Apple announces new 10.5-inch iPad Pro with A10X processor, 120Hz refresh rate, narrower bezels, shipping next week starting at $649 for 64GB model
Apple introduced a new iPad Pro size: 10.5 inches. Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica : Checking out the new iPad Pros and their fancy 120Hz screens Tweets: Mark Gurman / @markgurman : In my brief usage, the iPad iOS 11 updates are a game changer for the device - and the screen on the 10.5inch model looked fantastic.
Context & Ripple Effects
A year after the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple is inserting a new 10.5-inch size between it and the 12.9-inch model, with an A10X chip, a 120Hz display, and narrower bezels — the screen technology is the headline, not the size alone.
The timing matters: early hands-on reaction, including Mark Gurman calling the iPad iOS 11 updates a game changer for the device, frames this as the hardware half of a laptop-replacement push, with the software half arriving alongside it.
First-order effects
- Buyers get a new mid-size Pro tier at $649 for 64GB, shipping next week, with the 120Hz screen and reduced bezels as the differentiators over the 9.7-inch model it effectively supersedes.
- Apple Pencil and keyboard accessory buyers now face three Pro screen sizes instead of two, fragmenting the accessory lineup at launch.
Second-order effects
- The $649 entry point anchors a pricing ladder that Apple keeps pushing upward in subsequent refreshes — the M1 iPad Pro later started at $799, and the M4 generation opened at $999 and $1,299 — moving the Pro line decisively upmarket.
- The 10.5-inch slot becomes the template for the 11-inch size Apple standardizes from the M1 onward, so accessory makers and case vendors retool around a new canonical dimension within a year.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the iPad Pro stops being a bigger cheap iPad and becomes a distinct premium tier — the line's floor price roughly doubles from $649 here to the M5 generation's $999-plus — splitting Apple's tablet business into budget iPad and pro-Mac-alternative segments.
- Display innovation (120Hz here, later OLED and higher brightness) becomes the Pro line's recurring justification for price increases, setting up an annual cadence where screens, not chips alone, sell the upgrade.
The trend: The iPad Pro is climbing upmarket, converting from an oversized budget tablet into a premium laptop-alternative tier whose price floor keeps ratcheting higher with each display and chip generation.