Pro gadgets are supposed to be exciting high-end products with flashy features and mind-blowing specs, so it’s a sad day when the “Pro” suffix only inspires boredom or apathy.
That’s the case with Apple’s iPad Pro line, at least for this writer. While the first generations of Apple’s high-end tablet line were exciting, with huge screens, powerful processors and accessories that made them portable workstations, that’s not enough anymore.
The iPad Pro (2020) and iPad Pro (2021) were both incremental upgrades over their predecessors, with hardly any significant changes to inspire buyer enthusiasm, and that’s why I don’t think not that the iPad Pro (2022) should arrive.
No, I think Apple should skip a year and wait for the iPad Pro (2023), so software can catch up and new technologies can be introduced to make the device exciting.
What did you just say about the iPad Pro?
I don’t think the last two generations of iPad Pro have been very exciting, despite the fact that the most recent uses Apple’s super powerful M1 chipset.
Why? Well, in a tablet, an M1 chipset and a lot of processing power bring almost no benefit to average users.
Although there is more power, there is still nothing to use that power. The most power-hungry programs I’ve used, including editing apps like LumaFusion and games and streaming apps, run incredibly well on older tablets, making M1 redundant.
I still use LumaFusion on my iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) and it works quickly and easily – there’s absolutely no reason to need an M1 chipset, even though it’s more powerful.
This also applies to other changes like a rear LiDAR scanner and 5G connectivity in select 2021 iPad Pros. 5G networks are still so widespread and sporadic, and in some areas completely nonexistent, that this innovation does isn’t too useful for tablets, and LiDAR is only useful to an incredibly small group of people, as it brings better depth sensing than standard cameras.
Another main feature was the mini LED display, although this only affects the 12.9-inch version of the iPad Pro and not the 11-inch one. Honestly, the changes here are negligible unless you put the new slate next to an older one – and while it reinvented display tech, a slightly different screen isn’t enough to sell a tablet anyway.
So despite these upgrades, the average user experience with the iPad Pro hasn’t changed over the past few years, and we have to wait for new apps that make the most of the extra processing power, or a change in user needs so that iPads become more vital.
Nothing new under the sun
Technology does not move quickly. Just look at foldable phones as an example: the first was launched in 2019, and three years later they’re still only for the select few, with only one company working seriously in the space.
Brand new must-have innovations don’t appear every year either, which is why the phrase “incremental upgrades” is used so much in tech – companies have convinced themselves that they have to release a new device every year, despite the fact that most years there is nothing new to add, resulting in minimal upgrades and boring phones.
Apple doesn’t need to release a new iPhone every year either. Samsung doesn’t need a new Galaxy S family every 12 months, and neither does every other company.
However, this article is not about the consumer tech industry’s anti-consumer churn, in which it pumps similar products and tries to convince you that there is something new about them in a desperate attempt. to earn money. No, it’s iPad Pro.
Just like with other devices, we don’t need to see iPad Pros every year, and if Apple waited two or more years between updates, we might see new iPads that are bigger changes from to their predecessors.
Since the launch of the iPad Pro line in 2015, we’ve only seen one year skipped so far, which is 2019, and the 2020 model wasn’t that different from the 2018 one anyway. But with three generations of virtually the same device now (because the 2018 one was a real reimagining of the 2017 issue), Apple really needs a change.
That’s doubly the case now that the iPad Air 4 and iPad mini (2021) are rapidly catching up with the iPad Pro lineup in terms of design and display, so the top-tier family is losing its edge.
As a mainstream technology website, which can write about the latest technology and encourage you to buy it, a new iPad Pro for 2022 is not a big deal for us. But as a tech fan, I have to say, “Apple, take it easy.”
