These are the Best Xiaomi phones that you can buy right now!

Xiaomi is, almost certainly, the most prolific phone brand in the world right now. Between its main brand, various sub-brands, and spinoffs that have supposedly become “independent,” the company seemingly pumps out a new phone every two weeks or so. This would be annoying if the devices were mediocre and lazy rehashes, but that’s not the case. Xiaomi’s flagship phones are excellent — not just a contender to top our Best Android Phones list, but even our Best Phones list, period. Its budget and mid-tier offerings, meanwhile, usually offer more value than competitors at the same price point.

But having so many devices can also confuse consumers. This is why we’re here to help. We have tested virtually every Xiaomi smartphone to hit the market over the past few years and these are the best devices for each need.

Navigate this article:

• Best Xiaomi phone money can buy: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
• Best Xiaomi phone for most people: POCO F3 / Mi 11X
• Best foldable phone from Xiaomi: Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold
• Best mid-tier Xiaomi phone: Redmi Note 10 Pro / Pro Max
• Best affordable Xiaomi phone: POCO X3 Pro
• Best entry-level Xiaomi phone: POCO M3
• Best gaming phone from Xiaomi: Redmi K40 Gaming Edition

Best Xiaomi phone money can buy: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

Up until a year or two ago, Xiaomi’s reputation — especially in its native home country — was a phone brand that made good but not great phones that sold at low prices. Xiaomi’s been trying to pivot away from that and be seen as a maker of premium phones (à la Huawei or Apple), and the Mi 11 Ultra is the company’s most convincing attempt yet, forming the crown jewel on its Mi 11 series.

With a main camera that uses the largest image sensor in the industry, a bright and vibrant LTPO 120Hz panel with WQHD+ resolution, and a Snapdragon 888, the Mi 11 Ultra packs the latest and greatest components that can go toe to toe with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. The Mi 11 Ultra also one-up’s Samsung in other areas such as faster wireless charging and a superior ultra-wide lens. Throw in IP68 water and dust resistance and super-fast 67W wireless charging, this is not just Xiaomi’s best possible slab smartphone, but arguably the best possible slab smartphone anywhere, period.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra represents the best Xiaomi has to offer as a smartphone, with the best camera system, screen, and SoC possible.

View at Xiaomi

Best Xiaomi phone for most people: POCO F3 / Mi 11X

Xiaomi started the POCO sub-brand three years ago and used the platform to launch a phone with almost flagship specs at a very attractive price. The POCO F3, released in March, continues this strategy. At around €349 ($416), the POCO F3 offers a 120Hz display with a whopping 360Hz touch sampling rate; a Snapdragon 870 (which is an upgraded Snapdragon 865+); a solid set of cameras; and a premium glass-and-aluminum sandwich design. Such an attractive set of hardware components in a sub-$500 price is unheard of in North America. So unless you really want to splurge on the best of the best, the POCO F3 is the best Xiaomi phone to buy value-wise.

The POCO F3 is rebranded into the Xiaomi Mi 11X in India. Other than the name, it’s the same phone and is quickly rising up as a default recommendation for the average Indian consumer.

Xiaomi Mi 11X / POCO F3

The Xiaomi Mi 11X, also known as the POCO F3, is the best phone for most people because it offers almost flagship-level power and design at a price that can be considered low for most people.

Buy from Amazon.in

Best foldable phone from Xiaomi: Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold

Okay fine, this category is a bit of a cheat right now because Xiaomi only has one foldable phone out, so there was no other option but to list the Mi Mix Fold. Still, the Mi Mix Fold is quite an impressive combination of hardware prowess, cutting-edge tech, and a reasonable price (for a foldable).

The Mi Mix Fold runs on the Snapdragon 888, with a 108MP main camera and a new “liquid lens” that doubles as a telephoto and macro lens. But of course, the biggest draw is that it is both a smartphone and an 8-inch tablet. If you want a foldable phone that runs Xiaomi’s software, or if you just want the most affordable large foldable phone right now, look no further than the Mi Mix Fold.

Unfortunately, unlike most phones on this list, the Mix Fold is a China-only release, so if you don’t live in China, importing via third-party businesses is the only purchase method.

Best mid-tier Xiaomi phone: Redmi Note 10 Pro / Pro Max

This phone is named Redmi Note 10 Pro in Europe, but Redmi Note 10 Pro Max in India. Whatever you want to call it though, you’re getting a lot of value for your money as we mention in our review. Priced firmly under $300, the Note 10 Pro offers both a 120Hz AMOLED display and a 108MP camera — two hardware components that were major selling points of $1,200 phones just a year ago.

You also get a 5,020 mAh battery that lasts all day, Snapdragon 732G, and a Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the large 6.7-inch display. The ultra-wide camera at 8MP is a bit weak, and there’s no zoom lens at all, but these are understandable compromises to make for a mid-ranger.

Redmi Note 10 Pro / Pro Max

The Redmi Note 10 Pro (or Note 10 Pro Max if you're in India) is a heck of a bargain at its price point: you get a 120Hz AMOLED screen and 108MP camera along with a large battery.

Buy from Amazon.in

Best affordable Xiaomi phone: POCO X3 Pro

The POCO X3 Pro offers a 120Hz display, Snapdragon 860, a quad-camera system, and a large 5,060 mAh battery in a sub-$250 package, with deals often knocking it down to the $200 range. This is just superb value no matter how you look at it. The Snapdragon 860 SoC is basically a souped-up version of the Snapdragon 855+, which means it was considered a tip-top SoC just some 18 months ago. Although the screen is just an LCD panel instead of OLED, it’s still 120Hz and animations appear buttery smooth. Quite frankly, there’s not a phone out there that gives more at this price range.

POCO X3 Pro

120Hz screen with a large battery and an almost flagship SoC for under $300 is a great deal no matter how you look at it.

View at Xiaomi

Best entry-level Xiaomi phone: POCO M3

Running on a Snapdragon 662 with no zoom or ultra-wide lens, the POCO M3 won’t be confused for a flagship phone, but priced under $150, this is about as good as you’re going to get at this price range. You’re still getting a large 1080p display, a capable 48MP main camera, and a serviceable 8MP selfie camera, along with a huge 6,000 mAh battery that can power the device for at least a day and a half, if not two days for most people.

Xiaomi’s software is also well-optimized, so you won’t experience lags 0r app crashes like lesser brands who sell in the sub-$200 range. Some of Xiaomi’s phones do go even lower on the price tag, but the POCO M3 offers one of the better rounded-out packages out there.

