At Apple's Spring Road event, the tech giant finally lifted the lid on the iPad Pro 2021 After months of rumors, speculation, and a few leaks, we now have official confirmation of what we can expect from Apple's latest flagship tablet

While the inclusion of the highly touted Apple M1 chip is a headline-making improvement, the iPad Pro 2021 definitely has a lot more to offer Apple has dominated the tablet space since day one, and it looks like that will continue with this latest iPad

However, there are definitely some reasons to be hesitant about picking up this latest iPad Pro It is by no means an impulse purchase The tablet starts at $799 for the 11-inch model, a hefty price to justify If you already have an iPad and do a good enough job with it, you may be on the fence about upgrading

When it comes to deciding whether the iPad Pro 2021 is worth getting, there is no clear answer Ultimately, it all comes down to personal preference and user requirements However, to make the purchasing decision a little easier, here are some pros and cons

Apple's M1 chip is a marvelous piece of computer engineering, and we're glad the iPad Pro 2021 can harness its power

The chip offers 50% faster CPU performance when compared to the iPad Pro's A12Z Bionic processor and a 40% graphics leap over last year's tablet This is not even mentioning the 2x faster storage access or the 16-core Neural Engine [Heavy users will never go back to an iPad without an M1 chip once they experience the speed of the M1 chip

The iPad Pro 2021 comes in two models, one with an 11-inch display and one with a 129-inch panel The former starts at $799, while the larger-screen iPad is a hefty $1,099 for the most basic configuration [But the 129-inch is priced so high that many consumers will no doubt be hesitant to consider it After all, most people will not throw more than $1,000 at a tablet without at least a little hesitation

To make matters worse, the iPad Pro 2021 129" costs $100 more than its 2020 equivalent, and even the 11" model costs $50 more than last year's equivalent

The biggest reason to upgrade to the iPad Pro 2021 is undoubtedly the mini LED display, an even bigger upgrade than the M1 chip

With a 56 million pixel display, Extreme Dynamic Range (XDR) support, and 10,000 mini LEDs, it's no wonder Apple is making a big deal about this improvement This mini-LED display certainly looks great

Unfortunately, this panel is only available on the 129-inch model, while the 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 has a liquid Retina display

Since it is an Apple product, the lack of ports is basically a given But that still doesn't mean that the iPad Pro 2021 didn't disappoint us with its stingy offering

Both models of this tablet have only one USB-C port, although they support Thunderbolt and USB-4 That said, we are fed up with the fact that a dongle is basically required to use iPad accessories, so we hope Apple will be more generous with the port The headphone jack has long since been discontinued at this point, but we can't afford to miss it either

The M1 chip and mini LED display have garnered a lot of headlines, but the iPad Pro 2021's improvements in the camera department should not be overlooked

The rear camera is on par with the iPad Pro 2020 (12MP wide, 10MP ultra-wide), but what really got us excited was the addition of a TrueDepth sensor on the front-facing camera The improvement from the 7MP sensor on the previous iPad model to a 12MP TrueDepth sensor with a 120-degree viewing angle is very welcome

Given that Zoom/FaceTime calling has become an even bigger part of our lives over the past year, the new camera feature called "Centre Stage" has certainly caught our attention This nifty addition automatically pans and zooms to keep you in the frame, even as you move around It's like having an actual camera operator filming you

As mentioned, I am not particularly impressed with the single port on the iPad Pro However, I am pleased that the only port is Thunderbolt

This provides four times the bandwidth of the USB-C port on last year's iPad Pro and also allows the tablet to support 6K external displays

Apple's vision for the iPad Pro is for the tablet to offer the same power as a traditional PC, and this port definitely brings the device a little closer to that vision

If you didn't already think the iPad Pro 2021 was overpriced If you did, you may have overstepped your bounds when it comes with the magical keyboard accessory

The keyboard is a must-have for anyone who wants to get serious with their tablet, as it basically turns the iPad into a laptop However, the $349 price tag has always put me off Unfortunately, that is no different with the iPad Pro 2021

A flashy new white model was announced at the spring event, but there is no sign of a permanent price drop, which is very disappointing However, this is less of an issue since there are cheaper alternatives, such as the recently announced Logitech Combo Touch

5G is quickly becoming the industry standard, so it is not too surprising that the iPad Pro 2021 will support 5G There is nothing more frustrating than slow internet speeds, so the addition of 5G as an option is very welcome

Unfortunately, it's not all good news on this front: the iPad Pro 2021 with 5G support is not cheap, adding $200 to either model While 5G connectivity will no doubt become standard on future models, it is still considered optional at this time

Whether it is worth the upgrade cost is up to the user, but we are overall quite happy that it is at least being offered