Apple officially announced the iPad Pro 2018 today in New York. Apple’s latest tablet gets a revamped design, accessories and Face ID. Check out the full list of features below.
Table of Contents
New design
iPad Pro 2018 receives a completely new design, which is inspired by the recent bezel-less iPhones. Smaller screen edges mean that there is more room for the screen.
The new iPad Pro comes in both 12.9-inch and a new 11-inch format. As a result, the home button with Touch ID has disappeared and the screen occupies the entire front of the tablet.
Unlike the iPhone X and XS, the iPad has no notch in the screen. This is because the screen edges are thick enough to process all necessary sensors. This is especially useful with because you use the tablet not only horizontally, but also vertically.
Face ID support
As with the iPhones, Apple has decided to remove the home button from the latest iPad Pro models. That means you will now have to rely on gestures.
Situated above the screen is a TrueDepth camera for facial recognition with Face ID. It works well on the iPhones and is now available for the first time on the iPad Pro.
Earlier, some code found in the beta version of iOS 12.1 suggested that Face ID would also work on the iPad. However, there’s no notch on the top of the screen, unlike the iPhone X and XS.
The reason being that there is enough space on the iPads above the screen to add the TrueDepth camera.
A12X Bionic processor
Apple has also opted to renew the processor with the iPad Pro 2018. The tablet comes with an A12X Bionic chip available that is energy efficient and performs even better while consuming the same amount of power.
The CPU is about 90% faster. According to Apple, this iPad Pro is, therefore, faster than 92% of the laptops of other brands.
The A12X SoC has a 7-core GPU and an 8-core CPU. The graphics are 1000 times faster as compared to the older models. There is also a new Neural Engine in the A12 chip.
Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories
The new iPad also includes a new Apple Pencil. This has an adapted design and from now on you can connect wirelessly to the tablet.
By clicking on the side of the iPad, the cord of the pen will be charged wirelessly and by tapping on the side while drawing, you can switch between different functions. 
Apple also unveiled a new Smart Keyboard Folio for the latest iPad, which protects your iPad Pro and also doubles up as a handy keyboard.
No wireless charging
The iPad Pro 2018 borrows almost all cool features of the latest iPhones, except for wireless charging.
This has to do with several factors, such as the slow speed of wireless charging.
But there are also practical limitations – for example, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is so large that it is difficult to place the device exactly on a charging mat.
USB-C instead of Lightning
Apple switches from a Lightning connection to the USB-C. This has a number of consequences. For example, it is no longer possible to charge and connect the Apple Pencil via the Lightning port.
For this, you must attach the new Apple Pencil wirelessly and magnetically to the iPad Pro. You can now also charge your iPhone via your iPad Pro using a USB-C to Lightning cable.
Liquid Retina screen
Apple has opted for a Liquid Retina screen with the iPad Pros of 2018, as we already know from the iPhone XR. This is the most advanced LCD screen that Apple has ever made.
Liquid Retina quickly refreshes the image and reacts quickly to touch, which is necessary for applications such as designing and drawing.
The iPad Pro also has “Pro Motion”, for a faster refresh rate. You can also find TrueTone on this model so that the colors adapt to the ambient light.
No headphone connection
The iPad Pro no longer has a headphone connection for the first time. With the iPhones, Apple already dropped the headphone jack in 2016.
With the iPad Pro, the disappearance of the headphone jack will be less of a shock. Many people are already used to it and listening to music is much more common on the iPhone. In order to solve this, Apple offers a new USB-C to headphone adapter.
Price and Availability
You can choose from four different storage capacities – 64GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
The 11-inch model starts at $799 (Wi-Fi) and $949 (Wi-Fi + Cellular) and the 12.9-inch model starts at $999 (Wi-Fi) and $1,149 (Wi-Fi + Cellular).
Both models of the iPad Pro are available for order on the Apple Store. The first devices will be delivered on November 7th.
