Apple iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
Apple’s smaller 9.7-inch iPad Pro still offers phenomenal power, now in an more compact and portable package.
Packed into a body the size of the incredible iPad Air 2, the iPad Pro 9.7 manages to take the monstrous iPad Pro and shrink it down without any significant sacrifices.
Aesthetically, there’s not much different to 2014’s iPad Air 2. From the front, and with the new True-Tone display switched off, you will struggle to tell the two apart. Get one in your hands, though, and you’ll notice a couple of key differences — the inclusion of the four rear speakers in the back corners of the device, and the smart connection port on the bottom of the Pro 9.7 will reveal its technological developments. Switch on the display and things become even clearer — while the resolution is the same, the auto-correcting white balance of the Pro’s TrueTone display makes it easier to read.
Also packed into the Pro is the iPhone 6S’s 12MP rear camera, complete with TrueTone flash. The front-facing camera also matches the iPhone’s with a 5MP camera perfect for FaceTiming. While on par with Apple’s smartphone family, that doesn’t mean it’s the best camera for every situation. Instead, the improved snapper offers a new level of quality for app developers to take advantage of.
The extra grunt of the A9X chip, which first appeared in the iPad Pro, works a treat. Even the most graphically intensive apps, which can render and scale complex 3D models in real time, operate without so much as a hiccup. Apple’s marketing pushes the iPad Pro lineup as laptopreplacing, and while we wouldn’t go quite that far, if your software needs are met by the App Store, there’s a lot of practicalities about using this for work.
Even iOS 9’s multitasking features manage to work well. Drag the screen from the edge and you can run two compatible apps concurrently. That said, it only supports two concurrent apps, and isn’t really ‘multitasking’ in the same way you multitask on a computer.
But the real point of difference here is the support for Apple’s Pro tablet accessories — the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil. Like the 12.9-inch Pro, the 9.7’s screen has an adaptive refresh rate that allows the Apple Pencil to have an incredible amount of responsiveness, perfect for anyone who likes to draw or handwrite. Mind you, it’s pretty sad that there’s no handwriting recognition built in to the Pro given its support of the Pencil, but it’s not a dealbreaker.
The keyboard, meanwhile, feels a little cramped. The keys still manage to give a satisfactory tactile response — but it’s nowhere near that of a dedicated laptop’s keys.
The real challenge of the iPad Pro 9.7, though, is in the price. With 32GB costing $899 and 256GB setting you back $1,399 — and that’s without the $229 Smart Keyboard and $165 Apple Pencil — the cost of this gets up to MacBook Air levels, but without quite so much versatility. Given the price cuts to the still-solid iPad Air 2, that older model will be the more appealing option for those on a budget.
In short, if you’re after the best iPad you can buy right now, you’ll have to pay for it. As always.