Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (2018)
USUALLY WITH A new iPad there’s one new feature that stands out, but this time around there are several such features, as Apple overhauls its most powerful (and most expensive) tablet.
The first thing that will grab the attention of anyone picking up the iPad Pro 11 is the new screen, as it’s stretched closer to the edges of the device, with the formerly thick bezels reduced in width.
The 11-inch screen itself has been upgraded by Apple to a Liquid Retina display, something we first saw on the iPhone XR when it launched recently. It doesn’t have the same stunning effect you get from an OLED display, such as you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, and given the high price the new iPad Pro commands, not having the best screen technology irks.
That’s not to say it’s a bad screen in any way – Apple’s TrueTone technology and the 120Hz refresh rate both really do add something to the quality of the experience, while HDR content is rich in detail. You might have expected to see the display stretch right to the edges of the device, but there’s still a noticeable bar bordering the screen, which stops you accidentally pressing the screen when holding the device in landscape orientation, and which at the top edge houses the front-facing camera.
IMPROVED DESIGN
Apple seems to like to go through phases when it comes to design, flipping from smooth
APPLE SEEMS TO LIKE TO GO THROUGH PHASES WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGN, FLIPPING FROM SMOOTH CURVES TO A MORE INDUSTRIAL, ALMOST BRUTALIST DESIGN – AND THE LATTER IS WHAT YOU’VE GOT ON THE NEW IPAD PRO.
curves to a more industrial, almost brutalist design – and the latter is what you’ve got on the new iPad Pro.
The sides are more akin to the iPhone 4 or iPhone SE than to any other device we’ve seen from the brand, and it makes holding the iPad Pro 11 a slightly different experience.
It’s not uncomfortable, and it makes the iPad a touch more grippy, but it lacks the premium feel a curved piece of metal offers in the hand. Sir Jony Ive claimed, in a recent interview, that this design tweak was due to the engineers finally enabling it through component miniaturization, but in reality it feels like the flat edges were only implemented to provide a flat edge to stick the Apple Pencil to.
APPLE PENCIL
The Apple Pencil is synonymous with the iPad Pro, having launched at the same time as the original, and now Apple has finally added something we’ve been crying out for: a way to keep your Pencil attached to your iPad.
There’s now a magnetic strip that locks it to the top of the device, on that flat edge, so it should in theory be charged and ready to use when you need it.
We say ‘in theory’ as we had a few issues with the Pencil. The first is with synchronization: when it clips on magnetically it’s supposed to pair with the iPad Pro (which ours did) and then be ready to use when removed (which ours did not always do). The Pencil also came unclipped easily when the iPad Pro was taken out of a rucksack, slipping off into some dark recess rather often.
There were also multiple occasions when we’d remove it from its clip to find that it didn’t work, and we’d have to ‘tap to connect’. Not what you’d expect for something that costs $199. Yes, you read that right... the Apple Pencil is incredibly expensive thanks to the tech packed inside, costing far more than the previous iteration.
Apple has added a layer of hardware acceleration to the screen, which means the lag between a Pencil press and the screen showing the result is barely noticeable.
Add in the bigger screen and we found that we finally wanted to actually use the iPad Pro 11 as a notepad, thanks to the ease with which we were able to jot things down, and to having more colors to play with, and multiple apps supporting the double-tap functionality already.
KEYBOARD
If you thought the Apple Pencil was expensive, then wait until we tell you about the Smart Keyboard… it’s another optional extra for the iPad Pro 11, and it’ll cost you $269. Yes, it’s a decent keyboard for typing, but it adds another layer of expense to an already expensive purchase.
We found that we could achieve a fast level of typing with Apple’s keyboard, which is good for something that doesn’t have the amount of key travel you might expect.
PERFORMANCE AND VERDICT
It’s twice as powerful as anything we’ve used before, barring the iPhone XS (which is using a simpler version of the A12X Bionic chip found in the iPad Pro, which here is coupled with 6GB of RAM). If you’re not bothered about the numbers, consider this: the iPad Pro 11 offers more than double the power of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which is an incredibly strong Android phone.
The thing is, that amount of power makes it hard work to out who Apple is pitching this tablet at, other than professionals. The chipset in this device says Apple is positioning the iPad Pro 11 as something a working digital artist, photographer, video editor or musician might carry around – yet the marketing suggests this is an iPad for everyone – a consumer device, albeit a high-end one – and not everyone is going to want to drop this kind of cash on something to watch Netflix on.
The iPad Pro 11-inch is excellent, and easily the best tablet Apple has ever made – but you’ll need to know how to get the best out of it. It’s designed, as the name suggests, for the professional, and those in creative and other lines of work will love the power, precision and overall quality on offer. If you’re a ‘standard’ user, then you’ll be buying the iPad Pro as a luxury device and media powerhouse – and you’ll be paying for the privilege.