iPad Pro adds FaceID, removes the home button, and ditches Lightning

Apple's new iPad Pro is exactly what we were expecting, and that is not such a bad thing.

Announced today, the new iPad Pro features the design that was leaked and rumored over the past few weeks. Similar to its smaller, telephony cousin, the iPad Pro ditches the large bezels and TouchID home button in favor of slim bezels and FaceID sensor system,

The new iPad Pro comes in both an 11" and 12.9" screen size with the 11" version maintaining roughly the same size as the previous 10.5" version. The 12.9" version maintains the same screen size as the previous version while significantly shrinking the housing size; for comparison, Apple says it is roughly the size of a letter-sized sheet of paper. All of this comes in a 5.9mm thick slab that has slightly sharper edges than previous years.

The iPad Pro utilizes the same Liquid Retina display technology available in the new iPhone Xr with rounded corners. Like the iPhone, the home button has been ditched for thinner bezels and FaceID, but the iPad maintains a full bezel to eliminate any notches. With the home button now gone, the iPad embraces the same iOS 12, gesture-based navigation as the iPhone.

The iPad Pro is powered by the same A12X Bionic chip powering the newer iPhone Xs and Xr with an 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU and up to 1TB of storage space. Noticeably, the iPad has removed the 3.5mm jack as well as the Lightning port in favor of USB-C. This move, according to Apple, allows more options for the iPad including external display connectivity and charge-out which will work on the iPad on day one.

The iPad Pro comes enhanced with four speakers for stereo sound as well as a 12MP camera; it will have gigabit LTE on cellular models. The battery life should be good for up to 10 hours of continuous, but as always, results may vary.

As a companion to the iPad Pro, Apple has redesigned the Apple Pencil allowing it to magnetically connect to the iPad; it will also pair automatically and charge wirelessly. The Pencil, a la S-Pen, also has built in features including automatic wake up to Notes from touching the screen, double-tap to switch modes, and other gesture-based input that developers will have access to. The Smart Folio Keyboard has also been redesigned for multiple viewing angles to increase comfort for desk or lap use. As always, these are not included with the iPad Pro, and are available for separate purchase.

The iPad Pro will start at $799 for the 11" and $99 for the 12.9", and they will be available on November 7 along with the Mac Mini and Macbook Air.