POCO M3

The POCO M3 is for those on a tight budget. While there are some compromises, you're still getting a serviceable handset that can handle all your daily tasks.

View at Flipkart

Best gaming phone from Xiaomi: Redmi K40 Gaming Edition

From dedicated shoulder trigger buttons to vapor chamber cooling to 480Hz touch sampling response rate, the Redmi K40 Gaming Edition is built for mobile gamers. Powering everything is a Dimensity 1200 SoC with 12GB of RAM.

Since it’s released under the Redmi branding, the K40 Gaming Edition is quite affordable too. Right now, however, the device is sold only in China, but a global version should be coming soon. In India, the device is likely to take the form of the POCO F3 GT, and we can expect to see some killer pricing to go along with it.

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No matter what you need, Xiaomi has a device for you

Xiaomi pumps out phones at a breakneck pace, so if you don’t see anything here that suits your needs, just wait a few months and there will be another batch of new Xiaomi devices. We here at XDA will keep track of all Xiaomi releases and update this list monthly so check back often!

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Google Play is suspending free trials in India following new RBI regulations

At the end of March, the Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank and financial regulatory authority, announced new rules on recurring transactions. In response, Google is informing developers of temporary changes for Google Play users in India.

The RBI’s new eMandate notification “calls for an additional layer of authentication for recurring transactions via credit cards, debit cards, UPI, and other prepaid payment instruments (PPIs),” explains Business Today. Because of these rules, Google has announced that it will pause new signups of auto-renewing subscriptions for users in India. “Until the ecosystem challenges are addressed,” Google explains in an email sent to developers, the company will also temporarily suspend free trials and introductory pricing for users in India. The reason these features will be suspended until further notice is because they’re tied to how Google Play handles auto-renewing subscriptions: You currently can’t sign up for a free trial or take advantage of introductory pricing without also signing up for an auto-renewing subscription.

Subscriptions will continue to be available as single access passes that provide users a single billing period of access (eg. 1-month access). At the end of the billing duration, Google says users will need to sign up again in order to continue their subscription.

These changes go into effect in early May but will not impact existing auto-renewing subscriptions or other markets. Google is recommending developers remove free trials and introductory pricing from their apps as well as from any user communications. Furthermore, Google recommends developers replace auto-renewing subscription SKUs in India with one-time product SKUs and add in-app messaging that informs users that subscriptions will not automatically renew.

Thanks to 8bitpit, the developer of Niagara Launcher, for the tip!

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Exclusive: This is the upcoming Infinix Note 10 Pro in real life

Infinix has been selling phones in Europe and Asia since 2013, and the company’s phones have been rising in popularity in India over the past few years. Earlier this month, we shared exclusive press renders of the upcoming budget-tier Infinix Note 10 Pro, a budget phone expected to have a 90Hz screen and MediaTek Helio chipset. Now we have some real-life photos of the phone to share.

The two photos we’ve obtained show the back of the Infinix Note 10 Pro, in two colors. One of the designs is distinctly purple, similar to Apple’s new purple color for the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. The other appears to have a reflective gradient design, like many other Android smartphones from Huawei, Samsung, and other manufacturers.

The details appear to line up with earlier renders and schematics, which indicated the phone would have a USB Type-C port for charging and data, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a headphone jack, and multiple rear cameras. Hardware specifications haven’t been shared with us, but other reports claim the phone will have a 6.9-inch 90Hz screen, a MediaTek Helio G95 chipset, 8GB RAM, and 5,000mAh battery. The main camera is expected to be 64MP, with a 16MP front-facing lens.

It will be interesting to see the final pricing — the Infinix Note 8 was sold for around $200 when it was first released (there was no Note 9), so the Note 10 will likely be around the same price. It’s not clear when Infinix will officially reveal the phone, but the company did release the Hot 10 Play recently in India. That phone is priced at ₹8,499 (around $115), and has a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, two rear cameras, and Android 10.

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Google Discover appears to be getting a facelift in Android 12

Google Discover appears to be testing a new design in Android 12. The new look changes the alignment of the Google logo while also stripping it of color. Going forward, the logo will either be white or gray depending on your system’s theme.

The new-look Google Discover was first spotted by Android Police, which said the changes are currently only available in Android 12. The redesigned UI also moves the inbox icon right next to your account profile. It’s by no means a major change, and as far as we can tell there’s nothing functionally different.

Google Discover arrived as a rebranding of Google Feed (itself a rebranding of Google Now) back in 2018. Discover is designed to show people trending news, evergreen content, and other information in a scrollable format. It’s a helpful feed for surfacing content even before you need it.

Over the years — Google Discover was launched in 2018 — the experience has become much more visible. When the Galaxy S21 series was announced, it was revealed the series featured Google Discover feed integration into its launcher. We’ve also seen Discover appear on other devices, underscoring what a quality service it is.

The latest UI change to Google Discover is admittedly minor, but sometimes small visual changes can have a lasting impact on the experience. Seeing the Google logo now left-aligned makes the experience feel less like a search engine and more like the helpful service it’s trying to be. It’s become so prominent that Microsoft added a Google Discover-like news and weather feed to the Windows 10 taskbar.

It’s unclear how widely available the new look will be, or if Google Discover will go back to looking like its old self. It’s also unclear if the small redesign will only be available on devices running Android 12, which appears to be the case at the moment. With Google set to hold its I/O conference in May, perhaps we’ll learn more about what kind of tweaks are being planned.

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Apple’s new iMac makes the All-In-One PC sexy again

Apple recently revealed the new, updated iMac — which is now available for pre-order — with M1 chips and an ultra-slim frame. It’s also available in up to seven colors — and it’s gorgeous in a way Apple’s All-in-One hasn’t been for a while.

The new iMac is an impressive piece of hardware, with the aforementioned M1 chipset, a crisp 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, with an all-new built-in camera, mic, and speakers that are big upgrades over the previous models. The rest of the hardware is also impressive, but it’s not really the internals that will draw most people to this device — they’re a bonus, to be sure, but what makes this new iMac so stunning is how it looks.

One of the first and most striking features you’ll notice about the new iMac is its very slim profile. At just 11.5 millimeters, it’s more slender and aesthetically pleasing than ever and just looks right. The thin monitor combined with the graceful swoop of the stand is sure to catch the eye of those looking for that minimalistic look in their tech.

