity, and energy efficiency, and uses wood fiber in the packaging that is recycled or comes from responsibly managed forests," the company said.

Key features of the new iPad Pro 5G. Credit: Apple

The new iPad Pro also supports 5G. Depending on the cellular service provider, the new iPad Pro can support internet download speeds up to 4Gbps. It also features support for eSIM, making it easy to find a network and sign up for a 5G data plan on the spot.

The new iPad Pro 5G supports Magic Keyboard. Credit: Apple

The new iPad Pro is available to pre-order from apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 31 countries and regions, including the US. iPad Pro will be available in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorised Resellers in the second half of May.

The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space grey finishes. The iPad Pro is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations in --Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + Cellular-- models with prices ranging from Rs 71,900 and Rs 2,12,900.

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The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 71,900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 85,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.

On the other hand, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 99,900 for the Wi-Fi model and Rs 1,13,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model from apple.com.

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With the Education programme, Apple is offering discounted pricing to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels. The new 11-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 68, 305, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at Rs 94, 905.

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The second-generation Apple Pencil is available for Rs 9,810 (against MRP Rs 10,900), and the Smart Keyboard Folio for the new iPad Pro is available for Rs 14, 310 (against MRP Rs 15,900)for the 11-inch model and Rs 16110 (MRP Rs 17,900) for the 12.9-inch model for college students. The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro will be available for college students at Rs 26,226 (MRP: Rs 27,900) for the 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 29986 (MRP: Rs 31,900) for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Watch the new iPad Pro (5th Gen) video here:

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