Design

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 2022 design is almost identical to the iPad Pro 2020 and iPad Pro 2021. It’s not a problem, as the iPad Pro 2022’s thin bezels are still striking and its sleek aluminum chassis is as machined as ever.

Space Gray and Silver are the only two colors available. For those who want the iPad Pro with as many color options, this could be a problem.

The ports and buttons have not changed. The top edge of the iPad has a button for locking it and Touch ID. There are also two buttons to adjust and raise/lower the volume.

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 Display

The iPad Pro 2022 that I reviewed features a 12.9-inch mini LED display. It has a resolution of 2,732×2,048 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. This is a huge screen size for streaming your favorite YouTube videos and Netflix shows. The stunning XDR display enhances HDR content.

Sound

The iPad Pro’s four speakers deliver a punchy, room-filling sound like its predecessor. They sounded just as good on the iPad Pro as on a stereo. I say almost because the bass wasn’t as thumping for me as I would like.

Performance

The iPad Pro 12.9 2022 comes with an M2 chip. It should not be surprising that the tablet performs better than its predecessor.

The iPad 2022 scored 1,862 in the single-core portion of the Geekbench test and 8,500 in the multicore test. The M1-powered iPad Pro scored 1,722 points and 7,298, respectively. These numbers completely destroy the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Galaxy Tab S8 (1.208 single-core, 3.228 multicores).

Cameras

The cameras of the new iPad Pro are identical to last year’s model. This is a plus and a minus, depending on what you expect. The rear and front cameras are excellent at taking solid images, so I’m not concerned that they won’t change.

Battery

The iPad Pro 12.9 2022 lasted 10 hours and 39 minutes using Wi-Fi during Tom’s Guide battery testing. This test involves web surfing at 150 nits brightness. This is slightly less than the new iPad Pro 2022’s 10 hours, 57 minutes and 10 minutes, but much longer than the iPad Air 2021’s 10 hours, 9 minutes.

The included 20W charger charges quickly and provides decent charging times. It took us 15 minutes to charge the iPad Pro from 10% to 20%. It is about the same time as last year’s model.

Software

Pre-installed with iPadOS 16, the iPad Pro 2022 is pre-loaded. Stage Manager allows you to bring whatever you are working on into the middle of your screen and then relegate your other open apps to a pile of tiles at the sides. The tiles are small, so you can focus on the task while keeping track of everything else. This is a great productivity feature. It can be enabled on your iPad and MacBook to give you a dual-screen experience with Universal Control.

There weren’t any noticeable differences in Stage Manager between the iPad Air 2022 powered by M1 and iPad Pro 2022. The feature worked as advertised. I will need to wait until I can determine if Stage Manager is something I will use over the long term.

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 Feature

Apple Pencil Hover preview is another big feature of iPad Pro 2022. This feature is only available to M2-powered slates. The iPad Pro detects the Apple Pencil at 12 mm above its display. This preview lets you see your mark in advance.

Some third-party apps may also support this feature. ProCreate allows you to see how colors blend together before you put the pencil tip down. Pixelmator Pro allows you to preview filter changes as you hover your pencil over photos

Opinion

The new iPad Pro 2022 has mixed reviews from me. It’s an objectively well-designed device that delivers all you would expect from the premium iPad line. You can watch videos, play games, chat with others, browse the web, draw, and do more. It should be future-proofed by the M2 chip that powers it. The iPad Pro is a fantastic tablet for its features and it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking to buy their first Pro model tablet.