Ipad Pro 2021 Shipping Date

Twitter users are reporting that their M1 iPad Pro orders have had their status updated from "Preparing to ship" to "Shipped."

Apple remained vague on the actual launch and delivery dates, simply saying second half of May, but we last month discovered the May 21 date in the HTML for a website announcement …

Some of the screen-grabs we've seen tweeted do retain the vagueness, specifying delivery anywhere from May 21 to May 28, but others do specifically say May 21 – including one to one of the 9to5Mac team, and another to Pad & Quill president Brian Holmes.

When announcing this year's iPad Pro models, Apple highlighted the M1 chip, optional 5G, and the "Liquid Retina XDR" miniLED screen.

Apple today announced the most powerful and advanced iPad Pro ever, pushing the limits of what's possible on iPad. The addition of the Apple-designed M1 chip delivers a massive leap in performance, making iPad Pro the fastest device of its kind.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a new Liquid Retina XDR display that brings extreme dynamic range to iPad Pro, offering a stunning visual experience with more true-to-life details to the most demanding HDR workflows.

Cellular models with 5G deliver even faster wireless connectivity when on the go, and to provide users with pro-level throughput for high-speed accessories, iPad Pro now includes support for Thunderbolt.

Apple additionally drew attention to the new Center Stage feature, which uses digital cropping from the ultra-wide front camera to provide artificial tracking of users during video calls.

Apple said that the 8-core CPU is the world's fastest "in low-power silicon," and that does seem to be backed by benchmark tests.

Early Geekbench 5 results show that the fifth-generation iPad Pro with the M1 processor achieves single-core scores of around 1,700 and multi-core scores of around 7,200. For comparison's sake, the 2020 iPad Pro, powered by an A12Z processor, achieves scores of 1,100 and 4,656 in single-core and multi-core benchmarking, respectively […]

The M1 iPad Pro's performance is on par with M1-powered Macs, and significantly better than the A12Z iPad Pro it replaces. It even outperforms the top-of-the-line 16-inch MacBook Pro, and is only bested by select configurations of the iMac and Mac Pro.

One report suggests that the embargo for review units seeded to selected media outlets is May 19.

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About the Author

Ben Lovejoy

@benlovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He's known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!

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