The Cameras
One thing that’s a bit of a surprise if that the iPad Pro is actually not gaining the triple-lens camera system that has long been rumoured. Looking at the design, it’s easy to see how supply chain sources could have made this mistake, as it features the same camera bump as the iPhone 11 Pro, but it turns out that Apple has only added an Ultra Wide camera, bringing the iPad Pro roughly on par with the iPhone 11 in that regard.
Instead, the third part of the “triple-lens” design is actually reserved for a LiDAR scanner — something else we’ve been hearing about since last year, and while the same technology is rumoured to be coming to the iPhone 12 this year as well, clearly Apple has decided that the iPad Pro should be the first out of the gate with it. The new sensor will be capable of measuring the distance to objects up to 5 meters away, whether indoors or outdoors, enabling “a whole new class of AR experiences.”
It’s also worth noting that the Ultra Wide camera is only 10MP rather than 12MP, it probably won’t make that much of a difference in practical daily use, and much of the computational photography magic that the Ultra Wide camera is used for in the iPhone 11 can be better handled by the new LiDAR sensor.