SpecEagle review · Apple

Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd gen, 2018) review: The flat-edge iPad Pro that introduced USB-C and Face ID.

Item: Apple iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd gen, 2018)
Rating: 80
Author: SpecEagle Editorial

SpecEagle Editorial·Nov 2018·$999

Overall

80/100

Class rank

#2 of 10

Tier

Flagship

Buy?

At the right price

The verdict, up front

The iPad Pro's seminal redesign.

iPad Pro 12.9" (2018) introduced flat edges, Face ID, USB-C and the second-gen Pencil — the template every iPad has followed since.

01Display

86/100

86/100 puts it above the 81-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

TypeLiquid Retina IPS LCD, ProMotion 120 Hz, P3 wide colour

Size12.9 inches

Resolution2,732 × 2,048 px (264 ppi)

02Camera

64/100

64/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2018 — 10 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Main12 MP, f/1.8

Selfie7 MP TrueDepth with Face ID

03Performance

84/100

At 84/100 this is one of the strongest performance showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 7 points above the cohort average.

ChipsetApple A12X Bionic (8-core)

RAM4 / 6 GB

Storage64 / 256 / 512 GB / 1 TB

04Battery

80/100

80/100 puts it above the 76-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

Capacity9,720 mAh

WiredUSB-C (first iPad)

05Build

88/100

88/100 puts it above the 85-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

06Value

74/100

At 74/100 this is one of the strongest value showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 7 points above the cohort average.

What works

First iPad with USB-C.
First iPad without a home button (Face ID).
Apple Pencil 2 with magnetic charging.
Flat-edge industrial design.

What doesn't

First iPad without 3.5 mm jack.
$999 starting price.
Software in 2018 didn't fully exploit hardware.
Magnetic accessory ecosystem still emerging.

Cross-shop it against

Galaxy Note 10+

$1099 · score 90/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 10-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .