iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) vs iPad Pro 13-inch (M5)

iPadOS is the software that runs the iPad: the home screen, the built-in apps, the settings and the security protection. Apple split it off from iOS in 2019. iPads before that ran iOS, the same software as the iPhone.

An iPad on the newest iPadOS gets new features every year and regular security fixes. An iPad stuck on an older version keeps working, but it stops getting new features, and over time apps start requiring a newer version. Banking, payment and school apps are often the first.

Matters most if: Your kids use it for school apps, or you use banking or work apps on it.

Apple Intelligence is Apple's set of AI features: writing help that rewrites or proofreads your text, short summaries of long notifications and emails, Clean Up for removing unwanted things from photos, and the new Siri AI.

On iPad it needs an M1 chip or later, or the A17 Pro chip in iPad mini. Older iPads cannot get it through a software update. Which features you see also depends on your country and language.

Matters most if: You want the AI writing, photo and Siri features.

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.

LiDAR is a small sensor that measures distance by sending out invisible light and timing how long it takes to bounce back.

Augmented reality apps place objects in the room more accurately, the Measure app works better, and apps can scan a room into a 3D model. The camera also focuses faster in dim light.

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Megapixels of the front camera, the one facing you.

More megapixels make you look sharper in video calls and selfies, and let the iPad crop in to keep you in frame. "Not confirmed" here means Apple described the camera without giving a megapixel figure.

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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.

Center Stage uses the wide front camera to follow you during video calls.

If you move around the room, the picture pans to keep you in the middle. When someone else joins you, it widens to fit both of you. It works in FaceTime and many other video call apps.

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.

How fast files move over a cable. Mb/s is megabits per second, Gb/s is gigabits per second (1 Gb/s = 1,000 Mb/s). USB 3 at 10 Gb/s is about 20 times faster than USB 2 at 480 Mb/s. Thunderbolt goes up to 40 Gb/s.

Only matters when you copy large files, like photo libraries or long videos, to or from a drive or computer with a cable, or connect a large external display. A video that takes several minutes to copy at USB 2 speed takes seconds over Thunderbolt. "Not published by Apple" means Apple's spec page for that model does not state a speed.

Matters most if: You edit photos or video, or connect external drives.

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Cellular models can use mobile data with a SIM or eSIM, like a phone. 3G, 4G LTE and 5G are generations of mobile network, newest last. Wi-Fi models have no mobile data at all.

With cellular, the iPad has internet anywhere your carrier has coverage, without a Wi-Fi hotspot. Cellular models cost more and need a data plan. Many carriers have switched off 3G, so a 3G iPad may get no mobile data today.

Matters most if: You use the iPad on trains, in cars or anywhere without Wi-Fi.

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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.