New iPad Pro Announced With A12Z Bionic Chip, Magic Keyboard With Trackpad, LiDAR Scanner, Ultra Wide Camera

[MRrainer]

Holy Smokes. 350 for a keyboard. Admittedly, it has a trackpad.
I think I paid 200 bucks for a Das Keyboard 4 (with a five year warranty). And that's 10 times the amount they pay for the normal keyboards at work....

 

[smulji]

OK, I'm sold.
Hopefully someone will have some doomsday change left to buy my 2017 12,9 Pro 😁

Buy less toilet paper
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Glad I went ahead and bought the 2018 iPad Pro. this seems very iterative, especially performance. Really happy to see trackpad compatibility with 2018 models. Nice move by Apple. I assume this is iterative as the 2018 is still probably well ahead performance at this point in time. Wonder how the A12Z stacks up against the A12X.

This is a great time to buy refurbished models. Some pretty good deals actually on Apple's site.

 

[Macshroomer]

All for the low low price of....ohhhhh, economic crash, whomp-whomp.

 

[ripsaw650]

I'm thinking I will go with the 2018 iPP from the Apple Refurbished store for $550 USD... That will be a huge upgrade from my current setup. I personally have no use for the camera improvements and it doesn't sound like the A12xyz is much of an improvement.

 

[ericwn]

I've been calling the trackpad for 2 years at least.

And let me guess, it never picked up?

 

[jmgregory1]

The way I look at it, paying $350 for the new keyboard gets me what will feel like a brand new iPad Pro (12.9”) for my ~year old device. I don’t think the rest of the improvements to the iPad Pro are enough to get me to upgrade to the new iPad Pro, but the new keyboard and trackpad are a must for me. Plus add in the new hinge USB-C port and I assume better key movement, it’s really a no-brainer to update the keyboard.

 

[fbr$]

...as well as why Apple is using the A12 vs A13.

To make the 2020 iPad Pro become obsolete in 18 months.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

I'll wait for this iPad to hit Amazon. Also do not care for the trackpad, but hopefully this will work with the "old" keyboard only case.

It will, but that new camera won’t fit the old keyboard’s cutout. There are going to be a number of sales on iPad covers until the new Keyboard ships

Backlit, trackpad, all the same function

But, unfortunately, Bluetooth. I really have never understood why third parties don’t use the smart connectors.

Also, isn't it interesting that there are no benchmarks to see the speed between A12 and this new chip?

Yeah, no “twice as” or “70% more” or anything.

 

[TheAustrianGuy]

I almost never skip an iPad refresh, as I had been wishing for a computer like the iPad since I was a kid (I‘m in my mid-40s), and I‘m somewhat completely crazy about it still

But this iteration, I‘m skipping. Thanks Apple for saving me money with this mediocre (at best) upgrade

 

[deconstruct60]

The A12Z has 1 more GPU core than the A12X. No further information as far as I am aware.

This is a bit vague from the marketing page.

"... And the Apple‑designed Neural Engine enables on‑device machine learning ready for the next generation of pro apps. ".

Back when Apple introduced the A12's Neural Engine they called it "next generation". The A13 has a 3rd generation one.
Depends upon what kind of die growth ( and transistor budget ) Apple was throwing at this Z as to whether or not bumped that up a bit also.

Or just bringing the upsized "12" generation into symmetry with the CPU cores ( 8 and 8 now ) . Might have even done it that way from start and just throttled it back so that could get easy update bump later on ( and save a few bucks on wafer costs in the interim. ) .

 

[Sanlitun]

Is the display in any way different than previous model?

 

[BeatCrazy]

The way I look at it, paying $350 for the new keyboard gets me what will feel like a brand new iPad Pro (12.9”) for my ~year old device. I don’t think the rest of the improvements to the iPad Pro are enough to get me to upgrade to the new iPad Pro, but the new keyboard and trackpad are a must for me. Plus add in the new hinge USB-C port and I assume better key movement, it’s really a no-brainer to update the keyboard.

I just came to the same conclusion regarding my current 11" iPad Pro. I had the 2020 model in my cart, about to click buy. Then I realized: I'd have a "new" 11" model, that wouldn't have this fancy new keyboard until May, while my 2018 iPad w/Smart Keyboard just sits here looking jealous.