The real draw is the color range. No longer will you be constrained to just the usual silver when looking for a new iMac. The new all-in-one has an impressive seven-color range (though, to be fair, one of those is the aforementioned silver). Every color of the rainbow is represented: Yellow, Orange, Blue, Green (that looks more like teal), Purple, and Pink (that looks very, very red).

Each iMac will have a bright splash of color across its back, and a softer, more muted tone of the same color around the sides and the stand.

The range of colors recalls the iMac G3, that beautiful bubble-shaped iMac that came in a variety of different colors. While the new iMac doesn’t have quite as many colors as its predecessor, it’s still good to see the infusion of bright shades back into the line. In fact, some of the colors of the new iMac look like updated versions of the colors in that older computer. The new blue-ish teal looks very similar to the “Bondi Blue,” the first color with which the G3 was released. The dark purple and pink also look similar to colors in the G3 family.

In case the striking color array wasn’t enough — and, just looking at the computer, it should be — almost all of the accessories can be color-matched to the iMac. The new keyboard, the mouse, the trackpad, and even the cable and power connector can be the same color as your all-in-one. If you’re used to the usual colors of white, grey, and black in all of your tech, this new pop of color and the fact that everything can match might bring a tear to the eye.

Obviously, looks aren’t everything. The way the computer works and what kind of software it supports are the sort of things that will really matter in the day-to-day, not the color.

But it’s also important for the new iMac to look visually different from its predecessor. This is the first redesign of the iMac in a decade, but it won’t resonate with potential buyers so much if it looks identical to the computer that came before it, no matter how impressive the hardware is. So adding an expanded (and pretty) color selection is a visual shorthand for marking the generational differences.

Apple’s new 24-inch iMac is up for pre-order starting today. You can place a pre-order from Apple.com, Amazon, or Best Buy, and shipments will arrive in the second half of May. For more details on the pricing, availability, and specifications, check out our buying guide.

Apple iMac 24-inch (2021)

Apple's new 24-inch iMac not only comes in several different playful colors but also packs an incredibly fast M1 chip and beautiful 4.5K Retina display.

Pre-order from Amazon

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Facebook Messenger and Instagram chats won’t be encrypted by default until at least 2022

Facebook has received plenty of criticism over the past few years, partially because the company has a near-monopoly on messaging and social networks in some countries, and also due to Facebook’s abhorrent track record with user privacy and data. The company has been slow-moving to improve its public perception, and one element of that — encrypting messages between users without having to change any settings — won’t be ready anytime soon.

Facebook first rolled out end-to-end encryption in its Messenger app in 2016, though it’s only available by switching to a ‘Secret Conversation’ mode, which also prevents some features from working. Instagram hasn’t rolled out end-to-end encryption for messages and has even been testing features that seemingly won’t work over E2E connections (like messaging on the desktop). Facebook said in 2019 that it would eventually add E2E encryption to Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. The company also revealed earlier that year that all three platforms would be switched to a unified infrastructure, allowing cross-communication between all three services.

Facebook announced updates to its safety and security plans in a blog post today. The post primarily focused on the results of studies and interviews about privacy, but nestled in the text is a blurb about the status of end-to-end encryption on Facebook’s platforms:

While we expect to make more progress on default end-to-end encryption for Messenger and Instagram Direct this year, it’s a long-term project and we won’t be fully end-to-end encrypted until sometime in 2022 at the earliest. Moreover, the safety features we’ve already introduced are designed to work with end-to-end encryption, and we plan to continue building strong safety features into our services.

It’s a bit surprising that Facebook is taking years to implement end-to-end encryption across all its services, especially considering the planning started as early as 2019. Adding the required infrastructure and client-side software to handle E2E across several platforms is tricky, but it seems like Facebook is prioritizing other features.

In the meantime, other messaging services like Signal and Telegram are continuing to steal users from Facebook’s services, largely due to the company’s poor privacy. Both apps received a spike in downloads following the controversy around WhatsApp’s planned changes to its terms of service, though Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger remain near the top of the Play Store’s free apps (as they have for years).

Messenger – Text and Video Chat for Free (Free⁺, Google Play) →

Instagram (Free⁺, Google Play) →

WhatsApp Messenger (Free, Google Play) →

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EU accuses Apple of anticompetitive App Store policies

The European Commission on Friday said it is formally accusing Apple of engaging in anti-competitive behavior. The Commission said Apple is guilty of abusing its dominate position and has an unfair advantage when competing against other apps in the App Store.

The ruling follows an initial complaint from Spotify back in 2019, and takes issue with an App Store policy related to the mandatory use of Apple’s in-app purchase system. The Commission said it’s also concerned with a rule that prevents developers from informing users about alternative ways to purchase software or services. These strict rules “disadvantage competing music streaming services” and “deprive users of cheaper music streaming choices,” the Commission said (via The Verge).

Additionally, the Commission said that Apple’s App Store policies result in higher prices for consumers. Apple imposes a 30% commission fee on all in-app purchases, which is passed onto consumers because companies raise subscription prices.

The Commission’s accusation only relates to the App Store’s practices for music streaming. Apple is also being investigated over practices related to ebooks and the App Store in general, so more rulings could soon follow. The Commission may also look at the App Store’s policies related to games, which has become a major topic of debate over the last several months.

This is just the first step in proceedings, where the Commission informs Apple, who will have an opportunity to respond. Apple is facing a fine of up to 10% of its annual revenue if found guilty, and could also be forced to completely change how the App Store operates.

Apple is facing a number of accusations over its policies, with its fight against Epic Games being among the most high profile. In a separate case, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said there were “significant issues” with how Apple (and Google) operate its App Store, and the control the company has over third parties.

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Google still struggles with transparency over Play Store app removals

Android as an OS has been around for over a decade now and compared to iOS, it does offer a lot more freedom. However, Google maintains dominance over app distribution on the Android platform. Even if Android is open to third-party app stores and sideloading, we can’t trivialize Google’s hold over the smartphone ecosystem built up over many years. This hold is the result of millions of app developers contributing meaningful app experiences to the platform over its existence, giving users a reason to use a smartphone with Android. Google and app developers have a symbiotic relationship, but it’s not one where the power dynamics are equal. Time and time again, we’ve seen complaints from long-standing developers whose apps were punted from the ecosystem, with the explanation for such removals found in vague or automated emails from Google.

Case in point: DroidScript

David Hurren, the founder of DroidScript.org, reached out to tell us about his recent experience dealing with Google Play’s developer support. For those unaware, DroidScript is an app that serves as a mobile IDE, allowing novice developers to create Android apps directly on their phone. The app is designed to make Android programming more accessible to beginners and non-professionals or to those coming from a Web development environment as DroidScript revolves around JavaScript use. While the app does look dated, it had around 1.5 million downloads over 7 years with ~105,000 active users, according to the developer. For an app made by a small, not-for-profit organization, those are good numbers.

Screenshots from DroidScript’s now-removed Play Store listing.

According to David, Google Play recently removed the DroidScript app from the Play Store on suspicion of committing ad fraud. Ad fraud is a serious matter, so a removal would be valid if that is indeed what happened. David denies any such thing occurred, which means of course he was going to appeal the decision. The problem, as usual, is that appealing a decision to Google can lead to an incredibly frustrating experience.

As David presents it, Google first disabled their AdMob account for “Invalid Traffic”, and upon appeal, further suspended the account for Ad Fraud. The appeal response came within 11 minutes and read as if it was automated. What makes matters murky is the lack of transparency that Google maintains regarding these matters. The developer insists that they only have a single banner ad in their app and had been using AdMob without issues for about a year when they received this notice and ban out of the blue.

To make matters worse, a week later, when the developer was working on removing AdMob from the app, they received a suspension email from Google Play for their app DroidScript. This email had some more details, like “APK:206 Ad Fraud. App violates Ad Fraud policy.”, but that is about it as far as transparency goes. Upon appeal, Google added “Malware” as a reason too, after taking 12 days to respond to the appeal:

During review, we found that your app violates the Malware policy. We don’t allow apps with any code that could put a user, a user’s data, or a device at risk. If your app was developed by a third party, we recommend contacting them to verify that they designed your app to comply with our policies. You can read through the Malware policy page for more details and examples of common violations.

Your app is not compliant with the Ad Fraud policy. Ad fraud is strictly prohibited. Ad interactions generated for the purpose of tricking an ad network into believing traffic is from authentic user interest is ad fraud, which is a form of invalid traffic. Ads should not be shown in a way that results in inadvertent clicks. Forcing a user to click an ad or submit personal information for advertising purposes before they can fully use an app is prohibited. Ads should not appear after the user has exited the app, or after the user has pressed the back button to exit the app.

The “Ad Fraud” policy mentioned in this email is a direct copy-paste from this Google support page, and it gives the developer no information on exactly which part of the policy their app violates. The “Malware” policy doesn’t seem to be a direct copy-paste but reads as boilerplate text that doesn’t describe what exactly about the app is malicious. Further emails generated more boilerplate responses and no useful information.

DroidScript remains suspended from the Google Play Store, for reasons not entirely clear. The developer’s account and other applications remain visible, including a few plugins for the main DroidScript app. Since the app is no longer published on Google Play, premium subscribers are having their subscriptions automatically canceled. That, coupled with the loss of 30% of revenue due to the AdMob suspension, is crippling the team behind the app, says David.

The suspension is also affecting projects dependent on DroidScript. One user responding to the announcement from the DroidScript developer says their apps developed in the IDE are still up on the Play Store, while another worries about the removal’s effect on their ongoing commercial development project.

What Google did (and continues to do) wrong

The issue with this incident isn’t that a long-standing app was booted off the Play Store. This is not the first time it has happened to someone, and it certainly won’t be the last time either. The issue here is Google’s reluctance to share details of how developers allegedly violate their policies. There are good reasons why Google can’t delve too deeply into what triggered their ad fraud detection — you don’t want to give malicious actors insight into Google’s detection algorithms so they can work around them — but for developers who are genuinely unaware of why their app was removed, they’ll face difficulties fixing the problem.

In response to complaint after complaint about a lack of transparency in app takedowns, Google issued a Play Policy Update in July 2020 seeking to address the matter.

Under the new policy, Google promised to be more transparent about the actual policy violation that resulted in an application being terminated. Developers were promised to be provided more details, such as a text excerpt from the Play Store listing or even a screenshot of the alleged violation. Google had also promised to add guidance to correct the issue. The overall idea was to make the violation clearer and a fix accessible, which would be very helpful for developers trying to navigate the complex jargon of Policy documents. Not all violations are intentional and malicious, and developers who are innocent are likely to fix such unintentional violations when they are helpfully pointed in the right direction.

We don’t know for sure if DroidScript and its developer are free of fault. It’s possible that the developer is indeed guilty of what Google has accused them of. We have no way of determining whether or not ad fraud occurred, and while we haven’t done a full teardown of the app, a quick analysis on VirusTotal and MetaDefender shows no obvious signs of malware. We don’t know Google’s side of the story here, but that’s kind of the problem. (We have reached out to Google for comment and will update this article if we hear back.)

What is ultimately disappointing is the fact that Google is still following practices that it had recognized were detrimental to developer interest. Google had promised to update its procedures to make them more developer-friendly, but they are still removing apps with as little transparency as before. To be clear, there is overlap between AdMob and Google Play suspensions, and better reasoning should have emanated from the Google Play side. But knowing the tight integration within its own ecosystem that Google pushes for, it should have been willing to offer some more helpful words and an opportunity to remedy violations, if any. Because it sure would hurt to see 7 years of progress wiped out by a few emails that look like they weren’t written by humans.

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Roku follows through with its threat to remove the YouTube TV app

After warning customers they may lose access to YouTube TV, Roku on Friday removed the app from its channel store, escalating a disagreement between the two companies. If you currently have the YouTube TV app on your Roku device, you can still access it, but new users can no longer download it to their device.

The latest development is related to an expired distribution agreement between Roku and Google for YouTube TV. Roku has accused Google of seeking “unfair and anticompetitive requirements to manipulate your search results, impact the usage of your data and ultimately cost you more.”

“While we are deeply disappointed in Google’s decision to use their monopoly power to try and force terms that will directly harm streamers, we remain committed to reaching an agreement with Google that preserves your access to YouTube TV, protects your data and ensures a level playing field for companies to compete,” Roku previously said.

In response to today’s news, Google published a blog post (via Droid-Life) accusing Roku of requesting special treatment.

