iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) vs iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)

The price Apple charged in the US on launch day for the Wi-Fi model with the lowest storage, before tax.

This is not what the iPad costs today. Cellular models, more storage, Apple Pencil and keyboards all cost extra. Older models drop in price over time, so check the used and refurbished links for current prices.

Screen size measured corner to corner, in inches. One inch is 2.54 cm. Newer iPads have rounded corners, so Apple measures them as if they were a plain rectangle; the area you can see is slightly smaller.

A bigger screen fits two apps side by side more comfortably and shows more of a page or a drawing at once. A smaller iPad is lighter to hold in one hand and fits more bags. Going from about 11 to 13 inches makes the screen roughly 40% larger in area.

Apple's name for the screen. Retina means sharp enough that you cannot see the individual dots at a normal distance. Liquid Retina is Apple's name for its rounded-corner LCD screens. Liquid Retina XDR uses mini-LED lighting. Ultra Retina XDR uses OLED.

The name tells you which screen family you get. The XDR screens are much brighter for HDR video and photos, and show deeper blacks than Retina and Liquid Retina screens.

LCD screens use one light behind the whole screen. Mini-LED screens use thousands of tiny lights behind the screen, each lighting one small area. OLED screens have pixels that each make their own light and can switch off completely.

Mini-LED and OLED both show deeper blacks and much brighter highlights than LCD, which you notice most in films and dark photos. OLED gives true black with no glow around bright objects on a dark background.

Matters most if: You watch a lot of video or edit photos on the iPad.

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Apple offers a version of the screen with nano-texture glass: the surface is etched with a pattern far too small to see, which scatters reflected light.

Glare from windows and lights is reduced much more than with a coating alone, with the picture still clear. It costs extra, is offered only with the larger storage options, and the glass should be cleaned with the special cloth Apple includes.

Matters most if: You often use the iPad near windows, outdoors, or under bright office lights.

Weight in grams for the Wi-Fi model. 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces. Cellular models are a few grams heavier.

A difference of 50 to 100 grams is noticeable when you hold the iPad up in one hand to read for a long time. A keyboard case often weighs about as much as the iPad itself.

How thick the iPad is, in millimeters. 1 mm is about 0.04 inch.

A difference under 1 mm is hard to notice in the hand, and a case adds more than that. Thinner iPads feel lighter to hold and slide more easily into a bag.

How many cameras are on the back. Most iPads have one. Some iPad Pro models have a second, wider one.

On an iPad, the rear camera is mostly used for scanning documents, taking quick photos of whiteboards or receipts, and augmented reality apps.

A second rear camera that sees a much wider area than the main one.

You can fit a whole room or a large whiteboard into one photo without stepping back.

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Where the front camera sits. Portrait: on the short edge, at the top when you hold the iPad upright. Landscape: on the long edge, at the top when the iPad lies sideways in a keyboard case.

In video calls with the iPad sideways, a landscape camera looks at you straight on. With a portrait-edge camera, the camera ends up on the left or right side, so you seem to be looking away from the person you are talking to.

Matters most if: You make video calls with the iPad on a stand or in a keyboard case.

Which Apple Pencil works with this iPad. Shown is the most capable one it supports. The 1st generation charges through a plug, the 2nd generation snaps to the side of the iPad and charges there, the USB-C model charges through a cable, and Apple Pencil Pro adds squeeze controls and a feel-back vibration.

Each iPad works only with certain Apple Pencil models, so an Apple Pencil you already own may not work with a new iPad. Apple Pencil (USB-C) does not sense how hard you press, so line thickness does not change with pressure. Check Apple's compatibility list before buying.

Matters most if: You already own an Apple Pencil, or want to draw or take handwritten notes.

Wi-Fi generations. Each new one handles more devices at once and higher speeds: Wi-Fi 4 (2009), Wi-Fi 5 (2014), Wi-Fi 6 (2019), Wi-Fi 6E adds a new, less crowded radio band, Wi-Fi 7 is the newest.

You only get the extra speed if your router supports the same generation. With an older router, the difference is small.

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The chip is the iPad's brain. It runs every app, processes photos and video, and handles the AI features.

A newer chip makes the iPad faster, keeps it fast for more years, and decides which new features it can get. Apple Intelligence, for example, needs an M1 chip or later, or the A17 Pro.

Storage is where your apps, photos, videos, books and downloads are kept. 1 TB (terabyte) is about 1,000 GB.

iPads have no memory card slot, so you cannot add storage inside later. Models with USB-C can use external drives in the Files app. Downloaded films and games fill storage fastest.