New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.

With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU, while 1TB and 2TB configurations have a full 10-core CPU.

Here are six other upgrades:

• An increased 12GB of RAM for models with 256GB or 512GB of storage. 1TB and 2TB configurations still have 16GB of RAM.
• Apple's custom N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. However, the chip only supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the standard's 320 MHz maximum. Apple says the chip also improves the overall performance and reliability of features like AirDrop and Personal Hotspot.
• Apple's custom C1X chip for cellular configurations. With this modem, Apple says the new iPad Pro achieves up to 50% faster cellular data performance than its predecessor, and power efficiency is also improved.
• Apple says the new iPad Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD read and write speeds compared to the previous generation.
• The new iPad Pro can drive external displays at up to a 120Hz refresh rate, and Adaptive Sync is now supported, resulting in smoother scrolling and gameplay with lower latency on the external display.
• The new iPad Pro supports fast charging. Apple says up to a 50% charge can be reached in around 30 minutes for the 11-inch model, and in around 35 minutes for the 13-inch model. Apple has not shared similar figures for previous iPad Pro models, so it is unclear how much of an improvement this is.

Apple's tech specs also indicate the new iPad Pro can drop down to an ultra-low 1 nit of display brightness, which can be useful in dark environments, like a bedroom at night. Apple's tech specs did not list this ability for previous iPad Pro models.

The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models are available to pre-order now, and the devices will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Wednesday.