“Our initial conversations started with Roku simply to renew the current terms of their ongoing deal with YouTube TV, which has been in place for several years,” Google said. “Our offer to Roku was simple and still stands: renew the YouTube TV deal under the existing reasonable terms. However, Roku chose to use this as an opportunity to renegotiate a separate deal encompassing the YouTube main app, which does not expire until December.”

Google goes on to say that it never made any quests to access user data or interfere with search results. “This claim is baseless and false,” Google said. The search giant does seem to admit, however, that Google is adamant Roku get on board with the AV1 codec — something that was speculated earlier this week.

“Our agreements with partners have technical requirements to ensure a high quality experience on YouTube,” Google said. “Roku requested exceptions that would break the YouTube experience and limit our ability to update YouTube in order to fix issues or add new features. For example, by not supporting open-source video codecs, you wouldn’t be able to watch YouTube in 4K HDR or 8K even if you bought a Roku device that supports that resolution.”

It sounds like discussions are ongoing, but judging by their statements, it doesn’t sound like either company is willing to budge. Ultimately, the consumer loses out, because it means Roku users can’t download YouTube TV — at least for the time being. We’ll bring you updates as they’re made available.

YouTube TV - Watch & Record Live TV (Free, Google Play) →

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ZTE Axon 30 Ultra Hands-on: A US-bound Android flagship that competes with Samsung’s Galaxy S21

After introducing the world’s first under-display selfie camera that wasn’t quite ready for prime time with last year’s Axon 20, ZTE is back with the Axon 30 Ultra. Despite its “Ultra” moniker, the Axon 30 Ultra actually plays things a bit safer. Sure, there are some gaudy numbers that pop off the spec sheet, including a 144Hz OLED display and not one but three 64MP cameras, but this is still a more conventional glass-aluminum sandwich flagship. This phone seems specifically positioned against Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Plus (but not Ultra). As such, we decided to include a brief comparison in our hands-on.

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G: Specifications

Specification	ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G
Dimensions and Weight	161.53 × 72.96 × 8.0 mm 70˚ side curvature with 4.22mm˚ bend 188g
Display	6.67” FHD+ AMOLED Borderless Curved Display 2400 x 1080 144Hz variable refresh rate (60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz) 300Hz touch sampling rate 10-bit color depth HDR10+ Anti-glare glass coating Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back)
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888: 1x Kryo 680 Prime Core @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 680 Performance Cores @ 2.4GHz 4x Kryo 680 Efficiency Cores @ 1.8GHz Adreno 660
RAM and Storage	8GB / 12GB LPDDR5 RAM 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 storage MicroSD card support
Battery & Charging	4,600mAh battery 66W fast charger (inside the box)
Rear Camera	Primary: 64MP Sony IMX686, f/1.6, OIS Secondary: 64MP f/1.9 Tertiary: 64MP ultra-wide, 120-degree field-of-view Quaternary: 8MP telephoto, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, 120x digital zoom, LDAF
Front Camera	16MP
Ports	USB Type-C port
Connectivity	5G (SA & NSA n41/78, SA n1/3/28) WiFi 6E 4×4 MIMO antenna NFC Bluetooth 5.2 Dual GPS (GPS L1+L5, A-GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) Type-C port
Other features	In-display fingerprints scanner Dual speakers DTS: X Ultra sound AI call noise reduction 3-mic Noise Suppression
Software	Android 11 with ZTE My OS 11

About this hands-on: ZTE sent me a global version of the Axon 30 Ultra. ZTE had no input in this article.

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra Forums

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra: design and hardware

The ZTE Axon 30 is yet another curvy glass sandwich slab, but the curves here are unlike those found on recent flagships. While everyone from Samsung, OnePlus, and OPPO have toned down the curvature of their screens, ZTE has gone in the opposite direction: the Axon 30 Ultra’s 6.7-inch 1080P OLED screen slopes dramatically. It’s not a steep dropoff like Huawei’s waterfall screens, but it’s more akin to an older Samsung circa the Galaxy S7 Edge era. This results in sharper sides, which coupled with the flat top and bottom, make for an angular, masculine-looking device.

The phone feels premium in the hand, with a matte glass back and a camera module that reflects light in a rainbow gradient. At 188g and 8mm, it’s thinner and lighter than Samsung and Xiaomi’s Ultra phones.

The OLED screen looks great and can refresh up to 144Hz with a 300Hz touch sampling rate. There are options to lower the refresh rate to 120Hz, 90Hz, or 60Hz. I’m not much of a mobile gamer, so I likely won’t take advantage of the 144Hz screen to its fullest potential, but animations looked very smooth to my eyes.

Inside the phone are the usual Android flagship guts: the Snapdragon 888 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM. There’s a 4,600 mAh battery that can be charged at 66W speeds with the included charging brick.

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra: cameras

The unit I’m testing is a global version that will be sold unlocked in the US and Europe. Since the launch is still weeks away, the software on the device is not final — something to keep in mind when we check out photo samples soon.

The Axon 30 Ultra features a quad-camera main system, with the aforementioned triple 64MP sensors flanked by an 8MP 5x periscopic zoom lens. The trio of 64MP cameras — which ZTE dubs the “Trinity Camera System” — covers the usual wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto (2X optical, 35mm) focal range, and all three pixel-bin down to 16MP photos.

I stress again this is not a review but rather an early impression, but regardless, photos look really good in a vacuum.

The main camera produces a natural bokeh with a closer subject, and the ultra-wide lens doesn’t exhibit distortion. Because it’s technically got 64 million pixels worth of information (binned down to 16 million), the entire ultra-wide shot is crisp, even the sides, which tend to be soft in less pixel-dense sensors.

There is a bit of color inconsistency between the main and ultra-wide cameras (they use different sensors: Sony IMX686 and Samsung GW3, respectively), but again, this is not final software, so perhaps this will be fixed in the retail software. The differences aren’t too bad anyway.

Since the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra will likely be priced below the $1,200 range of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, it seems the Galaxy S21 Plus is a better comparison for this hands-on, so I grabbed a few shots with both phones.

In standard night photos captured by the main cameras, both phones shot some great-looking images that are very close to call. I do prefer the S21 Plus’ cooler color tones more, particularly in the second set of the busy street market.

However, in the below shot, the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra’s shallower depth-of-field is a more aesthetically desirable shot in my opinion.

Moving to the ultra-wide lens, the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra’s shots tend to be dimmer than Samsung’s because it has far more pixels to fill (the Galaxy S21 Plus uses a 12MP ultra-wide sensor).

