iPad Pro: Buy now or wait?

The iPad Pros are for people who want the fastest and most powerful Apple tablets available. It’s been more than a year since the iPad Pros were upgraded to an M1 processor in April of 2021, and they just got a big boost to the M2. But is now still a good time to buy one?

Update 10/18/22: The new iPad Pros have been announced, with an M2 processor and a new Apple Pencil “hover” experience. This is a good time to buy.

iPad Pro: Pricing and specs

Last update: October 2022

Apple’s latest iPad Pro models are nearly the same as those introduced in the spring of 2021. The M1 processor has been upgraded to an M2, they support Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and there’s a new “hover experience” for the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil. Starting prices are the same in the U.S., but international prices have been adjusted upwards quite a bit to account for the latest changes in exchange rate and inflation.

Here’s how the two models are priced on the Apple Store:

• 11-inch iPad Pro: starts at $799/£899 (128GB, Wi-Fi only) and $999/£1,079 (128GB, Wi-Fi + cellular)
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro: starts at $1,099/£1,249 (128GB, Wi-Fi only) and $1,299/£1,429 (128GB, Wi-Fi + cellular)

iPad Pro: Why you should buy

With an upgrade to the M2, these are the fastest and most capable iPads you can buy. The new “hover” capability for the Apple Pencil is pretty slick, too. Having just been announced, it’s going to be at least a year before the iPad Pro models are upgraded again, and you’re unlikely to find significant sales soon.

iPad Pro: Why you should wait

If you’re in the market for an iPad Pro, the only reason to wait is to keep an eye out for potential sales this holiday season. Given that these models are just hitting shelves on October 26, we wouldn’t expect big discounts to appear soon.

Macworld recommends: BUY

Now that the new iPad Pros are out, you can buy one and be assured that it won’t be made obsolete for at least a year. And sale prices are usually scarce and small on just-released hardware like this, so you probably won’t be missing out on a hypothetical big discount right around the corner.