iPad Pro (2021) review: amazing mini-LED screen on 12.9", fast M1 CPU, Center Stage works well for video calls, but camera still misplaced and no multi-user
Mini LED, major improvement — How much do you care about having a great screen? — That, really, is the only question that matters with the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had already set the 12.9-inch M1 model at a $1,099 starting price in its launch pricing, reinforcing the iPad Pro's premium positioning. Its earlier 10.5-inch Pro was likewise praised for screen and performance while carrying an expensive accessory burden.
The 2021 model sharpens that formula around display quality, M1 speed and Center Stage, while its missing multi-user support limits the device's role beyond a single owner's workflow. Later coverage frames that constraint as durable: even after the front-camera placement was corrected, iPadOS still lagged the hardware.
First-order effects
- Buyers considering the 12.9-inch iPad Pro get a materially stronger screen and faster M1-based performance, making the model's premium price more directly tied to its display and video-call experience.
- Apple's iPad Pro remains less suitable as a shared household machine because multi-user support is absent, and the camera placement still compromises video calls despite Center Stage.
Second-order effects
- Apple's premium iPad proposition becomes harder to separate from a personal, accessory-supported workflow: the product's display and silicon improve while the shared-use and desktop-replacement limitations persist.
- Competing premium tablets face a clearer benchmark in display quality and video-call framing, while Apple preserves room for other devices where multi-user computing is a core need.
Third-order effects
- The iPad Pro line points to a widening hardware-software gap: Apple can continue advancing screens and chips faster than iPadOS expands the device's role as a full secondary computer.
- If that pattern holds, premium tablet differentiation will increasingly depend on whether operating systems and account models catch up to hardware, not on processor gains alone.
The trend: Premium tablets are becoming increasingly defined by laptop-class hardware, while software and multi-user workflows determine how far they can replace conventional computers.