AUGUST 2021 MACWORLD 83absolutely won’t be. But since
money will most likely be an
object, you’ll be just as happy
spending less on last year’s
model or just buying an iPad Air.
CENTER OF ATTENTION
It might be strange to start an
iPad review by discussing the
camera, but it represents
everything that’s great and
frustrating about the iPad Pro.
Apple insists on selling the iPad
as a portrait device like the
iPhone, even though the natural
inclination is to pick it up and
hold it lengthwise.
After more than 10 years and
dozens of iterations, I don’t know
when Apple is going to admit
that the iPad is a landscape
device. I lost track of how many
times I picked up the iPad Pro
and blocked the camera with my
thumb, thus blocking Face ID
and forcing me to either change
my grip or input my passcode.
When picked up horizontally, the iPad’s
camera is in the perfect spot to be blocked
and it’s somewhat infuriating that no one at
Apple seems to believe this is an issue.
As far as the front camera itself, Apple
has upgraded it from a plain ƒ/2.2 7MP
camera to an ƒ/2.4 12MP ultrawide camera
with 2x optical zoom out. The difference is
huge, and if you take a lot of FaceTime
calls, both you and the person on the other
end of the call will instantly notice it. It finally
brings the iPad Pro’s selfie camera up to the
level of the iPhone, which has had a higher-
quality camera since the iPhone 11.The camera on the new iPad Pro (top) is far superior to
the 2020 version (below).