Test of the iPad Pro M2 (2022): tablets that fly over the debates

Apple surprised everyone in the spring of 2021 by integrating nothing less than the Mac system on chip into the iPad Pros. A year and a half later, it’s back with the iPad Pro 2022, which benefits from the new flagship engine, the M2, for performances that promise to be breathtaking.

iPad Pro 12,9″ 2022

The new generation of iPad Pro not only follows the natural evolution of Macs, it also advances one of its specificities. By hovering over the screen, the Apple Pencil 2 becomes more present and opens the door to new features. Do these novelties make iPad Pro 2022 tablets as exceptional as their price? The answer in our test.

The 2022 iPad Pro lineup

Before going around the novelties, a point on the range is essential. Storage capacities and options have not changed, but prices have soared due to inflation and currency fluctuations.

128 Go 256 Go 512 Go 1 To 2 To
iPad Pro 11″ Wi-Fi 1069 € 1199 € 1449 € 1949 € 2449 €
iPad Pro 11″ Cellular 1269 € 1399 € 1649 € 2149 € 2649 €
iPad Pro 12.9″ Wi-Fi 1469 € 1599 € 1849 € 2349 € 2849 €
iPad Pro 12,9″ Cellular 1669 € 1799 € 2049 € 2544 € 3044 €

Several psychological levels have been crossed: the 11″ iPad Pro costs no less than €1,000 and the 12.9″ iPad Pro is almost as expensive as a MacBook Air M2. Want a cellular connection? The 5G option has gone from €170 to €200 (or €195 on the 12.9″ 1TB and 2TB). The 12.9″ iPad Pro with 2TB of storage and cellular option thus crosses the bar of 3 000 €!

Prices increase by 16 to 20% depending on the model. It’s not specific to iPad Pro, same bamboozle for other tablets.

A design that has proven itself… and its time

On the outside, the 2022 iPad Pros are identical to their predecessors, which themselves were extremely similar to previous generations. The differences between an iPad Pro 2022 and an iPad Pro 2018 lie in a handful of details: slightly larger photo block, a few tenths of a millimeter thicker, a few fewer holes for the speakers and two small strips in more for cellular model antennas.

The 12.9″ iPad Pro is significantly larger and heavier (682g versus 466g) than the 11″, features that should not be overlooked before purchasing.
iPad 12.9″ Silver and iPad Pro 11″ Space Gray M2

We are therefore still facing two beautiful 11″ and 12.9″ tablets with flat edges and a uniform border around the slab. The manufacturing in aluminum and glass is impeccable, they are fine slates all the more pleasant to look at as they each have a magnificent screen. Well, one more than the other.

Since the previous generation, the 12.9″ iPad Pro has had a mini-LED backlit screen, a technology that provides very high contrast and extremely deep blacks. This is typically the kind of advancement that it’s hard to do without once you’ve tasted it. Not that the iPad Pro 11″ screen is bad, far from it, it’s a cutting-edge LCD (P3 color gamut, brightness SDR up to 600 nits, impressive fluidity with ProMotion…), but it is now overtaken by the screen of its big brother.

mini-LED: everything you need to know regarding the Liquid Retina XDR display

mini-LED: everything you need to know regarding the Liquid Retina XDR display

The mini-LED backlight not only brings real blacks to videos, it also allows the iPad Pro 12.9 “(2021 as 2022) to be fully adapted to HDR content thanks to its higher maximum brightness. Don’t think that’s a benefit reserved for image professionals; this XDR screen showcases the Dolby Vision videos that you can record yourself with an iPhone 12/13/14 much better than the others.

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