9.7-inch iPad Pro First Impressions: Major Improvement Over iPad Air 2, True Tone Display is Great

[Uofmtiger]

It is significantly faster than the Air2. Just pull up TheVerge side by side and the Pro loads the page a lot faster. Spread that out among every app and web page and it is simply a much better, time saving, experience.

That being said, I bought one for the Pencil....and no, it won't replace my Mac or PC, nor do I care that it doesn't.

 

[Firelock]

I really like my 9.7 Pro. Smart Keyboard is exactly what I wanted for my iPad: very light, thin, excellent keys, and no charging or pairing. Pencil is mind-blowingly good. I also like the True Tone quite a bit, but as a graphics professional what I really would like more is the ability to profile the display and calibrate it with a custom ICC profile like I do with my Mac. That would really be a "pro" iPad at that point, but I doubt Apple will ever add that feature. For some reason Apple has always shipped their displays with a really high color temperature that gives all their monitors a bluish tint. What True Tone is doing in most environments is bringing down the color temperature closer to the standard 6500K that it should have been all along.

 

[bpeeps]

If that's all you use for your iPadAir2 you should just bought an Air1 or iPad4

Air1 and iPad 4 are vastly different from the Air2. Even for content consumption. You know this.

 

[Donoban]

OF COURSE it's a huge improvement over an iPad Air 2... It's almost a 2 year difference! Try an iPad 4 vs iPad Air 2.

All that the 'pro' is is a way to get more money. Don't release an iPad Air 3, then release a Pro instead of Air 3 for maximum profit margin.

I'm almost at the point of saying '**** Apple'

Agreed. Will need to wait to know if this will be the new air 3. How can 4 speakers, a current cpu and a screen light sensor push the price significantly higher than the air 2? Cash grab for sure. The air 2 has 3 CPUs which is one more than the pro, surely that should have knocked down the price of the pro. Lol

 

[majkom]

Wow, the reviewer quoted saved a whole 2-3 seconds when opening the Music App. As reasons to buy that's really scrapping the barrel. It's a good incremental upgrade rather than anything spectacular. Personally I think it's a mistake to confuse customers even further with yet another product. They should scrap all the numbers, get rid of all the older models still on sale and simplify the iPad range to 8" Mini, 10" Air and 12" Pro.

Why using name Air?? Either iPad Mini, iPad and iPad Plus or iPad (8 and 10) and Ipad Pro (10 and 12) - Pro with some special features (like smart connector and stylus support)... Same they should do with iPhones and macbooks

 

[Keirasplace]

I really like my 9.7 Pro. Smart Keyboard is exactly what I wanted for my iPad: very light, thin, excellent keys, and no charging or pairing. Pencil is mind-blowingly good. I also like the True Tone quite a bit, but as a graphics professional what I really would like more is the ability to profile the display and calibrate it with a custom ICC profile like I do with my Mac. That would really be a "pro" iPad at that point, but I doubt Apple will ever add that feature. For some reason Apple has always shipped their displays with a really high color temperature that gives all their monitors a bluish tint. What True Tone is doing in most environments is bringing down the color temperature closer to the standard 6500K that it should have been all along.

Are you sure, at least for the phones, they're not far off from 6500K.
[doublepost=1459766554][/doublepost]

Agreed. Will need to wait to know if this will be the new air 3. How can 4 speakers, a current cpu and a screen light sensor push the price significantly higher than the air 2? Cash grab for sure. The air 2 has 3 CPUs which is one more than the pro, surely that should have knocked down the price of the pro. Lol

And if it had 8 it would be every better hey? Why not by an Android phone if that's your logic?

 

[ValO]

exactly, updating the processor but keeping 2GB RAM and usb2 speeds, when the iPad pro 12.9 has 4GB and usb3 is laughable

don't forget iPad Pro 9.7 is STILL using gen1 touch id
[doublepost=1459700817][/doublepost]

you're going to be in for a rude awakening if you expect major UI update for iOS on iPad

And why?
I don't get need a dramatic update of the gui. I just need it to scale better with the big display of the 12.9 inch, that is all. Those icons are really too big.
But if you have any insider information, please share....

