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The newly announced iPad Pro<\/a> hides a sneaky upgrade option that Apple didn\u2019t mention during its event today. When you cough up the $600 it costs to jump from the 256GB base model iPad Pro to the 1TB version, Apple doesn\u2019t just double the RAM along with that \u2014 it also puts a faster chip inside<\/a>, going from a nine-core M4 chip to a 10-core version. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This is the first time Apple has offered a processor upgrade on a specific tablet model \u2014 in the past, no matter what other options you picked on a given tablet, you knew you were getting the same chip as any other configuration. In the past, Apple only tied RAM upgrades to storage boosts; that\u2019s still true here, with the quantity doubling from 8GB to 16GB. You also get the privilege of buying Apple\u2019s glare-fighting nanotexture glass for $100 (lucky you!), which isn\u2019t available on the lower-end models. <\/strong>So, if you really want the best-performing iPad Pro, you have to bump your storage to the 1TB or 2TB configuration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Realistically, you won\u2019t probably lose much processing power by sticking with the 256GB and 512GB storage tiers. Both versions of the chip feature a 10-core GPU, the same memory bandwidth of 120GB\/s, and each supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing. With six efficiency cores each, which are designed to handle more mundane, less demanding day-to-day tablet tasks, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to notice much of a difference in ordinary use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So far, Apple hasn\u2019t really<\/em> justified even the power of the M1 chip in my iPad Pro<\/a>, but the company is trying to. The new aluminum Magic Keyboard<\/a> really makes the tablet look more laptop-like, especially with that function row up top. And some of the features that Apple introduced for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro<\/a> for iPads really do seem like they\u2019ll need some real power to run well. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Like with Apple\u2019s \u201cPro\u201d MacBooks and its higher-end desktop machines, though, it\u2019ll be hard for most folks to come up with a need for the power of these new tablets. I\u2019m still not sold on upgrading to the new iPad Pro, even with its OLED screen, but at least there\u2019s more to it than a spec bump<\/a> and Apple Pencil hover exclusivity this time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n