Apple updates iPad Pro models with M2 processor and Apple Pencil hover

Apple has announced updated versions of the iPad Pro 12.9" and iPad Pro 11" models with the new Apple M2 processor. The new models also support a hover feature on the Apple Pencil, improved connectivity, and updated camera features.

The biggest change here is the switch to the new M2 SoC. This new chip, also found on the 2022 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, features an 8-core CPU (4x performance cores + 4x efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU, along with a 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning and AI workloads. Apple claims a memory bandwidth of 100MB/s.

Apple claims the M2 processor has 35% faster graphics performance, 40% better machine learning performance, and 50% greater memory bandwidth than the M1 on the previous generation iPad Pro.

With an updated touchscreen and iPadOS 16, the new iPad Pro models also support hover with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil. The Pencil is now detected up to 12mm above the display, which can enable additional functionality within apps. This functionality will be available in first party as well as third party applications.

The new iPad Pro models feature improved wireless connectivity in the form of 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.

Lastly, 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 transcode it up to 3x faster. The still camera functionality also sees an upgrade from Smart HDR 3 to Smart HDR 4.

Aside from that, the two iPad Pro models are identical to their previous generation counterparts. The pricing also remains identical to previous generation, with the 11-inch model starting at $799 for the Wi-Fi model and $999 for the LTE model. The 12.9-inch starts at $1099 and the LTE models start at $1299. They will be on sale Wednesday, October 26.

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