 

[haruhiko]

I can' t wait for the iPad Pro 2 12.9. I have the first model and I like it a lot.
My MacBook hasn't t been out of the bag since I got it a week ago.

But it will all be up to software development.

-need FaceTime featuring conference call with more than one person at the time and some sort of ability to include/show documents/presentations in FaceTime.
-more apps optimized for the new res and screen size of the iPad Pro and more apps that support split screen and pip.
-iOS pro that features trackpad support and a simple finder app/file management.
-iOS pro with a gui that is more optimized for the 12.9 inch, layout is still the same as old iPads with size of the app symbols and spacing between them is ridiculous.

Hw side iPad Pro 2 12.9:
- little less bezel, and a tad thinner and lighter for portability.
-touchid second gen
-higher mp front/FaceTime camera.
-faster Soc.
-Smart Keyboard cover with a trackpad.
-display enhancements like in the 9.7 inch iPad Pro.
-I would love a 326ppi display like the iPhone and iPad mini, but probably won' t happen.
-29 watt charger included in the box.

1. Skype seems to be supporting multi-person video conferencing
2. More apps will be optimised over time, regardless of whether there will be a ver. 2 of the big iPad Pro soon
3. I don't think adding a trackpad is practical on the limited surface of the Smart Keyboard. Also it goes against the basic design of iOS devices. For file management, it seems that Apple has provided support for most cloud drives including Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, etc. In the built in document picker.
4. Definitely needed

1. The bezel to screen ratio is already lower than smaller iPads
2. Given
3. Given
4. Given
5. Same as above
6. Given
7. The resolution of the 12.9 inch is already very high in the current PPI, the tax on the GPU may be much higher if the PPI is further increased, c.f. The iPhone 6 Plus.
8. I don't really think Apple will do that.

 

[Aluminum213]

It is significantly faster than the Air2. Just pull up TheVerge side by side and the Pro loads the page a lot faster. Spread that out among every app and web page and it is simply a much better, time saving, experience.

That being said, I bought one for the Pencil....and no, it won't replace my Mac or PC, nor do I care that it doesn't.

Same RAM, it's a moot point that the processor is faster

 

[crsh1976]

Not sure what the "major" improvements are, especially compared to the Air 2, it's faster and adds Pencil support - that's about it. Those are improvements, but minor ones rather than major.

The Pencil thing may matter to those who have been eyeing it since the iPP came out, but the faster chip is sort of moot - better performance to run the same old iOS apps, big whoop - the Air 2 was already fast enough.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Same RAM, it's a moot point that the processor is faster

Not from my tests. It is definitely faster than the Air2, so the fact that it isn't related to RAM is irrelevant. In other words, I only care about results. I have an Air 2, so I am not speculating.

 

[BuffaloTF]

So I'm noticing the tech specs for the new 9.7" say "Embedded" Apple SIM. Is that the case? And if so, does that mean if you were to register the SIM to AT&T you'd be basically screwed from that point on from ever selecting another carrier?

 

[Aluminum213]

Not from my tests. It is definitely faster than the Air2, so the fact that it isn't related to RAM is irrelevant. In other words, I only care about results. I have an Air 2, so I am not speculating.

refreshing between apps has to do with RAM, pages with heavy videos crashing is RAM related


enjoy your faster processor with the same 2GB RAM

 

[Firelock]

Are you sure, at least for the phones, they're not far off from 6500K.
[doublepost=1459766554][/doublepost]

I'm not sure, I'm really going by how my gray/white tones look cooler on my iPad display (with True Tone off, they look warmer with it on) compared to my calibrated iMac display. But that is really the point, which is that Apple does not provide us a way to properly profile and calibrate the iPad display. Also I know from experience that the color temperature varies on iPads depending on who manufactured the display. When I got my iPad 3 years ago, the display looked terrible, way too warm in color temperature. Everything gray had a terrible yellow-cast to it. But then I saw that other iPad 3s did not have the same problem, so I took mine to the Apple Store where I was told that there was nothing wrong with the display, but that it was "normal variation" due to the manufacturer of the display. In that case as I recall the display on my iPad 3 was made by Sharp, and the ones that looked better I think were made by Samsung. But again all that just serves to underscore the problem of not being able to properly profile and calibrate the display, which would truly make it a "pro" device.