But if I zoom in and pixel-peep, the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra’s shot is noticeably sharper and less noisy due to having more pixel information.

Axon 30 Ultra (left); S21 Plus (right).

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra software

The Axon 30 Ultra runs Android 11 with ZTE’s MyOS software on top. It’s a colorful software that is distinctive visually from stock Android but comes with some nice additions: I like the larger toggle buttons in the notification shade; that I can thumb through an alphabetical column on the right side of the app drawer to quickly reach an app by alphabetical status; and the customizable Always-on display and shortcut gestures.

Other aspects of the software need more refinement, such as the heavy-handed “accidental palm touch prevention” option in settings that gives the option to make entire chunks of the screen lose touch sensitivity. Palm rejection should be done intelligently according to context by the software instead of a straightforward “make half an inch of the screen not functional.”

Conclusion: The rare Chinese phone to sell stateside gives it a leg up

There are a lot of good Android flagships from Chinese tech brands such as the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, OPPO Find X3 Pro, and the Vivo X60 Pro Plus. But the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra has something on all of those phones — it will be sold in the US. While it’s not going to take a dent out of Apple or Samsung’s pie, with LG shutting down its mobile business, there’s room in the US phone scene for another brand to make an impression.

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra Forums

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Apple iPad Pro 2021: M1 chip, 5G, Mini LED XDR display, and everything else you need to know

The Apple iPad is unquestionably one of the best tablets you can buy. Despite the global decline in demand for tablets, different varieties of the iPad have been in high demand thanks to their unique proposition of powerful processing capabilities and portability. The iPad Pro takes it a step further with a massive display, multiple cameras on the back, pro-grade performance, and the Apple Magic keyboard that will make you want to replace your laptop with it. Apple announced the iPad Pro 2021 at its Spring Loaded event on April 20th, 2021, with a suite of improvements including an all-new Apple M1 chip, a new mini LED display, up to a whopping 2TB of storage, and 5G connectivity. At this event, Apple also announced a new and highly improved iMac, a new purple iPhone 12, AirTags, as well as the new features making their way to iOS 14.5.

The new iPad Pro gets the same chipset as the MacBook Air, some 13″ MacBook Pro variants, the Mac Mini from 2020, and the new 2021 iMac. The Apple M1 is the company’s in-house ARM-based SoC that is designed to replace the x64 chips from Intel and AMD on computers. By using the same chip on the iPad Pro 2021, Apple further fills up the performance gap between the iPad Pro and the MacBook and other devices. Other than offering a performance that is comparable to Apple’s M1 MacBook laptops, the iPad Pro 2021’s USB-C port has been updated with Thunderbolt support.

In this article, we will list all details about the all-new iPad Pro 2021, starting with the specifications of the 11-inch as well as the 12.9-inch models.

Apple iPad Pro 2021: Specifications

The iPad Pro 2021 variants are visually identical to the previous year’s models. The new 11-inch model even has the same dimensions as the last time while the new 12.9-inch model gets an added thickness of 0.5mm with the new Mini LED display. Despite this, the new 12.9 iPad Pro is only 6.4mm thick, which is commendable for a machine of this vigor.

Specification	Apple iPad Pro 11-inch	Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch
Colors	Silver, Space Gray	Silver, Space Gray
Size & Weight	247.6mm x 178.5mm x 5.9mm 466g (Wi-Fi) 470g (5G)	280.6mm x 214.9mm x 6.4mm 682g (Wi-Fi) 685g (5G)
Display	Liquid Retina display 11-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology 2388-by-1668-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) ProMotion technology Wide color display (P3) True Tone display Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Fully laminated display Antireflective coating 1.8% reflectivity 600 nits max brightness Supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation)	Liquid Retina XDR display 12.9-inch (diagonal) mini-LED backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology 2D backlighting system with 2596 full‑array local dimming zones 2732-by-2048-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) ProMotion technology Wide color display (P3) True Tone display Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Fully laminated display Antireflective coating 1.8% reflectivity 600 nits max brightness 1000 nits max full-screen brightness; 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR) 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio Supports Apple Pencil (2nd generation)
SoC	Apple M1 chip 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 8-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine	Apple M1 chip 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 8-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine
RAM & Storage	128GB storage + 8GB RAM 256GB storage + 8GB RAM 512GB storage + 8GB RAM 1TB storage + 16GB RAM 2TB storage + 16GB RAM	128GB storage + 8GB RAM 256GB storage + 8GB RAM 512GB storage + 8GB RAM 1TB storage + 16GB RAM 2TB storage + 16GB RAM
Battery & Charging	Built-in 28.65 watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery 20W USB-C charging	Built-in 40.88 watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery 20W USB-C charging
Security	FaceID Enabled by TrueDepth camera for facial recognition Unlock iPad Secure personal data within apps Make purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books	FaceID Enabled by TrueDepth camera for facial recognition Unlock iPad Secure personal data within apps Make purchases from the iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books
Rear Camera(s)	Pro camera system: Wide and Ultra Wide cameras Wide: 12MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture Ultra Wide: 10MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture, and 125° field of view Five‑element lens (Wide and Ultra Wide) 2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 5x Sapphire crystal lens cover Brighter True Tone flash Camera features Panorama (up to 63MP) Autofocus with Focus Pixels (Wide) Smart HDR 3 Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Lens correction (Ultra Wide) Advanced red-eye correction Photo geotagging Auto image stabilization Burst mode Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG Video Recording 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps (Wide) 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps 720p HD video recording at 30 fps 2x optical zoom out Audio zoom Brighter True Tone flash Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps Time‑lapse video with stabilization Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) Continuous autofocus video Playback zoom Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264 Stereo recording	Pro camera system: Wide and Ultra Wide cameras Wide: 12MP, ƒ/1.8 aperture Ultra Wide: 10MP, ƒ/2.4 aperture, and 125° field of view Five‑element lens (Wide and Ultra Wide) 2x optical zoom out, digital zoom up to 5x Sapphire crystal lens cover Brighter True Tone flash Camera features Panorama (up to 63MP) Autofocus with Focus Pixels (Wide) Smart HDR 3 Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Lens correction (Ultra Wide) Advanced red-eye correction Photo geotagging Auto image stabilization Burst mode Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG Video Recording 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps (Wide) 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps 720p HD video recording at 30 fps 2x optical zoom out Audio zoom Brighter True Tone flash Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps Time‑lapse video with stabilization Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) Continuous autofocus video Playback zoom Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264 Stereo recording
Front Camera	TrueDepth Camera 12MP Ultra Wide camera, 122° field of view ƒ/2.4 aperture Retina Flash Camera features Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) Animoji and Memoji Smart HDR 3 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps Time‑lapse video with stabilization Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p) Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Lens correction Auto image stabilization Burst mode	TrueDepth Camera 12MP Ultra Wide camera, 122° field of view ƒ/2.4 aperture Retina Flash Camera features Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono) Animoji and Memoji Smart HDR 3 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps Time‑lapse video with stabilization Extended dynamic range for video up to 30 fps Cinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p) Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos Lens correction Auto image stabilization Burst mode
Port(s)	USB 4/Thunderbolt port DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)	USB 4/Thunderbolt port DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
Audio	5 microphones Quad speakers	5 microphones Quad speakers
Connectivity	All models 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6; simultaneous dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO Bluetooth 5.0 technology Digital compass iBeacon microlocation 5G model (A2301 and A2379) 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79)4 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261) FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71) TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48) UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Data only Wi-Fi calling eSIM+ Nano-SIM card tray	All models 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6; simultaneous dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO Bluetooth 5.0 technology Digital compass iBeacon microlocation 5G model (A2301 and A2379) 5G NR (Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79)4 5G NR mmWave (Bands n260, n261) FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71) TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48) UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz) GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz) Data only Wi-Fi calling eSIM+ Nano-SIM card tray Built‑in GPS/GNSS
Sensors	Face ID LiDAR Scanner Three-axis gyro Accelerometer Barometer Ambient light sensor	Face ID LiDAR Scanner Three-axis gyro Accelerometer Barometer Ambient light sensor
Software	iPadOS 14	iPadOS 14

