By Fraser Fleming
As is customary with all Apple devices the yearly upgrade to the iPad PRO has been in the last few weeks. “What’s new” I hear you ask, to put it simply everything. This new iPad pro 2021 is not a simple spec upgrade like the 2020 model. This is something new and very exciting. Instead of putting an enhanced A12 Z processor to power the device, which by the way was crazy fast for the iPad pro-2020. Apple only put the freaking M1 chip. This is the same processor that they put into the MacBook Air and Pro just last year. This means that for the first time a tablet is powered by the same processor used in a proper desktop computer. The next thing that is upgraded is the RAM, this is where the iPad stores all the apps that you have open and makes them load and preform there tasks fast. This has been upgraded from an excessive 6 GB on the old iPad Pro 2020 to 8GB on the storage up to 512GB storage options and a totally insane amount of 16 GB on the 1 and 2 Terabyte options. Again, this brings it up to and in some cases above par with a powerful desktop computer, indeed the 16 GB of RAM is more that is included with the MacBook air. Apps that are available from the App store can’t use this amount of RAM at the present time, so this has definitely future proofed this area of the iPad. Next as mentioned above is the storage available for the iPad pro this can be anything from the 128 GB up to the 2 TB option, once more on and above par for the desktop computers, most windows gaming computers come with at least a 1TB SSD. Lastly the main upgrade has to be the new 12.9 inch Liquid Retina XDR Screen that can support at refresh rate of 120mhz. That basically means that the screen can process 120 images per second to give it an amazingly smooth display. The new display also has over 10000 micro-LEDs which also gives the display great clarity and brightness. This display is like having a cinema screen in your backpack. It is just amazing.
As with all Apple devices they have been designed with accessibility in mind. You have all the screen enhancements from making the text bigger or bolder, to changing the colour of the screen from full colour to greyscale to inverted colour. You can use the Zoom function which magnifies an area of the screen to a level of your choosing. And for the non-visual user you have the fantastic voiceover built in. These accessibility features do use some of the iPad system resources but this was hardly noticeable on the standard iPad and on this iPad pro not an issue at all. More info about the iPad accessibility can be found here.
I love this new version of the already powerful and fast iPad pro. Would I pay over £1000 for an iPad. To be brutally honest no. I can do all of the things that I need on a standard iPad from watching movies to browsing the internet and listening to music. Is it as good as the iPad pro no, but it is a decent experience. Has apple greatly pushed the iPad forward into new ground. Then the answer is most defiantly yes. Desktop processor and memory complete with an insane amount of storage. This for me is a great example of where the iPad can go in the future, hopefully given a few years the cheaper iPad and iPad air will introduce some of these features and greatly reduce the cost. It is also worth noting that the IPadOS 14.6 has not been optimised to take full advantage of the new hardware on the iPad pro and with the release of IPadOS 15 this will hopefully change. I would give the iPad pro 4 out of 5 Top Tech Ticks. An overpowered solid iPad with a hefty price tag.
If you would like to find out more about devices for people with a visual impairment contact us at.
Triple Tap Tech
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260 Bath Street Glasgow G2 4JP
0141 353 1567
0780 5353 149
Info@TripleTapTech.org
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