But just to reiterate, I really like my iPad Pro 9.7 and the display is certainly the best I've had on a mobile device.

 

[ValO]

I'm not sure, I'm really going by how my gray/white tones look cooler on my iPad display (with True Tone off, they look warmer with it on) compared to my calibrated iMac display. But that is really the point, which is that Apple does not provide us a way to properly profile and calibrate the iPad display. Also I know from experience that the color temperature varies on iPads depending on who manufactured the display. When I got my iPad 3 years ago, the display looked terrible, way too warm in color temperature. Everything gray had a terrible yellow-cast to it. But then I saw that other iPad 3s did not have the same problem, so I took mine to the Apple Store where I was told that there was nothing wrong with the display, but that it was "normal variation" due to the manufacturer of the display. In that case as I recall the display on my iPad 3 was made by Sharp, and the ones that looked better I think were made by Samsung. But again all that just serves to underscore the problem of not being able to properly profile and calibrate the display, which would truly make it a "pro" device.

But just to reiterate, I really like my iPad Pro 9.7 and the display is certainly the best I've had on a mobile device.

You can calibrate your display with the settings in night shift, though.
You'd don' t even have to enable it. You can use the slider, without enabling it.
It is in the middle now, but when I put it alle left the display is a lot "bluer" than before

 

[Uofmtiger]

refreshing between apps has to do with RAM, pages with heavy videos crashing is RAM related

enjoy your faster processor with the same 2GB RAM

As I said, it is faster when compared side by side using Safari. What difference does it make how it gets there? Here is a quote from the Arstechnica review:

"in Safari and other apps the excellent single-threaded performance will make it feel much faster than the A8X."

Personally, a good deal of my use of the iPad is with Safari, so yes, I will enjoy the faster processor. However, as I said in my first post on this thread, I mainly bought it for the Pencil combined with the excellent 9.7 form factor. The "much faster" Safari upside was simply icing on the cake.

 

[Vincanss]

refreshing between apps has to do with RAM, pages with heavy videos crashing is RAM related


enjoy your faster processor with the same 2GB RAM

Ok well that's good, I can barely remember any iOS device I've owned crashing owing to 'heavy' videos by way of web browsing but I'm sure it has. So not a significant argument for more RAM (in my) experience.

 

[Firelock]

You can calibrate your display with the settings in night shift, though.
You'd don' t even have to enable it. You can use the slider, without enabling it.
It is in the middle now, but when I put it alle left the display is a lot "bluer" than before

Thanks for the heads up on that. I just played around with it and while a welcome step forward, it is still far from being able to properly profile the display with a colorimeter and custom ICC profile like you can on a Mac or PC.

 

[abbstrack]

Is it really a major upgrade though? I can't ever remember a moment where my iPad Air 2 has slowed down for any reason and it's a blue moon when it crashes. Might be a major upgrade for users who want to spend more to add the pencil or keyboard accessories. As for me, I'd love to use the Pencil, but since I want to do a ton of creative stuff with it moving forward, I'm just going to wait until the next version. Hopefully by then they can match the RAM of the bigger model which will allow for more advanced creative apps, and Apple will provide an advanced software experience in iOS X for Pro users who deal with projects that have many components. Let us hope!

I guess the idea of the iPad being a product that is to be upgraded at every launch cycle is lost on me. Coming from an iPad 3 which I purchased at/near launch in 2012, I can safely say after 3 days of owning an iPad Pro 9.7 that it IS a major upgrade. And considering I had the option to buy an Air 2 at the now reduced/lower price, or the new 9.7 Pro, something about buying a model that doesn't support the latest technology (True Tone which is magnificent btw, Pencil) just doesn't add up either. I also own 53's pencil which i thought was amazing, until i tried Apple's pencil.

