iPad (2022) and iPad Pro with M2 announced

Apple has announced their latest iteration of the iPad (entry level model) and the iPad Pro lineup with the new M2 processor. The event, held on the 18th of October as a recorded session displayed the key features of the iPads with the most significant being the base model iPad which has now received an upgrade.

iPad 2022

This model of the base model iPad ditches the almost 12 year old home button and display layout and goes for a cleaner display only design found on the iPad Air . The chassis, which now comes with flatter sides and a TouchID fingerprint sensor on the top has also abandoned the lightning port in favor of USB C and it also comes with a set of pogo style connectors for accessories including a keyboard with trackpad. 

Internally, the iPad comes either as a Wifi only (Wifi6) and a 5G cellular model and is offered with 64 or 256GB of storage. The processor has also been upgraded to the Apple A14 which is the same found on the iPhone 12 series and last year's iPad Air. Likewise the tablet gets a 12MP rear camera with 4K video capture, a 12 MP front camera (mounted horizontally) and for a weird reason, supports Apple Pencil Gen 1 which is lightning and therefore you would have to spend $9 for a USB C to Lightning adapter which is sold separately or comes in the box with a new Apple Pencil - or you can also get Logitech's new Crayon which now comes with USB C for $69.95 .  Prices are said to start at $449 for the base 64GB model and $599 for the 256GB model and will ship this month.

iPad Pro 11" and 12.9"

The iPad Pro lineup has also been upgraded with the Apple M2 Soc. The processor, which packs desktop performance on a mobile device is paired with iPad OS 16 to deliver exceptional results with floating apps, display output as well as support for many third party professional software such as the upcoming Octane X for 3D modeling and Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve for iPad. 

The iPads also feature a new hover mode for Apple Pencil 2 and this allows you to preview or make light shadings on work. 

Likewise the iPad Pro's support Apple Pro Res recording from its wide and ultra wide 12MP rear camera modules and LIDAR sensor and the front camera remains at 12MP and is augmented with 5 microphones. Both models come as either 128,256 or 512GB storage options with 8GB of RAM and 1 or 2 TB of storage with 16GB of RAM. Prices start at $799 for the base Wifi only model.

Both iPad models and the base iPad will ship on the 26th of October with iPad OS .       

Sources - Apple newsroom, ithinkdifferent (image main) Logitech Crayon - Apple insider