Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation) vs Apple iPad Pro 13″ (M5)

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iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation) compared with iPad Pro 13″ (M5)

	AppleiPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)	AppleiPad Pro 13″ (M5)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2015	October 2025
Display
Screen size
Screen size	12.9″	13″
Resolution
Resolution	2732 × 2048	2752 × 2064 (better)
Sharpness
Sharpness	265 pixels per inch	265 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LCD	Tandem OLED
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	120 Hz (better)
Brightness
Brightness	–	1,000 nits
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	–	1,600 nits
Display type
Display type	Retina; LED-backlit LCD	Ultra Retina XDR display, tandem OLED; 13 inches measured diagonally as a rectangle
Pixel density
Pixel density	264 ppi	264 ppi
Brightness detail
Brightness detail	–	SDR 1,000 nits max; XDR 1,000 nits max full screen, 1,600 nits peak (HDR content only); 1 nit minimum; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio
Display features
Display features	Fully laminated; anti-reflective and oleophobic coatings; variable 30–60 Hz refresh described by Ars Technica	ProMotion with adaptive refresh rates from 10Hz to 120Hz; wide colour (P3); True Tone; fully laminated; anti-reflective coating; fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating; nano-texture glass option on 1TB and 2TB models
Performance
Chip
Chip	A9X	M5
Memory
Memory	4 GB	12 GB – 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	32 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	64-bit A9X; M9 coprocessor; 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM confirmed by iFixit	9-core CPU with 3 performance and 6 efficiency cores (256GB and 512GB models); 10-core CPU with 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores (1TB and 2TB models)
GPU
GPU	–	10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators and hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, AV1 decode; 153GB/s memory bandwidth
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Rear camera
Rear camera	8 MP	12 MP (better)
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	None	None
Front camera
Front camera	1.2 MP	12 MP (better)
Rear camera
Rear camera	Autofocus; f/2.4 five-element lens; HDR; panorama; backside illumination	12MP Wide, ƒ/1.8, five-element lens, autofocus with Focus Pixels, Adaptive True Tone flash, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera
Front camera	FaceTime HD; f/2.2; HDR	Landscape 12MP Center Stage TrueDepth camera, ƒ/2.0; Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting
Video recording
Video recording	Rear 1080p at 30 fps; 720p slow-motion at 120 fps; stabilised time-lapse; front 720p	4K at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; ProRes up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps on 256GB); slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; stereo recording and Audio zoom
Depth sensor
Depth sensor	–	LiDAR Scanner
Battery and connections
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 10 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	38.5 Wh	38.99 Wh (better)
Battery (mAh)
Battery (mAh)	10,307 mAh	–
Mobile data option
Mobile data option	Yes	Yes
Stylus
Stylus	Supported, sold separately	Supported, sold separately
Keyboard made for it
Keyboard made for it	Yes	Yes
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 10 hours Wi-Fi browsing, video or music; nine hours cellular browsing; 10,307 mAh and 38.8 Wh battery label reported by iFixit, compared with Apple's 38.5 Wh specification	Up to 10 hours surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video; up to 9 hours surfing the web on mobile data
Charging
Charging	Power adaptor or USB computer charging	Up to 50% in around 30 minutes with a 60W or higher USB-C adapter (sold separately)
USB-C
USB-C	Lightning; 3.5 mm headphone jack; Smart Connector	Thunderbolt / USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) with charging and DisplayPort; one external display up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 120Hz
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac; HT80 with MIMO	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO (Apple N1 chip); Thread
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2	Bluetooth 6
Mobile network
Mobile network	LTE; UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA; GSM/EDGE; CDMA EV-DO; nano-SIM with Apple SIM support; cellular model weighs 723 g and starts at 128 GB	Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6 GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE; eSIM only
Stylus support
Stylus support	Apple Pencil (1st generation), sold separately	Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C); Apple Pencil hover
Keyboards
Keyboards	Smart Keyboard through Smart Connector, sold separately	Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro (black or white)
Design
Weight
Weight	713 g	579 g (better)
Thickness
Thickness	6.9 mm	5.1 mm (better)
Height × width
Height × width	305.7 × 220.6 mm	281.6 × 215.5 mm
Operating system
Operating system	iPadOS	iPadOS
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID in Home button	Face ID
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker audio	Four-speaker audio
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Studio-quality four-mic array
Sensors
Sensors	Gyroscope; accelerometer; barometer; ambient light; compass; iBeacon; assisted GPS and GLONASS on cellular model	Three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensors
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure (Ars Technica)	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 30% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver, Gold, Space Grey	Silver, Space Black
Software at launch
Software at launch	iOS 9; subsequently received iPadOS	iPadOS 26
In the box
In the box	iPad Pro; Lightning to USB cable; USB power adaptor	iPad Pro; polishing cloth with nano-texture glass models (no cable or power adapter in the UK)