What’s the difference between the 11” 3rd Gen iPad Pro and 12.9” 5th Gen iPad Pro?

The 3rd Generation 11” iPad Pro and 5th Generation 12.9” iPad Pro are two new tablets released by Apple in 2021. So, what are the main differences between these products?

You can find out in this comparison guide between the two iPad Pros.

Quick Summary

When compared to the 3rd Generation 11” Apple iPad Pro, the 5th Generation 12.9” Apple iPad Pro features a bigger screen that provides a higher resolution. With that said, the pixels per inch are identical for these two tablets.

The 5th Gen 12.9” Apple iPad Pro is also better at displaying HDR content thanks to the local dimming zones, high HDR nits levels in addition to an 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Aside from the aforementioned differences, the two 2021 iPad are basically the same as both have identical hardware specs, general features, battery life in addition to operating and storage conditions.

11” 3rd Gen iPad Pro vs. 12.9” 5th Gen iPad Pro Comparison Chart

You can take a look at Seeking Tech’s comparison table for the 2021 iPad Pro tablets below.

What’s in the Box

You can check out the content included inside each box for both products below:

3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro:

• 3rd Generation 11” Apple iPad Pro
• 1 meter USB-C Charge Cable
• 20 W USB-C Power Adapter

5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro:

• 5th Generation 12.9” Apple iPad Pro
• 1 meter USB-C Charge Cable
• 20 W USB-C Power Adapter

Color Options

The 3rd Gen 11” Apple iPad Pro and 5th Gen 12.9” Apple iPad Pro are available in the color options:

• Silver
• Space Gray

Capacity Options

Both tablets in this versus showdown also come with the following capacity options:

• 128GB
• 256GB
• 512GB
• 1TB
• 2TB

Connection Options

There are two connection versions available for both computer tablets as you can choose the following:

• Wi-Fi only version
• Wi-Fi + Cellular version

Dimensions

As expected, the 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro is bigger all around when compared to the 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro.

You can find the measurements for both below:

• 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro: 9.74 inches x 7.02 inches x 0.23 inch (or 247.6 mm x 178.5 mm x 5.9 mm)
• 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro: 11.04 inches x 8.46 inches x 0.25 inch (or 280.6 mm x 214.9 mm x 6.4 mm)

Weight

The Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/Cellular versions of the new 12.9” iPad Pro are also heavier when compared to the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/Cellular versions of the new 11” iPad Pro.

You can find the weight specifications below:

3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro:

• Wi-Fi models: 1.03 pounds (or 466 grams)
• Wi-Fi + Cellular models: 1.04 pounds (or 470 grams)

5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro:

• Wi-Fi models: 1.50 pounds (or 682 grams)
• Wi-Fi + Cellular models: 1.51 pounds (or 685 grams)

Accessories

Both products are compatible with the following accessories:

• 2nd Generation Apple Pencil
• Magic Keyboard
• Smart Keyboard Folio

Display Type

You can also check out the display type used by each tablet below:

• 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro: 11″ LED backlit Multi‑Touch Liquid Retina display with IPS technology
• 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro: 12.9″ mini-LED backlit Multi‑Touch Liquid Retina XDR display with IPS technology

Display Resolution

Thanks to the bigger screen, you will get a higher resolution with the 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro. With that said, the pixels per inch are the same for both.

You can find the display resolutions below:

• 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro: 2388 x 1668 (264 pixels per inch)
• 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro: 2732 x 2048 (264 pixels per inch)

SDR Brightness

When it comes to SDR brightness, the two PC tablets can display up to 600 nits.

HDR Brightness

The 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro is the only one of the two to have HDR brightness specs listed as its screen can reach up to 1600 nits.

Display Features

When it comes to display features, the 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro is the only one to feature a 2D backlighting system, which comes with 2596 full‑array local dimming zones. The bigger screen version also features a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

Aside from the aforementioned differences, the two tablets have the same display features.

You can find a breakdown of the features below:

• 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro:
• 1.8% reflectivity
• Antireflective coating
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Fully laminated display
• P3 wide color display
• ProMotion technology
• True Tone display

5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro:

• 1.8% reflectivity
• 2D backlighting system with 2596 full‑array local dimming zones
• 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
• Antireflective coating
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Fully laminated display
• P3 wide color display
• ProMotion technology
• True Tone display

Chip Specifications

The 2021 iPad Pros have the same chip specifications, which you can find a list of below:

• Apple M1 chip
• 8-core CPU (4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores)
• 8-core GPU
• 16-core Neural Engine
• 8GB RAM for 128GB, 256GB and 512GB versions or 16GB RAM for 1TB and 2TB versions

Camera Features

The built-in cameras are the same for the two tablets in this comparison guide.

