Apple announces the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros with M2 SoC; Check Indian price, features and more

After months of rumours and speculations, Apple has finally unveiled the updated versions of their iPad Pro lineup. The new iPad Pro series will be available in 12.9-inch and iPad Pro 11-inch display options.  

Both the new models of the Apple iPad Pro have been equipped with the new M2 processor. The new iPad Pros also bring a bunch of new updated features, mainly focusing on the Apple Pencil, improved connectivity, and a few updated camera features.

We take a look at the updated features, specifications and pricing of the new iPad Pro series and see whether it is worth upgrading to.

Apple M2 iPad Pro: Key features
Both the new iPad Pros are powered by the new M2 chipset, which was earlier seen in the updated 2022 MacBook Air. The M2 CPU features an 8-core CPU, which Apple claims is about 15 per cent faster than the M1 CPU. 

Furthermore, it has a 10-core GPU which delivers up to 35 per cent faster performance in the graphics department, along with a 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning and AI workloads.  The M2 SoC also features 100mbps of unified memory bandwidth, which is about 50 per cent more than the M1 CPU. It also supports up to 16GB of fast unified memory. 

Apple has made support of the Apple Pencil better with a new feature called ‘Hover with Apple Pencil.’ Apple Pencil is now detected up to 12 mm above the display, allowing users to see a preview of their mark before they make it. The new iPad Pro supports the fastest Wi-Fi connections with support for Wi-Fi 6E, which provides downloads up to 2.4Gbps, 2x faster than previous models. There’s also updated Bluetooth 5.3 support and 5G connectivity on the LTE models.

The new M2 has enabled improved camera features on the iPad Pro, even though the camera hardware itself hasn’t changed. The new ProRes encoder allows the iPad Pro models to now record videos directly in Apple’s high-quality ProRes codec and transcodes it up to 3 times faster. The still camera functionality also sees an upgrade from Smart HDR 3 to Smart HDR 4.

Apple M2 iPad Pro: Price in India and availability
The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space grey colours with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB storage options. As before, the 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB configurations come with 8GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB iPad Pros bump that up to 16GB.

The base 11-inch iPad Pro which comes with 128GB storage starts at Rs 81,900 and goes all the way up to Rs 1,91,900 for the 2TB variant, for the WiFi-only variant. For the Wi-Fi + LTE version, the 128GB variant starts at Rs 96,900 and goes all the way up to Rs 2,06,900 for the 2TB storage option.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 128GB storage starts at Rs 1,12,900 and goes all the way up to Rs 2,22,900 for the 2TB variant, for the WiFi-only variant. For the Wi-Fi + LTE version, the 128GB variant starts at Rs 1,27,900 and goes all the way up to Rs 2,37,900 for the 2TB storage option.

Accessories for the Apple M2 iPad Pro
The Apple Pencil 2nd generation is compatible with the new iPad Pro and costs Rs 11,900. The new iPad Pros are also compatible with the Magic Keyboard which is available in black and white for Rs 29,900 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 33,900 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. 

There’s also the Smart Keyboard Folio for the new iPad Pro, which is priced at Rs 17,900 for the new 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 19,900 for the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The Smart Folio without the keyboard is also available in black, white, and marine blue for Rs 8,500 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and Rs 10,900 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.