Is the new Apple iPad Pro 2021 the best tablet on the market? | Totally Rated

Is the new Apple iPad Pro 2021 the best tablet on the market? | Totally Rated

This week’s Totally Rated, Tom’s Guide and TechRadar get their hands on the Apple iPad Pro, in gaming GamesRadar and Tom’s Guide run the rule over Mass Effect Legendary Edition and Android Central and Tom’s Guide went head to head with their review of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids.

Totally Rated features reviews and opinions of what’s hot and what’s not in the tech and gaming world.
Bringing together leading titles from across the industry, we hear first hand from those who have reviewed – and rated – the very latest games and products on the market.

In this week’s episode, the new iPad Pro 2021 comes out, Mass Effect Trilogy gets a redux and Assassins Creed: Valhalla gets an expansion!
First up, in tech, Apple has finally released the 2021 version of the Apple iPad Pro. Complete with the new M1 chip and 5G connectivity, Apple promises that this will be the fastest iPad yet.

Henry T Casey of Tom’s Guide said: “The Apple iPad Pro 2021 is a speed demon with its M1 chip.

“It turned in huge scores in geek bench 5 and a great time on our adobe premiere rush test.

“Over at Tom’s Guide we gave it a 4.5 and an editors choice award for everything being great. The 12.9 inch has the HDR liquid retina display and you are going to get the best benefit out of that on HDr content. So you are probably going to want to know what has HDr and what doesn’t.”
And James Peckham of TechRadar agreed: “The new iPad Pro 2021 is a best-in-class experience.

“This is the best tablet you can buy right now. The real question is do you actually need it. This is for only certain people.

“The M1 processor is incredibly powerful and if you go for the right option you will get 5G connectivity and it has a great mini LED display as well. Do you really need it though? It has a very high price tag but it is a phenomenal experience.”

In gaming, one of the most influential trilogies is coming back. Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out for Playstation, Xbox, and PC, and with this remake it’s never too late to visit the space exploits of Commander Shepard.
“If you have never played the Mass Effect trilogy, now’s the best time to get your feet wet,” said Jordan Palmer of Tom’s Guide.

Sticking with gaming, the first major expansion to Assassins Creed Valhalla is out with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids.

What many call the best game on the Xbox right now can expect the same type of action, which can be a good or bad thing, as Android Central’s Jennifer Locke explains: “If you’re wondering whether or not you should buy Wrath of the Druids, you need to ask yourself how much you enjoyed Valhalla and how much more you want from it.

“I know plenty of people who put in 60+ hours and said that was enough, but I also know some who are well over 80 hours in and are eager for more.
“For those in the former category, I don’t think Wrath of the Druids will be enough to draw you back in. Having more of the same isn’t necessarily a problem in a game that’s 20 or 30 hours long, but in a 50+ hour game like Valhalla, an expansion needs to differentiate itself better.

“That said, I personally had a lot of fun with it, even if the opening hour or two was too slow for my liking. The Children of Danu were an interesting cult I looked forward to fighting, and Ireland is just as gorgeous and full of wonder as England.”

Marshall Honorof from Tom’s Guide liked it, but found it to be almost identical to the previous game: “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids is an easygoing expansion with nothing to prove.

“It has basically all the same strengths and weaknesses as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, with just one substantial addition. I can’t imagine that series fans will be talking about this one for years to come, but I also can’t imagine that they’ll walk away disappointed.

“If you’ve got $40 to spare and are eager to see what the Season Pass will bring next (Wrath of the Druids is the first of two major expansions; the next is called The Siege of Paris), Wrath of the Druids is a fine investment.

“If you already tried sinking dozens of hours into Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and bounced off before the end, though, Wrath of the Druids probably won’t lure you back in.”

New episodes of Totally Rated will roll out every week.

10 Comments

  1. dr99 on January 12, 2022 at 4:05 pm

    wow such a bad „review“



  2. PSYCHO on January 12, 2022 at 4:16 pm

    ANSWER #3:

    Ghosting happens from having a response time that is too high aka too slow which can’t keep up with the fast 120Hz display.

    Usually VA LCD panels are the ones that have ghosting problems and last I checked iPads use IPS LCD panels unless Apple switched to VA LCD specifically for the Mini LED LCD iPad Pro in order to improve the black levels and native contrast ratio. If that’s the case, that explains why this Mini LED LCD iPad Pro has ghosting.



  3. randomnobody playthrough on January 12, 2022 at 4:18 pm

    I’ll NEVER buy an EA game.



  4. Col A North East on January 12, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    Nah paracetamol pro is!



  5. PSYCHO on January 12, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Answer #1: It’s complicated.



  6. PSYCHO on January 12, 2022 at 4:41 pm

    ANSWER #2:

    Blooming CAN’T be fixed with a firmware update. This isn’t a software defect. This is part of the hardware from using Full Array Local Dimming. This happens from using 10,000 Mini LEDs grouped into 2,590+ local dimming zones vs AMOLED having 1:1 pixel level dimming aka MILLIONS of zones.

    This Mini LED LCD iPad Pro doesn’t have 1 "dimming zone" per pixel like AMOLED iPhones do which use self emissive displays. That’s why AMOLED iPhones have zero blooming and this Mini LED LCD iPad Pro has blooming because it has way too few local dimming zones. If you buy any modern LED LCD TV with Full Array Local Dimming or Edge-lit local dimming, you’ll also have blooming. OLED TVs however have zero blooming.

    2,590+ dimming zones on this Mini LED LCD iPad Pro is a JOKE vs MILLIONS on AMOLED iPhones and Android phones.

    Watch this video for an easy breakdown of how Mini LED and Full Array Local Dimming both work.
    https://youtu.be/SnrFE8kEeyQ



  7. Aaron Normington on January 12, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    Mini led dose have light bleed.



  8. Bobby Edwards on January 12, 2022 at 4:47 pm

    Yes! But I already have one. No need to buy one for another 4 years



  9. 15heartz on January 12, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    M1XDR iPad, Blooming effects especially noticeable at night might just be the mini led, vibrant moving grains when using the center stage front-facing camera, XDR screen but no HDR content or at least supported yet for the new iPad screen ( is all this normal?). Also, any free Adblock that actually works on iPadOS safari?



  10. Max on January 12, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    Only PC and Xbox series X have that graphical power for next generation gaming 💯%