 

Apple iPad Pro 2021 variants

The iPad Pro 2021 comes in two display sizes — 11-inch and 12.9-inch. As noted previously, there are no major changes when it comes to the appearance of the new tablets. There are, however, major changes under the hood. Other than the changes over the previous generations, the two variants of the new iPad Pro also differ in terms of display technology. The bigger iPad Pro features a 12.9-inch Mini LED display while the smaller one comes with an 11-inch LED display. Other than this difference between the types of displays — and the dimensions of the two models, the two variants are identical.

The new Mini LED display is a significant leap from the traditional LED display. The next section talks about the display technology in detail and how Apple employs it to make the iPad Pro experience better.

Mini LED display on iPad Pro 2021

The iPad Pro 2021 features several enhancements, and the display is among the first ones you will notice. As reported by multiple sources ahead of the launch, the iPad Pro is equipped with a Liquid Retina XDR display, which is the moniker used by Apple to denote the new Mini LED display. As remarked by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors) and later corroborated a Bloomberg report, only the larger model out of the two — i.e. the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021 — gets the new display while the smaller 11-inch iPad Pro retains the older Liquid Retina display.

Mini LED is a variety of LCD panels in which — yes, you guessed it right — miniature LEDs (with size in the range of 100-200μm) are used as the backlight source. These miniature LEDs are nearly 120X smaller in volume than the ones usually used to power regular LED-backlit LCDs. Owing to their smaller size, a Mini LED panel utilizes thousands of these Mini LEDs. Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display employs over 10,000 Mini LEDs.

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021’s display has a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels, with a 1000-nits brightness. The display on the smaller 11-inch variant, on the other hand, has a resolution of 2388 x 1688 pixels with a 600-nits brightness.

As you would expect, the large number and small size of these Mini LEDs allow for better contrast and more accurate local dimming than the traditional LED-backlit panels. Apple says these Mini LEDs combine to form up to 2,500 local dimming zones across the 12.9-inch display. This translates to a richer contrast than the previous technologies, and Apple announced the new display has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It is probably the best you can expect from an LCD — much closer to an OLED but still not as good. One potential downside of this display, however, is that makes the iPad Pro marginally thicker than previous models but we still can’t complain because Apple manages to keep it just at 6.4mm thick.

Even though TVs with Mini LED display technology were first introduced at CES 2020, it is still fairly new. Its novelty means Apple — and consequently users — have to pay a higher price for the new iPad Pro’s displays. Apple currently has only two suppliers — Epistar and Sanan Optoelectronics — for Mini LED displays. We can expect more manufacturers to embrace this technology for smaller screens, including those used for smartphones.

There couldn’t be a better industry player than Apple to lead the way for this display technology. Besides the iPad Pro, Apple is also slated to use Mini LED for future MacBooks expected to arrive later this year. Over the following years, we might also see it on other iPad models and iPhones.

Both the variants of the iPad Pro feature Adaptive refresh rate, or “ProMotion,” as Apple likes to call it. This means that the iPad Pro’s display can support a refresh rate of up to 120Hz based on the app in use. The displays also support DCI-P3 color gamut, True Tone, and support for Dolby Vision. Lastly, both the 11-inch and the 12.9-inch variants support the Apple Pencil (2nd gen).

Apple M1 processor on iPad Pro 2021

Ahead of the launch, 9to5Mac had spotted references to Apple’s A14X Bionic chip — a souped-up version of the A14 Bionic that powers the iPhone 12 series and the iPad Air 2020 — in the source code of iOS 14.5 beta. This purported chip was believed to be based on Apple’s custom ARM-based M1 chipset that powers the 2020 MacBook Air Mac Mini and some of last year’s 13” MacBook Pro models. The A14X Bionic was believed to be as powerful as the M1 chip, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has substantiated the same.

These leaks were, however, proved partially wrong when Apple announced the iPad Pro 2021. The new iPad Pro runs on Apple’s M1 chipset instead of the rumored A14X Bionic, and this news comes as a pleasant surprise. The M1 SoC system-on-chip is designed on the same principle as the A-series Bionic chips that have powered the iPhones and iPad for some years and its system-on-chip design instead of separate chips for CPU, GPU, RAM, flash storage, etc.

The Apple M1 chip promises significant performance gains over the A12Z Bionic chip used in last year’s iPad Pro. Apple claims a 50% improvement in CPU performance as well as a 40% gain in GPU performance. The M1 chip features an 8-core CPU, an 8-core GPU, and a 16-core NPU. There is a choice between 8GB and 16GB of RAM with the option to choose up to 2TB of flash storage.

