New iPad Pro Features Face ID, Home Button Removed, Available November 7

As our expectation, at the event in Brooklyn on Tuesday, Apple made some changes and expansion to its iPad Pro lineup. The iPad Pro now features three sizes: the 2017 10.5-inch version priced at $649 (£619, AU$979), a new 11-inch variant whose price is $799 (£769, AU$1,229) and a 12.9-inch model which has been redesigned pricing at $999 (£969, AU$1,529).

Order is available from today and ship from November 7.

What we heard about the flagship before the launch was all true. The two new models feature thinner bezels, a slimmer profile and rounded corners.

Along with the continuous upgrades in other brands’ devices, this is also the very first iPad to eliminate the home button and allow unlocking screen with Face ID. Also, USB-C takes over headphone jack and Lightning port.

The new iPad Pro is powered by eight-core A12X Bionic chip supporting Apple’s Neural Engine technology which also appears on new iPhones. The new iPad Pro also has storage up to 1TB, updated Apple Pencil and wireless charging. With these updates, Apple has doubled iPad Pro’s strength and upgraded for gaming and AR.

Here’s what we have about the device:

New model: 11-inch ($799) and 12.9-inch ($999)

Thinness: 5.9mm

Face ID, without a notch

8-core A12 Bionic chip, Neural Engine support

New Apple Pencil stylus, allowing wireless charging

Upgraded Smart Keyboard folio

USB-C support

5K display output support

1TB storage

Headphone jack and home button eliminated

Four speakers

Swipe-based user interface, split-view support

Preorder available, ship from November 7

At the event, Apple also launched new MacBook Air whose price starts at $1,199 (equal £1,199, AU$1,849). This means the new iPad Pro comes at the exact same price as the previous MacBook, making it a true replacement for laptop.

In addition, the Smart Keyboard costs another $179 for 11-inch model (that’s £179, AU$269) and $199 for 12.9-inch version (equivalent to £199, AU$299), which results in the iPad Pro cost reaching up to $1,899, excluding accessories.

The giant hopes that the new iPad Pro can compete with current tablets such as the Pixel Slate from Google ($599) and the Surface Pro 6 from Microsoft ($899). Yet, it’s also essential that Apple re-establish the Pro as a higher-end device after the addition of faster chip and Pencil support to its iPad back in March.

The $329 iPad has since brought a lot of features which used to be exclusive to the $649 10.5-inch Pro and $799 12.9-inch Pro. With the new devices launched today, Apple has restored some exclusive features that differs basic iPads from Pros.