Apple’s original iPad Pro is a 12.9-inch beast of a tablet. As it turns out, some people have found it to be a bit too beastly. Which is why Apple has unveiled a smaller 9.7-inch version — still called, appropriately enough, the iPad Pro.
This
latest member of the iPad family packs the same high-powered engine as
the full-size iPad Pro into the slim, lightweight body of the iPad Air
2.
I got some hands-on time with the new Pro and already prefer it to its larger sibling.
Familiar face
Technically
speaking, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro might be a new machine. But its look
and design have been lifted straight from Apple’s existing iPad Air 2.
The new Pro doesn’t just look like the Air 2 either. It’s actually the
same size and weight as Apple’s older slate.
And
I like that. I actually found the full-size iPad Pro too unwieldy to
work well as a tablet. It felt like Apple had given the Air 2 some
growth hormones and sent it out to market. To be completely honest, the
12.9-inch Pro felt cartoonishly large to me.
I
find the 9.7-inch iPad Pro to be far more manageable. While I can see
why certain professionals might want the 12.9-inch Pro’s enormous
display, for the rest of us, the 9.7-inch Pro hits a sweet spot between
size and performance.
Smaller screen, newer tricks
Like
the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the 9.7-inch Pro gets Apple’s sharp,
264-pixels-per-inch Retina display. That means images look incredibly
sharp and detailed.
What
makes the 9.7-inch Pro’s screen different from the larger 12.9-inch
version are two new screen technologies: True Tone display and Wide
Color display.
True
Tone uses four ambient light sensors on the front of the iPad to
automatically adjust the screen’s white balance, based on the lighting
around you. So if you’re sitting in a room with traditional incandescent
lights that give off a warm glow, the iPad Pro’s display will take on a
warmer color. If you’re in a room with cooler lighting, the screen will
take on a bluer tone.
The
purpose of this kind of screen is to make the iPad’s display feel more
like paper (which naturally reflects the ambient light). If you’re in
warmly lit room, and the screen has the same kind of glow, it should
feel more comfortable to view.
Wide
Color allows the iPad Pro to display the same color gamut as Apple’s 5K
iMac. That means the slate can create more colors than the iPad Air 2,
which is important if you’re going to use the Pro to do things like edit
photos or videos.
Naturally,
the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s display offers top-notch palm rejection. So if
you’re using the Apple Pencil to draw on the screen, you won’t have to
worry about making stray marks with your hand.
iOS for the Pros
The
9.7-inch iPad Pro will hit the market with the latest version of
Apple’s iOS operating system. And while there aren’t any
earth-shattering improvements, iOS 9.3 does offer at least one
interesting new feature: Night Shift.
The
big to-do about Night Shift is that it can automatically adjust the
warmth and coolness of your iPad’s display depending on the time of day.
Studies have shown that viewing a screen with a cool, bluish tint at
night can impact the quality of your sleep. By reducing the amount of
blue light on the iPad Pro’s screen, Apple can make the display warmer
and better for using at night.
Turn the power up to 11
The
9.7-inch iPad Pro is every bit as powerful as its monster-truck-sized
brother. Inside, the slate gets Apple’s high-speed A9X processor, which
the company says rivals the power of some laptops. (OK, so you don’t
run laptop apps on an iPad…)
Still,
the slate is ridiculously fast. Apps open and close in the blink of an
eye and run just as smoothly. Naturally, you’ll also be able to take
advantage of all of the multitasking features Apple added to iOS 9,
including Split View, Slide Over, and Picture-in-Picture mode.
Apple’s
newest iPad also gets an updated 12-megapixel iSight camera. So now,
while you’ll still look like a fool taking pictures with your iPad, at
least you know your shots should look great.
Apple
also has you covered with a new, smaller Smart Keyboard cover
specifically built for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. As with the 12.9-inch Pro,
the smaller Smart Keyboard cover connects to the new Pro via its
built-in smart connector and serves as both a keyboard, cover, and
stand.
The base 9.7-inch Pro comes with 32 GB of storage. If that’s too little, you can upgrade to 128 GB or 256 GB of space.
The price of Pro
Naturally,
all that power comes at a price. The base 32 GB 9.7-inch iPad Pro
starts at $600, while the 128 GB and 256 GB models cost $750 and $900,
respectively.
Apple’s
Smart Keyboard, meanwhile, will cost you $150. Add the $100 Apple
pencil to the mix and a base 9.7-inch iPad Pro will cost you $850.
That’s a lot of cash for a tablet.
Then
again, if the iPad Pro really can replace a laptop, as Apple claims,
that price might be worth it. We’ll let you know for sure in our full
review coming soon. Stay tuned.
