11-inch iPad Pro 2021 review: small but strong broadcast

For people who travel, write, draw, and create a lot, doing it all with ease isn’t enough on iPad Pro alone – it usually requires a higher-performance laptop.

But it’s a different story when you pair Apple Pencil and the wonderfully controlled keyboard with iPad Pro. The 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 can do most of the work of a laptop with its powerful performance and easy-to-carry overall body size.

Design and accessories

As far as design goes, the 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 inherits Apple’s design language with a traditional flat, right-angle design style.

The camera sticks out from the back and the silver industrial design on the side isn’t as cool as it used to be, but it’s functional. The button layout remains the same, USB-C is used for charging and connecting accessories, and a magnetic strip on top holds the Apple Pencil and charges it wirelessly.

Accessory-wise, the Apple Pencil is a great stylus, light enough to use for long periods of time, and capable of making precise marks. Its pressure level and tilt sensitivity are as good as those offered by Wacom’s digital tablet. There is also a clickable button on top that works well for quickly changing tools in the application from Photoshop to Notes.

The design of the Wonder Control keyboard is equally good, with the iPad Pro magnetically clipping onto it and allowing for some degree of tilt adjustment. When viewed from the front, the iPad screen appears to hover in front of you.

When inspiration strikes, simply pull iPad off the keyboard and lie back on the couch to create.

Performance

This year’s iPad Pro is the first tablet to feature Apple’s M1 chip, which is already in use in the 13.3-inch iPad Air and Pro models of laptops.

In terms of overall performance in benchmark tests, the 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 is 56 percent faster than last year’s 12.9-inch model and 73 percent faster than the current iPad Air.

You’ll see much faster processing when rendering video projects, but otherwise you won’t notice much difference between that and previous models.