Home Tablet comparison Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021) and Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025) - Which is better?

Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021) vs Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)

84 out 100
Apple iPad Pro 12.9
VS
97 out 100
Apple iPad Pro 13
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021) Manufactured in May, 2021, with display 12.9 with chipsetApple M1 (iPad), vs Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025), Manufactured in October, 2025with chipsetApple M5 (iPad). Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
  • Higher battery capacity: 10758mAh vs 10340mAh
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
  • Larger display: 13in
  • Lighter design: 579g vs 682g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 16/2048 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 16/2048 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021) and Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Tablets:
iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
vs
iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Mini LED OLED
Size 12.9 in 13 in
Resolution 2048x2732 pixels 2064x2752 pixels
Aspect ratio 4:3 4:3
Pixel density 265 ppi 265 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 600 nits 1000 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 85.5 % 86.2 %
Features n/a DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
612 nits
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
n/a
sRGB gamut99.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)19190 Hzn/a
Response time23 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 280.6 mm (11.05 in) 281.6 mm (11.09 in)
Width 214.9 mm (8.46 in) 215.5 mm (8.48 in)
Thickness 6.4 mm (0.25 in) 5.1 mm (0.2 in)
Weight 682 g (24.06 oz) 579 g (20.42 oz)
Area 603 cm² (93.47 in²) 607 cm² (94.09 in²)
Water resistance No No
Back panel Metal Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gray		 - Black
- Silver
Fingerprint sensor No No
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
85.5 %
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
86.2 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021) and Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple M1 (iPad) Apple M5 (iPad)
Max Frequency 3200 MHz 4600 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 10 (4 + 6)
Architecture - 4/3.2 (Icestorm)
- 4/2.1 (Firestorm)		 6/2.95 ()
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Apple M1 GPU Apple M5 GPU
GPU Cores 1024 1280
GPU Frequency 1278 MHz 2005 MHz
FLOPS 2617 GFLOPS 5133 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
2324
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
4175
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
8559
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
15577
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)23244175
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)855915577
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)], [Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
1708836
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
n/a
CPU4948051234977
GPU6882291095596
Memory197010420432
UX328792404644
NanoReview Score1708836n/a
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
17076
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Max Surface Temp.39.2 °Cn/a
Stability73 %n/a
Graphics Test102 fpsn/a
Graphics Score17076n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4266 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeNVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iPadOS 14.5.1 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3) iPadOS 26

Battery

Volume 10758 mAh 10340 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 65 min) Yes (50% in 38 min)
Full Charge Time 2:15 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
32:24
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
n/a
Web Browsing10:29 hn/a
Video Playback15:19 hn/a
Games07:27 hn/a
Standby Mode199 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom n/a Digital
Flash Quad LED Quad LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 125 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 10 MP
Depth		 Standard: 12 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Sensor size1/3.0"n/a
Pixel sizen/a1.22 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Matrix 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.0
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 6.0
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 4.0 4.0
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzn/a
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHzUMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers 4.0 4.0
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (5th Gen, 2021)
83.9 dB
Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025)
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced April, 2021 yr October, 2025 yr
Release Date May, 2021 yr October, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1099 n/a
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Face Sensor
Charger Included Yes 20 W Yes, 20 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPad Pro 13" (8th Gen, 2025) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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Total Votes: 1

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