Is the iPad Pro 2020 good to use? Let's see what foreign media reviews say

The iPad Pro 2020 models have been delivered to users who have ordered them, and domestic and foreign media have released the first batch of test experience content since yesterday. If you still have doubts about whether the iPad Pro 2020 is worth buying, you might as well find the answer from the foreign media reviews summarized in this article.

The Verge丨Rating: 8/10

• Advantages: excellent display effect; fast running speed; support touchpad.
• Cons: LiDAR scanner isn’t very noticeable; iPadOS limitations still exist; no headphone jack.

Many specifications of the iPad Pro 2020 are consistent with the 2018 model, such as the same full-screen design, the same 11-inch + 12.9-inch dual versions, the same screen specifications, etc. The Verge also expressed a similar view in its review: "The 2020 iPad Pro is only a small specification upgrade compared to the 2018 model. In fact, the A12Z processor, new camera module, and new microphone are the only three upgrades to the 2020 iPad Pro."

First of all, the processor. The iPad Pro 2020 is equipped with an A12Z bionic chip. The CPU is still eight-core, but the GPU has been upgraded from seven-core to eight-core, which also means that the performance improvement of the iPad Pro 2020 is more reflected in image processing.

"Apple claims that the A12Z is ​​more powerful than the A12X, and the extra GPU cores will help more games run at 120Hz frame rates on the iPad Pro, and rendering and AR performance during video editing will also be improved. I believe these statements are correct, but I'm not sure most iPad Pro users can notice the performance difference between the new and old models." The Verge said when evaluating the performance of the iPad Pro 2020.

In the evaluation, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2020 scored 9981 points in the Geekbench 5 Pro GPU test, while the 11-inch iPad Pro 2018 scored 9138, which means that the extra GPU core only brought about an 8% improvement in image processing performance to the iPad Pro 2020.

Although this improvement is not particularly obvious, it does not mean that the performance of iPad Pro 2020 is not good. Since the A12X of iPad Pro 2018 has reached an extremely high performance level (even some performance surplus for some people), iPad Pro 2020 is still the most powerful tablet currently.

The second is the new camera module, the most important of which is the new LiDAR sensor, which Apple calls a laser radar scanner.

"The addition of the LiDAR laser radar scanner is to achieve a faster and more accurate AR experience. The iPad Pro 2020 does bring a better AR experience and performs better when using some previously launched AR applications, but so far no third-party AR applications can take full advantage of the LiDAR laser radar scanner."... "Hardware is just the foundation. You can't guarantee that excellent AR software (content) will come faster."

“I think Apple’s handling of trackpad support in iPadOS is close to perfect. The scrolling of pages feels natural, and the adaptive changes and animations of the mouse cursor feel strange, but I like it. However, moving the cursor to the edge of the screen to wake up the dock, notification center, and side-by-side multitasking will produce some weird feelings.”

“For most people, the iPad Pro 2020 may be overkill. Unless you really have a good reason to use dual cameras or LiDAR sensors, the much cheaper iPad Air and iPad can also provide many basic iPad experiences. From a hardware perspective, neither the iPad Air nor the iPad can compare with the iPad Pro, but if you don’t need the professional configuration of the iPad Pro, it’s a good thing to save some money by choosing the former.”

WIRED丨Rating: 9/10

• Pros: The 2020 iPad Pro is the most powerful iPad yet, with upgraded cameras and microphones, great battery life, and a trackpad that's fun to use. It's also the first iPad to come with a LiDAR laser scanner, though you probably won't use it often.
• Disadvantages: Compared with other iPads, the price-performance ratio is higher; the 2020 iPad Pro cannot take portrait photos with the rear camera; the Magic Keyboard is not yet on sale.

WIRED received the 12.9-inch 1TB version of the iPad Pro 2020, and they think one of the more delightful new features of the new iPad Pro is software rather than hardware.

“iPadOS 13.4 adds support for trackpads and mice. When I use the iPad Pro 2020 with the Magic Trackpad, the cursor on the screen appears as a dot, but becomes an I-beam pointer when it is close to text content. In addition, the screen gestures previously supported by the iPad can also be used on the trackpad, such as swiping up with three fingers and pausing to wake up the background.”

"Touchpad and keyboard support bring the iPad Pro closer to 'computer' territory."

CNET

• Advantages: The new feature of touchpad support is very useful; the microphone has been upgraded; it is equipped with a LiDAR laser radar scanner; it supports Wi-Fi 6; the storage capacity of the starting version has been upgraded to 128GB.
• Disadvantages: The appearance design is "old-fashioned"; the accessories are expensive; there is currently a lack of applications that support new AR functions; the performance is not much improved compared to the old model.

CNET highlighted the iPad Pro 2020's LiDAR scanner and trackpad experience in its review.

“ARKit apps on iPad Pro 2020 can load and place AR objects faster, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

In a video promoting the iPad Pro 2020, Apple showed off the Shapr3D AR app, which will be launched later this year. It will be able to automatically generate accurate two-dimensional interior floor plans and three-dimensional models with the help of a lidar scanner. The entire process can be completed by simply holding up the iPad Pro and scanning the surrounding environment.

“For professionals, this is an amazing feature.” “But for most ordinary people, this special feature may not be a necessity. And now many AR applications can achieve environmental scanning even without LiDAR sensors.”

"From the excellent but non-OLED LCD Liquid Retina display to the FaceID TrueDepth camera to the USB-C port and magnetic Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro 2020 is identical to the old model in many ways. The rear camera is one of the few differences." "There are other tweaks, such as Wi-Fi 6 and new microphones, but overall the iPad Pro 2020 and iPad Pro 2018 are very similar in many ways."