So, I'll hang tight until May and shell out the $300 to make my 2018 model more useful than ever. Maybe if the 2020 12.9" has some mind-blowing real-world performance improvements, I'll talk myself into that one

 

[1BadManVan]

Curious if they are holding out on the a13/a14 series chip for the mini led models

also wondering if they quietly beefed up the frame to avoid the bending issues

 

[T-R-S]

No Multi user support in Pad iOS?
$349.00 for the KB Yikes!
sorry no sale here - sticking with my Gen 1 12.9 IPP

 

[SRLMJ23]

I'm intrigued to know more about this A12Z chip! Sounds like beefed up graphics power (8 core graphics is specified on the website) over the A12X? Considering how powerful the A12X already was even if this has the same CPU power it's still going to be an incredible performer!

I am with you on that. I want to know a lot more about the A12Z.

Overall, a nice iPad with a great looking keyboard and trackpad, however, I am waiting until the next release (I guess Fall?) because as others have said, this is like the iPad 3...also, I was hoping for a mini-LED screen now. I am in no rush to replace my iPad Pro as I do not use it near as much as my MBP's & iPhones, AND as others have said, I have not found any app that makes my iPP have any issues performance wise. Not having 5G is not an issue now, but I would rather wait and get a model that supports 5G because that just future proofs it more, especially because I do not update my iPads yearly like I do my iPhones and for the most part my MacBook Pro's.

This is A12Z does intrigue me though!

 

[kreasonos]

I like this for plane flights but... I still don't really see the advantage over a 14" MBP unless it's just cheaper. A traditional laptop is probably still more comfortable to use in bed and with a mouse.

 

[SRLMJ23]

I assume now that Apple is clearly embracing mouse support in iPadOS we get better cursor support instead of the circle. I have been using my iPad Pro only for the last few weeks and it absolutely can replace 95% of all of my needs and once medical schools allow iPads to be used to replace laptops fully, there will be no need for me to have a laptop.

First off, good luck in medical school, been there, done that!

I personally still think you will end up using your laptop more than your iPad Pro, but obviously that is just a guess on my part. I just do not see the iPad Pro replacing MBA's and MBP's (obviously other brands as well)...but maybe you have a system down where it works out better for you?

Anyway, the main thing is medical school itself and once again I wish you all the best!

Edit: Sorry if this post seems off a bit, it may be the severe lack of sleep due to "all hands on deck" at the hospitals I work at because of COVID-19. I live in Central New York, and the county I live in just got its first positive test yesterday, but even before that it was "all hands on deck" putting in more hours than we already do! However, we (the medical community - doctors, nurses etc.) are the ones on the front lines, and I do not mind stepping up one bit to help my community, and country get through this, and I promise you...we will!

*God bless all of my fellow healthcare colleagues, medical/nursing students, and of course my MacRumors family.*

 

[greenmeanie]

Probably hoping people will spend TrumpBUX on them don't want to miss that bubble.

I'm so happy to see Apple being Apple - releasing new products - during the mess we're in - gives a little bit of hope that we will return to "normal"

 

[PilotWoo]

Uninspiring update. Great value keyboard though

 

[hajime]

Where you can use 5G networks?

For future-proofing.

 

[Tarantularock]

Curious as to why you are moving down? I am the opposite moving from 11 to 12.9. Was looking forward to the extra real estate, but then will have less portability. Pluses/minuses on everything... LOL

Yep, Im a product owner, so I always have my MacBook Pro with me along with my iPad -which I use to take notes draw sketches and look up info. Packing the two of these around at the same time gets a bit silly. I’ve wished for a smaller device several times at conferences and during flights.

 

[GermanSuplex]

Wow... $299-$349 for a keyboard? You can get an iPad for cheaper than the keyboard...

Looks decent, but I’d be more tempted to just buy the 2018 pro, which is already overkill given how much the OS limits it’s capabilities.

 

[rowspaxe]

The new keyboard is pricey, but new design and trackpad seem worth it. A clever design, but we
will have to wait for reviews to assess sturdiness, materials, etc.

 

[gorkt]

I am actually relieved that this is an incremental update to my current pro 11. I “might” get the trackpad keyboard in May, depending on our financial situation, but I might be good to pass on that as well.

 

[Baymowe335]

Is the A13 by definition a more powerful chip because of the new architecture, is could the A12Z actually be the more powerful setup?