Even as a die hard fan of the iPad platform in general, I have started to realize that processor upgrades barely matter on the iPad at the moment. If you have ANY model of iPad Pro right now, you have a more than capable machine that can run any of the pro apps made for it. A 9.7" iPad Pro from gen 1 will probably still do most things that a 12.9" iPad Pro with the A12z can do, albeit with concessions made for the less RAM. And it will still sound amazing with the quad speakers and look amazing with the fantastic laminated display. Likewise, I doubt users will perceive much performance difference between the 2020 iPad Pro with an A12z and the 2021 iPad Pro on A14x or whatever it ends up being called.
Apple is going to upgrade processors on the iPad continuously, right along with the iPhone, Watch, and Mac, but that is starting to seem like it's more for simplicity than capability. I'm sure it's much easier when it comes to manufacturing and software development to just put all new iOS/iPadOS devices on the same A chips and all new Macs on the same M chips. At that point, the customer is just deciding which external hardware configuration to purchase, and if money is tight, you can also decide if you are able to settle for an older model with slower guts that also probably won't be a huge hit in performance in the eyes of the average user. In other words, if you can still buy it on Apple.com, it's going to run fast and efficient.
I think the continual processor upgrades are more noticeable in the iPhone, which is sucking as much power as it can from that CPU when it comes to photo and video capture (among other things). For the iPad, which is generally NOT a photo/video capture device, if Apple is going to continue the current pace of iPadOS development, the processor upgrades feel more like a branding move than a meaningful CPU performance move.
This is all a testament to how efficient and powerful Apple's hardware and software are though--it's ok to keep moving things forward, even if Joe User doesn't notice what you're doing. That's the way Apple likes to do things. They still paint both sides of the fence, even if you can only see one side. Exhibit A: The M1 Macs are all entry level "regular user" models, and most regular users won't know or care that their Mac has an M1 processor.
