The best iPads of 2023: Expert tested and reviewed

iPad Pro (6th generation) specs: Display: 11-inch Liquid Retina display or 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion and True Tone | Processor: Apple Silicon M2 | Storage: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB | Biometrics: Face ID | Colors: Silver, space gray | Cameras: 12MP wide, 10MP ultrawide rear and 12MP TrueDepth FaceTime front | Weight: 11-inch: 1.03 pounds, 12.9-inch: 1.5 pounds | Dimensions: 11-inch: 9.74 x 7.02 x 0.23 inches, 12.9-inch: 11.04 x 8.46 x 0.25-inches| Connections: USB-C Thunderbolt/USB-4 | Battery life: 10 hours

Apple’s 2022 iPad Pro lineup is by far the most capable and impressive iPad lineup I’ve seen, making it my best overall pick. It’s also the most expensive by a long shot. The design hasn’t changed much on the outside, but on the inside, you’ll find Apple’s M2 processor, which consists of 20 billion transistors — 25% more than the M1. It’s the same exact processor that Apple is using in the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

ZDNET writer Jason Cipriani spent some time with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and found it to be faster and more capable than any other iPad model he’s tested to date. You can expect download speeds up to 2.4Gbps, twice as fast as the previous model, 15 percent faster performance, and up to 35 percent faster graphics performance. 

Review: iPad Pro (2022): I’m cautiously optimistic. Or foolish

Cipriani was particularly impressed by the Pro’s power when handling a large workload. 

“The combination of Stage Manager and external monitor support means you can have up to eight apps open and in use on the iPad Pro at the same time. This, of course, will tax the performance of the tablet, but Apple’s M2 processor is the most capable when it comes to powering through whatever you throw at it,” he said. 

The Pro also supports the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil, and there’s a new hover feature thanks to the M2 chip. The feature works like this: When the tip of the Apple Pencil gets within 12 millimeters of the display, parts of the interface come to life in apps that support the new feature. 

Although the differences between the 5th-generation and this 6th-generation model are more subtle, the M2 chip is really what makes it a powerhouse tablet. The iPad Pro, combined with iPadOS and the M2 chip, is as close as you can get to a laptop without actually buying a laptop.