Reviews for the 2018 iPad Pro went live this morning ahead of Wednesday's launch, and in a press release, Apple this afternoon highlighted reviews from several media sites that were able to spend some time with the new tablets.
Apple shared key passages from sites that include WIRED, Laptop Mag, Mashable, Daring Fireball, Resource, The Independent, Pocket-Lint, CityNews, and HardwareZone, along with reviews from digital artists on Instagram.
WIRED, for example, said that the new iPad Pro models are the "best, most powerful, most capable" iPads that "put other tablets to shame."
The Independent said that the new iPad Pro is a "huge upgrade" from previous models and that it will become the "tablet of choice" for creatives, while Daring Fireball's John Gruber said that the Apple Pencil 2 "nears perfection" and is one of the "best 2.0" products he's seen.
Laptop Mag called the iPad Pro the "most powerful mobile device ever made," Pocket-Lint said it will pique the interest of those who have started to question whether they still need a laptop," and CityNews said it's "hard not to be wowed when you first pick it up."
Apple only highlighted the positive parts of each of these reviews, many of which had some negative elements to them. On the whole, reviewers praised the iPad Pro's hardware, which is unparalleled, but most felt that it is no computer replacement due to the limitations of iOS. Some reviewers also ran into quirks with Face ID not working properly, and there were criticisms of USB-C and the way the iPad Pro handles files as external storage devices are not supported.
Apple's full list of iPad Pro review selections can be seen in the article shared via the Apple Newsroom, while additional reviews can be found in our own review roundup.
The 2018 iPad Pro models can be ordered from Apple's online store and will be available in retail locations starting Wednesday.
Pricing on the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 for 64GB of storage, with 256GB of storage priced at $949, 512GB priced at $1,149, and 1TB of priced at $1,549. Models with cellular connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi are available for an additional $150 over the base price for each storage tier.