iPad Pro A12X Bionic 2018

It is important to note that this A1979 iPad Pro 11-Inch, sold exclusively in mainland China, supports "LTE Advanced" (not Gigabit-class LTE) on bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, and 66, but it does not support band 71.

The iPad Pro 11-Inch (Wi-Fi+Cellular - Mainland China) has a fully-laminated, antireflective 11" LED-backlit 2388x1668 "Liquid Retina" display (264 ppi, 600 nits) with a thin black bezel, housed in a slim case with rounded corners and flat sides. It is available in silver or "Space Gray" and does not have a "Home" button.

This iPad Pro is powered by an eight-core 2.5 GHz Apple A12X Bionic processor, an "embedded M12 coprocessor," and a "Neural Engine" for machine learning and AR. It was offered with 64 GB, 256 GB, or 512 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, or 1 TB of storage and 6 GB of RAM.

Key features include "Face ID" authentication, support for the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen (A2051, MU8F2AM/A, US$129) which charges magnetically, and the "Smart Keyboard Folio." It also has dual cameras (12 MP rear, 7 MP front) and a USB-C port, a first for the iPad series, enabling charging, connectivity to cameras and other peripherals, and external displays up to 4K.

In addition to USB-C and cellular capabilities, it supports A-GPS, dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi with HT80 with MIMO, and Bluetooth 5.0. It also has four microphones and a four-speaker system.

The battery life is rated at 10 hours for Wi-Fi web surfing, video, or music, and 9 hours on a cellular network. This model has an eSIM and a nano-SIM slot.

Compared to its predecessor, this iPad Pro 11-Inch model features a larger display in a similar-sized body, a more powerful architecture, support for an improved Apple Pencil, and USB-C connectivity.

The A1979 iPad Pro, designed for mainland China, was lauded as a massive leap forward for Apple's tablets. Its all-new design, featuring a larger 11-inch display with slim bezels in a compact body, was a visual and ergonomic triumph. The A12X Bionic chip delivered truly professional-level performance, handling demanding tasks with unprecedented speed. A pivotal upgrade was the adoption of USB-C, which greatly enhanced its versatility for connecting to external devices and was a boon for creative workflows. The magnetically charging 2nd generation Apple Pencil was another highlight, offering a seamless and much-improved user experience. With LTE connectivity optimized for Chinese carriers, the A1979 was the ultimate tool for professionals and creatives in China who needed power and connectivity on the move. It was seen as a bold reimagining of the iPad, successfully blurring the line between a tablet and a traditional computer.