So in that sense, I'd say yes a major upgrade for some of us. If you have an Air 2, maybe this is more of an Air 2(s) release in your eyes. I still think iPads are close enough to computers in cost and application than they are to phones, so I don't necessarily need to upgrade at every release. To each's own though.

 

[macduke]

I guess the idea of the iPad being a product that is to be upgraded at every launch cycle is lost on me. Coming from an iPad 3 which I purchased at/near launch in 2012, I can safely say after 3 days of owning an iPad Pro 9.7 that it IS a major upgrade. And considering I had the option to buy an Air 2 at the now reduced/lower price, or the new 9.7 Pro, something about buying a model that doesn't support the latest technology (True Tone which is magnificent btw, Pencil) just doesn't add up either. I also own 53's pencil which i thought was amazing, until i tried Apple's pencil.

So in that sense, I'd say yes a major upgrade for some of us. If you have an Air 2, maybe this is more of an Air 2(s) release in your eyes. I still think iPads are close enough to computers in cost and application than they are to phones, so I don't necessarily need to upgrade at every release. To each's own though.

I suppose I'm looking at it like this: Is the MacBook Pro a major upgrade over the MacBook? Yes, in almost every way. If Apple released MacBooks for years, and then a year and a half after releasing the last MacBook came out with a Pro that was just a little faster, had more speakers and a little bit better display, but cost 50% more ($599 vs. $399), would that be worth it? Not for me. I'd just keep using my MacBook until the price was justified. I see what you're saying about something being upgraded every year, and I don't always upgrade my iPad every year, but to say that it's a Pro and charge a premium price seems pretty lame. If this was just the iPad Air 3 priced at $499 for 16GB then I'd say it's a decent upgrade. And basically it is an iPad Air 3 that is just more expensive.

 

[SvenSvenson]

Another protruding camera, how disappointing. I do wonder how artists use the iPad Pro with a protruding camera as it rocks back and forward on a flat surface. Maybe it requires a case to be used?

It's OK - it doesn't rock. Check your facts before posting.

 

[smacrumon]

It's OK - it doesn't rock. Check your facts before posting.

It's hard to believe there isn't any instability with such an ugly protruding design flaw. The fact is the device is incapable of sitting entirely flat with that thing sticking out. Check out that bump! Terrible, Apple. Requires rectifying across all products. They've chosen the wrong camera assembly completely.

 

[odedia]

I agree with you, unless it's an on the move item where space is THE most important issue, I'd go with the larger model.
Personally however, I could not deal with the fact the smaller model has the better camera, and we are probably only 6 months away from the larger model getting updated with the same camera, AND probably a spec bump in general, so for the sake of 6 months, given the price point I think I'd make do with what I have till then.

Yes, that's the only thing that iches the back of my neck . I still have a return window if I find it too annoying but I'd rather not use it, I bought it so I should stand by my decision. Worst case - sell it in a few months.

By the way - 256gb on an iPad is insane .
[doublepost=1459869780][/doublepost]

I'll agree to disagree

Like screen brightness, We all have a level we like, perhaps I like the yellow? tone applied a bit, but not to the max.
Just give me a MAX slider, so I can set how far it will go, and let it work automatically, but never pass my MAX setting is all I ask.

Otherwise, what will happen is some won't like how far it changes and will just disable it.

Be like an Auto Volume for the loudspeaker that got louder and louder depending on ambient noise.
That's great, but there shoudl also be a user MAX setting so you can set how, automatically high, it will reach before it stops.

Think this is all pretty reasonable.

We all get our own manual true tone control using Night Shift mode . Just use it in the settings.

 

[Vincanss]

It's hard to believe there isn't any instability with such an ugly protruding design flaw. The fact is the device is incapable of sitting entirely flat with that thing sticking out. Check out that bump!

Well I can say there's no instability, others have said there's no instability. I own one, it just doesn't rock. What more can people say? How can it be a fact that it's unstable on a surface when it isn't?

 

[smacrumon]

Well I can say there's no instability, others have said there's no instability. I own one, it just doesn't rock. What more can people say? How can it be a fact that it's unstable on a surface when it isn't?

Well if it's not unstable in must be bending somehow so it can remain stable.