You can find the list of camera features for both below:

• 12MP Ultra Wide camera, 122° field of view
• ƒ/2.4 aperture
• 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps and 60 fps
• Animoji
• Auto image stabilization
• Burst mode
• Cinematic video stabilization at 720p and 1080p
• Extended dynamic range for videos up to 30 fps
• Lens correction
• Memoji
• Photos and live photos wide color capture
• Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and depth control
• Portrait Lighting with Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono and High‑Key Mono effects
• Retina Flash
• Smart HDR 3
• Time‑lapse video with stabilization

Number of Speakers

The 3rd Generation 11” Apple iPad Pro and 5th Generation 12.9” Apple iPad Pro are both equipped with four built-in speakers.

Number of Microphones

The two tablets also come with five built-in microphones.

Thunderbolt/USB 4 Port Features

Both new iPad Pros feature a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port, that can be used for the following features:

• Charging
• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Sensors

The 3rd Gen 11” Apple iPad Pro and 5th Gen 12.9” Apple iPad Pro are equipped with the following sensors:

• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor
• Barometer
• Face ID
• LiDAR Scanner
• Three-axis gyro

Wireless Connection

When it comes to wireless connections, the iPad pros utilize Bluetooth 5.0 along with 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 simultaneous dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) HT80 with MIMO.

Video Calling Features

For video calling, the two products support the following:

• Center Stage
• FaceTime video
• iPad to any FaceTime-enabled device over Wi-Fi or cellular

Audio Calling Features

For audio calling, you can do the following on both computer tablets:

• FaceTime audio
• iPad to any FaceTime-enabled device over Wi-Fi or cellular

Audio Playback Formats

The 2021 iPad Pros support the following audio playback formats:

• AAC‑LC
• Apple Lossless
• Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital (AC‑3)
• Dolby Digital Plus (E‑AC‑3)
• FLAC
• HE‑AAC
• HE‑AAC v2
• Linear PCM
• MP3
• Protected AAC

Audio Features

When it comes to audio features, both devices support spatial audio playback as well as user-configurable maximum volume limit.

Video Playback Formats

For video formats, the tablets can playback the following:

• HEVC
• H.264
• MPEG‑4 Part 2
• Motion JPEG

Supported HDR Formats

The following HDR formats are also supported:

• Dolby Vision
• HDR10
• HLG

Video Mirroring Features

If you want to mirror the display of the 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro or 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro to another screen, you have the following options:

• AirPlay wireless to AirPlay 2 smart TV devices
• USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter
• USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter

Viewable Document File Types

The following document formats can also be viewed on both tablets:

• .doc
• .docx
• .gif
• .htm
• .html
• .ics
• .jpg
• .key
• .numbers
• .pages
• .pdf
• .ppt
• .pptx
• .rtf
• .tiff
• .txt
• .usdz
• .vcf
• .xls
• .xlsx
• .zip

Face ID Features

Using the Face ID sensor, the two Apple iPad Pros offer the following face recognition features:

• Buy from Apple Books, App Store and iTunes Store
• Secure personal data in apps
• Unlock iPad

Apple Pay

Both the 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro and 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro support Apple Pay.

Siri

The two tablets also use Siri for voice control.

Operating System

For the operating system, the two products come with iPadOS 14.

Built-In Apps

The following applications are included with these tablets:

• App Store
• Books
• Calendar
• Camera
• Clock
• Contacts
• FaceTime
• Files
• Find My
• Home
• iITunes Store
• Mail
• Maps
• Measure
• Messages
• Music
• News
• Notes
• Photo Booth
• Photos
• Podcasts
• Reminders
• Safari
• Settings
• Shortcuts
• Siri
• Shocks
• Tips
• TV
• Voice Memos

Accessibility Features

The accessibility features are also identical as you have the following options:

• AssistiveTouch
• Closed Captions
• Magnifier
• Siri and Dictation
• Speak Screen
• Switch Control
• VoiceOver
• Voice Control
• Zoom

Battery Type

The 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro has a bigger capacity internal battery when compared to the 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro.

You can find the specs below:

• 3rd Gen 11” iPad Pro: Built-in 28.65-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• 5th Gen 12.9” iPad Pro: Built-in 40.88-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

Battery Life

The two tablets have the same battery life depending on what connection is being used.

You can check out the battery life specifications below:

• Up to 10 hours with Wi-Fi
• Up to 9 hours with cellular data

System Requirements

The system requirements are the same for the two iPad Pros as you need the following:

• Apple ID (required for some features)
• Internet access

Mac Sync Requirements

To sync to a Mac, the Mac needs the following requirements:

• macOS Catalina 10.15 (or later) using the Finder
• macOS El Capitan 10.11.6 through macOS Mojave 10.14.6 using iTunes 12.8 (or later)

PC Sync Requirements

To sync to a computer, your PC needs the following requirements:

• Windows 7 or later using iTunes 12.10 (or later)

Operation and Storage Conditions

The operating and storage conditions are the same for both devices with the following parameters:

• Operating Ambient Temperature: 32° F to 95° F (or 0° C to 35° C)
• Non-Operating Temperature: −4° F to 113° F (or −20° C to 45° C)
• Relative Humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Operating Altitude: Up to 10,000 feet (or 3000 meters)

Resource:

• https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/