Apple iPad Pro 12.9" 2018, A12X Bionic, 4GB, 64GB, Space Gray

A stunning screen trapped in an aging body. Great for artists, rough for everyone else.

The A12X Bionic still handles everyday iPadOS tasks without breaking a sweat. Scrolling is smooth, apps open fast, and the Apple Pencil experience remains best-in-class. But our database puts the CPU at the 35th percentile and the GPU at 36th, which means most modern tablets run circles around it. The 4GB of RAM is the real bottleneck. You'll notice apps reloading when you multitask, and heavy creative work will make this thing sweat. The 12MP rear camera shoots 4K at 60fps, which is nice, but nobody buys an iPad for the camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus both offer newer chips, more RAM, and better connectivity. The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is the real laptop replacement this iPad pretends to be. The Xiaomi Pad 7 undercuts it on price with better specs. If you're locked into Apple's ecosystem and just want a big screen for drawing, this is fine. Otherwise, the competition has moved on.

At $349 USD renewed, this is a tempting screen. But you're buying a six-year-old tablet with a tiny SSD and no modern ports. The CAD 999 listing is a joke, don't touch that. For the US price, it's a decent art tablet or media machine. For anything else, save your money.

The 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 is a weird beast in 2025. That Liquid Retina display is still a stunner, and the A12X Bionic was a monster when it launched. But time has not been kind to the rest of the package. You're getting a renewed unit with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, which feels cramped the second you try to do anything serious. The one thing to know? This is a screen-first purchase. If you want a giant, gorgeous canvas for drawing or watching stuff and don't care about ports or future-proofing, it's interesting. If you need a laptop replacement, keep walking.

If you need a laptop replacement, this isn't it. Go get a Microsoft Surface Pro 11 or a newer iPad Air with an M-series chip. If you want modern connectivity like USB-C with fast data or external display support, this will frustrate you daily. And if you're in Canada, that CAD 999 price is a straight-up scam, buy literally anything else.

Buy it for the screen, not the specs. The 2018 iPad Pro 12.9 is still a lovely drawing tablet and media player, but it's a terrible laptop replacement in 2025. At $349 renewed, it's a niche pick for artists on a budget. Everyone else should look at newer Android tablets or a Surface.