Apple's new iPad Pro has trackpad support and LiDAR scanner
Apple launched a new iPad Pro on Wednesday and it's a major upgrade from the last model.
The screen sizes have remained the same, at 11 and 12.9 inches, but nearly everything about these devices have been improved. The new iPad Pros, which are identical in most features save the size, sport Apple's A12Z Bionic chip, a dual rear camera with a regular and ultra-wide sensor, and a LiDAR scanner on the back.
The A12Z Bionic chip features an octa-core CPU, an octa-core GPU, and "enhanced thermal architecture," the combination of which makes the new iPad Pro more powerful and faster "than most Windows PC laptops," according to Apple.
Battery life is up to 10 hours for both models, and they feature a fast, gigabit-class LTE chip that's 60 percent faster than the old one, though 5G support is missing. Both variants are available with 128/256/512GB as well as 1TB of storage memory.
The iPad Pro's display has a dynamically adjusted refresh rate of up to 120Hz, P3 wide color support, True Tone support, and an anti-reflective coating.
The dual camera has a 12-megapixel main, wide camera and a 10-megapixel ultra-wide camera with a 0.5x zoom, just like the camera on the iPhone 11.
And then there's the LiDAR scanner, which can measure the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away. It works both indoors and outdoors, Apple says, and "operates at the photon level at nano-second speeds." The purpose of this new scanner is to enhance augmented reality (AR) experiences on the iPad Pro, and Apple names one example: The Measure app should be faster and more accurate thanks to the new LiDAR scanner.
Apple also added trackpad support to iPadOS, pushing the iPad farther into traditional laptop territory than ever before (the update is coming on March 24). It'll work a little different than on a laptop, with the cursor appearing as a circle instead of an arrow, and with gestures that make certain tasks easier, including switching between apps.
To fully take advantage of trackpad support, Apple also launched a new Magic Keyboard, which now has a trackpad. It's pricy, though: the 11-inch version costs $299, while the 12.9-inch version is $349. Another thing: The Magic Keyboard won't be available until May.
The new iPad Pro can be ordered today on Apple.com as well as the Apple Store app in 30 countries and regions, which include the U.S. The pricing for the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799, while the 12.9-inch model starts at $999. Both devices are available in two colors: silver and space gray.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