Last year, Apple had announced its plan to replace the x64 chips from Intel and AMD on the Mac lineup with its own M1 SoC. By announcing the iPad Pro with the same chipset as its computers, Apple is further solidifying the idea that an iPad Pro is no less than a Mac, unlike Android tablets which still miserably lag behind PCs in terms of performance. The utilization of an Apple M1 chip on the iPad Pro means that apps that can run on the Macs with ARM chips will also be available to work on the iPad Pro (given support from developers). With this, the iPad Pro becomes a great alternative for anyone who wants a MacBook Air but with the convenience of a touch screen and Apple Pencil input.

The new iPad Pro also borrows one feature from the iPhone 12’s A14 Bionic chip and that’s 5G connectivity.

5G cellular connectivity on iPad Pro

The iPad Pro 2021 is the first iPad to get 5G connectivity. The new iPad Pro supports mmWave bands for 5G connectivity in the US, and Apple claims download speeds of up to 4Gbps. Apple also claims the iPad Pro has support for the widest range of 5G bands. Along with 5G connectivity, the new models also support eSIM alongside a physical nano SIM, but you will not be able to use this cellular connection for calling.

Note that you will have to pick a Wi-Fi+Cellular model to enjoy 5G on the iPad Pro and will be required to pay your carrier for active 5G services.

New Camera with “Center Stage”

The TrueDepth camera system on the front of the iPad Pro 2021 now features a 12MP selfie camera with an ultra-wide field of view spanning 122°. This enables a new feature called “Center Stage” which keeps the users in the center of the frame by zooming in and panning the viewfinder as they move. All of this happens with the help of M1’s machine learning abilities and without any physical movement in the camera. When more than one user enters the scene (or is already present), the camera automatically zooms out to accommodate a large group of people.

While the rear cameras on the iPad Pro remain unchanged, the improved ISP on the Apple M1 chip allows for better image processing and brings Smart HDR 3, which was previously exclusive to the iPhone 12 lineup. The feature uses machine learning to tune your images to ensure the best possible picture quality. Additionally, the LiDAR sensor on the iPad Pro helps in improving focus when capturing images in low light.

New Features

Alongside the improved display and the better processor, Apple has also replaced the standard USB Type-C port on the iPad Pro with one that supports Thunderbolt, a technology that has been available on Apple’s Mac computers, including MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, iMac, and the Mac Pro since 2016.

Thunderbolt is an open and multipurpose data and power transfer standard developed by Intel. It allows storage devices such SSDs, DisplayPort-supported external monitors, and PCIe peripherals such as external graphics cards or network connectors over a USB Type-C port. Thunderbolt 3 supports transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, i.e. four times the transfer speeds of a USB 3.1 port.

The new iPad Pro models Thunderbolt 3 rather than newer the Thunderbolt 4 standard. Along with Thunderbolt, the new iPad Pro also supports USB4.

With this technology, the iPad Pro can now support Ethernet at up to 10Gbps and can be connected to run with Apple’s Pro Display XDR at 6K resolution — or other high-resolution displays — seamlessly even with a daisy chain setup.

Design

While no explicit leaks exposed the iPad Pro 2021 models in press renders or other conspicuous forms, a set of 3D CAD renders shared by 91Mobiles had revealed there would not be any major changes to the design. The same has been confirmed with the official launch with the new iPad Pro barely changed from the last generation.

Apple also claims the new iPad Pro is designed with 100% recycled aluminum as well as 100% recycled rare earth elements used to make the magnets on the iPad Pro. This is in line with the tech giant’s commitment to helping the environment. Apple claims that its global corporate operations are carbon neutral and it envisions to have “net zero climate impact across the entire business” by 2030.

iPadOS 14.5

Apple also announced that iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 will start rolling out starting next week with support for AirTags, more gaming controllers, new languages in Apple Pencil features such as Smart Selection and Scribble, additional emojis, and the option to share lyrics as well as sort top songs by cities in Apple Music.

Accessories for iPad Pro 2021

While the rumored Apple Pencil with a longer tip and color sampling support did not see the light of the day, the company did release its Magic Keyboard in white color to complement the already existing black one. The new white color complements the Apple Pencil, which only comes with white color and could be a good choice for anyone who does not fancy black.

The new Magic Keyboard is the same as the older version and not the upgraded one spotted in a patent by Patently Apple. The white Magic Keyboard also lacks the rumored touch-sensitive strips on the left and right sides.

Note that the Magic Keyboard has to be bought separately for prices starting at $299.

Apple iPad Pro: Pricing

Despite the improvement in performance, the 11-inch iPad Pro 2021 comes at the same price as the previous year’s models. It costs $799 for the Wi-Fi-only model, while the Wi-Fi + Cellular model has a starting price of $999. It goes all the way up to $2,099 for 2TB of storage and support for 5G connectivity alongside Wi-Fi.

Meanwhile, the 12.9-inch model is available at a starting price of $1099 for 128GB storage and only Wi-Fi. You will have to pay $200 additionally for the cellular variant with 5G support. The most amped-up variant of the larger iPad Pro is priced at $2,399.

The Magic Keyboard for the 11-inch iPad Pro is priced at $299 while the one for the 12.9-inch variant is priced at $349 in the US. The second-generation Apple Pencil will be available for $129 in the US.

The prices of the iPad Pro 2021 may vary as per market, accounting for different taxes. We have listed the prices applicable to the Indian market for all the products launched at the Spring Loaded event.

iPad Pro 2021: Availability

Even though some early rumors pointed to a launch on March 23rd, the official launch actually happened a month later i.e. on April 20th. The delay may or may not be related to the shortage of Mini LED panels pointed out by Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg. Both of the news outlets had reported that although Apple would launch the new iPad Pro later in April, the actual units will start shipping next month or later.

Apple iPad Pro 2021 11-inch

The new 11-inch iPad Pro 11 comes with Apple's M1 chipset along with optional support for 5G and up to 2TB of storage.

Pre-order at Best Buy

Apple iPad Pro 2021 12.9-inch

The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro comes with a mini-LED equipped display along with the mighty powerful M1 chipset, up to 2TB of storage, optional 5G, and Thunderbolt support.

Pre-order at Best Buy

Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 2021

The new Magic Keyboard is specially designed to mount the new and slightly thicker 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It retains the same fluid experience as the previous model but you can now also get it in white color.

Pre-book at Best Buy

This stands true as the iPad Pro 2021 is available to pre-order via Apple’s online and offline stores and will be available starting the second half of May.

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