Delivery currently shows as 25-31 May. I’ve ordered a Magic Keyboard as well, and that shows the same dates. (The pencil and folio cover, on the other hand, should arrive this week.)
Edit: I ordered about eight minutes after orders opened, for what that’s worth!
I should probably get some sort of lightweight cover also, for times I might want to take it with me and not bring the keyboard case.
Is the pencil of any use if you’re not an artist?
I don’t expect to use the pencil much. I just want to have it to play with. 
As for the folio cover, I’ll probably use that more than the magic keyboard. But I will use the magic keyboard.
So you got the keyboard folio cover like I did, in addition to the magic keyboard?
Oh, I follow you. No, just the regular Smart Folio. If I want to use a keyboard I’ll use the Magic Keyboard.
1TB.
Only because I have my iCloud Photos library set to “Download and Keep Originals”. And my photos library currently approaches 400GB.
Whether this is a “good” photos backup probably is dubious. But I feel better knowing that at least one of my devices has a full archive. I have already moved my full Photos.app library off my MacBook Pro internal drive because of the size: it now is on an external 1TB drive (with additional backups), using a specific macOS account.
If I chose “Optimise iPad Storage” instead, I may choose 512GB. Sometimes I download streaming videos (e.g. via Prime Video or Netflix apps) to view offline.
For my 2018 11" iPad Pro, I have both the Smart folio cover and the Magic Keyboard. When I am in a tight space and don’t need or want a keyboard in front of the iPad, I use the cover. For example, I often read while eating. Using the cover as a stand lets me position the iPad closer to me than using the keyboard. When I have more space, it’s more convenient to use the keyboard and trackpad. One useful accessory is a shoulder bag. I can even get the iPad, Folio Case, and Magic Keyboard all stuffed into the case’s pocket.
Note: I am upgrading to the 2021 11" iPad Pro. I like that the front camera has been repositioned to the center of the long side, which should make the iPad more useful for virtual meetings. Fortunately, I should be able to continue to use my old accessories as the overall dimensions haven’t changed.
The dimensions haven’t changed for the 11-inch. But I thought the position of the front camera remained the same.
doug
On doing more research, I think you are right, with the Center Stage feature that keeps meeting software views focused on humans an attempt to mitigate the issue.
Interestingly, the specs page does not label the front camera, but there is a larger circle on the short side near the ‘3 microphones’ label. There is no such circle on either long edge. Also, a TechCrunch interview report with John Ternus of Apple had this:
'It also goes a long way to masking the awkward horizontal camera placement when using the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. This has been a big drawback for using the iPad Pro as a portable video conferencing tool, something we’ve all been doing a lot of lately. I ask Ternus whether Center Stage was designed to mitigate this placement.
“Well, you can use iPad in any orientation right? So you’re going to have different experiences based on how you’re using it. But what’s amazing about this is that we can keep correcting the frame. What’s been really cool is that we’ve all been sitting around in these meetings all day long on video conferencing and it’s just nice to get up. This experience of just being able to stand up and kind of stretch and move around the room without walking away from the camera has been just absolutely game changing, it’s really cool.”’
Since Ternus didn’t contradict the premise of the question, I assume that the positioning isn’t changing.
Sounds like it.
By the way, why do you think the larger RAM is needed or desirable for the devices with larger storage capacity?
I use the Pencil, and am an artist but I rarely use it to draw etc. I do use it to annotate documents as well as adjust sliders with photography etc. It’s a more precise tool than my finger.
It also has daily use with the NYT Crossword, I can’t imagine not using it for that.
My guesses based on no inside information or tech analysis:
People who want more storage are probably doing more RAM-intensive tasks that may cause thrashing with less RAM
Larger amounts of SSD storage may require more RAM for efficient management. However, the fact that you can configure an M1 MacBook Air or Pro with up to 2TB of storage and only 8 GB of RAM seems to argue against this.
I do the mini crossword every day on my iPhone. How is the pencil helpful with the crossword?
It’s probably the former - more RAM intensive tasks are more likely for somebody who would shell that much money out for a 1TB or 2TB iPad.
We do the main one, something about tapping the letters is easier. I do it with my wife and it’s less intrusive on a shared screen perhaps than a hand.
I ended up with the 256. My wife and I’s MBP has that much and seems to be fine. Knowing this won’t be a primary machine I’m fine with that along with knowing it has external drive support.
I wanted the extra RAM but hard to justify the increase in cost that much when its not the extra storage I really want.