Apple almost got me. Apple recently announced the 2021 iPad Pro lineup, and if pre-orders for the new 11” iPad Pro had opened immediately after the event — I would be waiting for my new iPad to arrive. I would also be looking at a serious dent in my finances. Instead, the time between the announcement and pre-order availability served as a cooling-off period, and I’m sticking with my 2020 11”.
It’s true, the 2021 iPad Pro has some great new features that aren’t available on the 2020 model, but for me, those features weren’t enough to justify spending so much money. To that point, I’d also argue that anyone looking to buy an 11” iPad Pro should save some money and look towards the 2020 model.
Keep reading to learn more about the differences between the 2020 11” iPad Pro and the 2021 11” iPad Pro, and about my reasons for not upgrading.
2020 11” iPad Pro vs. 2021 11” iPad Pro
The 2020 and 2021 11” iPad Pro look identical. They both feature an 11” Liquid Retina display with ProMotion technology and True Tone. They are also each available in Silver or Space Gray and have the same rear-facing camera setup. At a glance, you could easily mistake one for the other. Of course, we all know that Apple isn’t going to release a new model with no new features, so check the table below to see how they differ from each other.
| 2021 11″ iPad Pro | 2020 11″ iPad Pro | |
| Display | 11″ Liquid Retina display with ProMotion and True Tone | 11″ Liquid Retina display with ProMotion and True Tone |
| Processor / Chip | Apple M1 chip with next-generation Neural Engine | Apple A12Z Bionic chip with Neural Engine |
| Storage / RAM | 128GB (8GB RAM), 256GB (8GB RAM), 512GB (8GB RAM), 1TB (16GB RAM), 2TB (16GB RAM) | 128GB (6GB RAM), 256GB (6GB RAM), 512GB (6GB RAM), 1TB (6GB RAM) |
| Front Camera | 12MP TrueDepth ultra-wide with Center Stage | 7MP TrueDepth |
| Rear Camera | 12MP wide and 10MP ultra-wide | 12MP wide and 10MP ultra-wide |
| Charging / Connector Port | USB-C (with Thunderbolt / USB 4 support) | USB-C |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 hours on WiFi, and up to 9 hours on cellular | Up to 10 hours on WiFi, and up to 9 hours on cellular |
| Cellular Connectivity | 5G (sub-6 and mmWave) | 4G LTE |
| Accessory Compatibility | Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, 2nd generation Apple Pencil | Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, 2nd generation Apple Pencil |
| Original MSRP | WiFi priced from $799, Cellular priced from $999 | WiFi priced from $799, Cellular priced from $949 |
This is why I’m not upgrading to the 2021 11” iPad Pro
As you saw outlined in the table, the key differences between these two models are the Apple M1 chip, storage and RAM, front camera, USB-C connector, and cellular connectivity. But first, it is important to note that I am not trying to say these aren’t important or worthwhile updates — they just weren’t enough to convince me to upgrade. What follows is my reasoning;
- Display: The 2021 12.9” iPad Pro display was upgraded to the new Liquid Retina XDR with mini LED and 2596 zones of local dimming, but the 2021 11” iPad Pro has the same display as the 2020 11” iPad Pro.
- Processor chip: The Apple M1 chip is impressive to see in an iPad. After all, it is the same chip powering the new iMac, and the latest Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. But never once in my year of using the 2020 iPad with the A12Z Bionic chip have I felt my iPad Pro was sluggish or slow.
- Storage and RAM: The 2021 iPad Pro offers up to 2TB of storage, and those with 1TB or more of storage get 16GB of RAM (the 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB models get 8GB of RAM). The 2020 models offer up to 1TB of storage with 6GB of RAM. I currently use a 256GB model and could justify a jump to 512GB, which would give me 8GB of RAM if I upgraded to a 2021 model. But similar to the processor, my 2020 iPad Pro hasn’t felt slow or sluggish, so an extra 2GB of RAM isn’t going to be missed, and I certainly can’t justify going to 1TB just to get 16GB of RAM.
- Front-facing camera: The 2020 iPad Pro has a 7MP TrueDepth camera, and the 2021 iPad Pro has a 12MP TrueDepth camera. But the camera upgrade is a little more than the obvious 5MP increase. The 2021 iPad Pro has an ultra-wide camera on the front and that, paired with machine learning capabilities of the M1 chip, means the user will always be centered in the frame courtesy of a new feature called Center Stage. If you take video calls on your iPad this may be a solid perk if you upgrade, but for me, my video calling is mostly limited to work meetings.
- USB-C connector: The 2020 and 2021 iPad Pro each use USB-C for charging, but the 2021 model has an upgraded connector. This is another of those features that isn’t immediately obvious, but according to Apple, the Thunderbolt / USB 4 support means up to 4x more bandwidth for wired connections, support for 10Gbps Ethernet, and 6K resolution if you connect your iPad Pro to the Apple Pro Display XDR. Again, solid upgrades, but not something I will personally benefit from.
- Cellular connectivity: 4G LTE on the 2020 iPad Pro and 5G on the 2021 iPad Pro. The 5G supports sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks, and 5G speeds can be faster compared to 4G LTE speeds, but it still feels early in the lifecycle. I use a cellular iPad Pro, but at least for now, I’m good with the speeds I get using the 4G LTE connection on my 2020 iPad Pro.
My iPad Pro is used daily, and I regularly swap between the Magic Keyboard and a Folio Cover based on what I am doing. I also use my iPad with an Apple Pencil. I absolutely love my iPad Pro and treat it like a primary computing device. In fact, I rarely use a regular “computer” other than for work-related tasks. But as I touched on in the above points — the new features just aren’t for me. Depending on your usage — these features may not benefit you either.
With any upgrade, I try to ask myself if the features are worth the money, or if I’m just considering an upgrade because Apple flashed something shiny and new in front of me. In this case, the 2021 iPad Pro is something shiny and new, so my recommendation is to save some money and get a 2020 11” Pad Pro instead.
What about the 2021 12.9” iPad Pro?
Overall, the feature comparison between the 2020 and 2021 versions of the 12.9” iPad Pro are very similar to the comparison between the 2020 and 2021 versions of the 11” iPad Pro. But there is one important difference — the display.
The 2021 12.9” iPad Pro has a new display that is mini-LED backlit with 2596 local dimming zones. The display on the 2021 12.9” iPad Pro has the same 600 nits max brightness from the 2020 model, but it ramps up to a 1000 nits max full-screen brightness, and a 1600 nits peak brightness with HDR.
If I were a 12.9” iPad Pro user I may be slightly more tempted to upgrade from a 2020 model to the 2021 model — but again, it seems like a big price to pay for a feature I’m not sure I will fully appreciate. After all, I’ve never once complained about the display on my 2020 iPro Pro.
Your thoughts may differ from mine on the importance of each of the new upgraded features, but one point that everyone will likely agree on is that you can save quite a bit of money if you extend the life of your tech, or you choose to buy newish when you upgrade.
If you currently have a 2020 11” iPad Pro and plan to upgrade — go ahead and sell your current iPad in the Swappa marketplace as a way to fund your upgrade. As of mid-May 2021, the average selling price for the 2020 11” iPad Pro on Swappa is $765. Looking a bit more model-specific, the Apple trade-in quote offered $500 for my Unlocked 2020 11” iPad Pro with 256GB of storage. For comparison, models with the same specs have recently sold for $700 and above on Swappa.
Or, if you currently have a 2018 iPad Pro, or another iPad entirely — the release of the 2021 iPad Pro lineup brings an opportunity to get a great deal on a newish 2020 iPad Pro.
