iPad Pro (2018) review: the new Pencil is one of Apple's most impressive version 2 devices ever, the new Smart Keyboard is much more stable for lap use
Apple's new tablet shows early signs of maturity — Laptop users have been focused for a very long time on whether the iPad Pro …
Context & Ripple Effects
This review lands as a direct answer to two standing complaints from earlier iPad Pro generations: AnandTech's 2016 verdict that the original Smart Keyboard was a letdown, and The Verge's 2017 note that the Pro line was expensive once you added the Smart Keyboard and Pencil. The 2018 hardware attacks both — a redesigned Pencil the reviewer ranks among Apple's best version-2 devices, and a Smart Keyboard stable enough for actual lap use.
It also marks the point where reviewers start describing the iPad as showing 'early signs of maturity' rather than as a big iPhone — a framing that persists in The Verge's 2025 M5 review, where iPadOS is called out as getting more Mac-like.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the 2018 iPad Pro get the two fixes prior reviews demanded most: lap-stable typing and a refined Pencil, removing the main ergonomic objections to using it as a primary machine.
Second-order effects
- Apple's accessory redesign raises the bar its own pricing must clear — the 2017 criticism that the Pro only makes sense with costly add-ons now applies to a more capable keyboard and Pencil, deepening the premium-tier positioning.
Third-order effects
- If each generation keeps upgrading the input devices rather than just the chip, the iPad Pro's competitive set shifts from tablets to laptops — the endpoint visible in the 2025 coverage of Mac-like iPadOS and high-end Magic Keyboard hardware.
The trend: The iPad Pro is iterating from tablet-with-accessories toward laptop replacement, with each generation's keyboard and stylus redesign doing more of the work than the silicon.