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Apple launched the iPad Pro yesterday online and in stores, and early adopters are now receiving their deliveries around the world. The trio of videos below provide a closer look at the iPad Pro, Smart Cover and Silicone Case accessories and a comparison between Apple Pencil and Surface Pen tracking.

YouTube creator Jonathan Morrison shared a video called My First Day with the iPad Pro, proving how powerful the iPad Pro's A9X processor and 4GB of RAM are by exporting 30 seconds of 4K video in around only 38 seconds. He also provided a quick rundown of the 12.9-inch tablet's tech specs, benchmarks and camera.


Despite his 4K video test, Morrison concludes that the iPad Pro's hardware is mostly unutilized, due to the lack of true professional apps like Final Cut Pro X that take advantage of the processing power. Those apps could arrive in the future, but in the meantime the iPad Pro is essentially a bigger and better iPad Air 2.

YouTube channel DarGadgetZ went hands-on with the new Smart Cover and Silicone Case for the iPad Pro, available for $59 and $79 respectively in Charcoal Gray and White. The Smart Cover has its usual magnetic hinge and doubles as a stand, and can be paired with the Silicone Case for full front-and-back coverage.


The last video is an Apple Pencil vs. Surface Pen tracking comparison shared with us by GforGames. The 15-second test, slowed down from 120 FPS, shows the Apple Pencil has slightly less input lag compared to the Surface Pen on the Surface Pro 4 when sketching swirls with each stylus.


Limited quantities of the iPad Pro are available at select Apple Retail Stores in multiple countries, with Personal Pickup available at U.S. locations. Smart Covers and Silicone Cases are well stocked, but the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard are out of stock or in very limited quantities at most stores.

Also read our iPad Pro reviews roundup, tidbits and timeline for the latest news about the 12.9-inch tablet.

Article Link: iPad Pro Videos: 4K Video Exporting, Cases and Apple Pencil Tracking
 

iwaffles

macrumors newbie
Mar 25, 2006
11
17
San Jose, CA
I think we'll start to see more and more applications created to take advantage of this. The iPad was "just a bigger iPhone" when it came out, and right now this isn't much different, however with time we'll likely see developers using this really big iPad for some cool uses. It'll take some time until we get there, but I believe some really cool things are coming.
 

prowlmedia

Suspended
Jan 26, 2010
1,589
813
London
Pro? It's just an iPad Plus

Er given the Processor speed benchmarks it's pretty damn powerful - Just need some poe apps to appear on it.

given how much they were promoting the pencil, thought it would do much better vs. surface than it seems to do.

It's way better. Look at the curves - the surface is jaggy as hell. The pencil is smooth. The Surface pressure and tilt are shocking / non existent too.
 

Nausicaa

macrumors 6502a
Jan 11, 2007
607
283
I got to try it in store today. It's an awesome device. Amazing screen but it feels surprisingly light for its size. The Pencil is incredible - easily the best stylus I've used since my Cintiq, and probably bests it. The video barely conveys how much better it is than Surface Pro, bu that fact was immediately apparent to me. The Pro stylus isn't even close as far as responsiveness and accuracy. No wavy lines either. It doesn't even feel like a stylus, honestly. The performance was so good and so consistent it just felt like a regular pencil. The pressure response curve was flawless, unlike the Surface which registers all kinds of different line weights. Hard to describe in writing or if you don't have a lot of experience with various styluses, but the feel is just perfect. Latency seemed app dependent. It was imperceptible in the Notes app, but in Paper 53 it was definitely noticeable, but still not bad. I can't wait to get one of my own.

I'm sure this thread will get the usual dismissive comments from the peanut gallery, but it's a very impressive device. So much so I kind of wonder where the Air even fits in anymore, as if you want the larger format iPad the Pro is definitely the way to go. Just excellent stuff all around.
 

BigBeast

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
643
39
given how much they were promoting the pencil, thought it would do much better vs. surface than it seems to do.
I actually think the Apple Pencil does much better as seen in the video. Notice the jagged lines that the Surface Pen makes when drawing circles, vs. the completely smooth curves created by the Apple Pencil. Also, the reviewer is drawing very fast, and the Apple keeps up the whole time. Very impressed.
 

dwsolberg

macrumors 6502a
Dec 17, 2003
861
836
The video in slow-motion is deceiving for how it feels. Everything looks different and unnatural in slow motion.
 

rrm74001

macrumors 6502
Nov 11, 2008
292
336
The iPad does do way better. If you look at the lines drawn you will see that the surface is sampling less points as it goes so that it renders straight lines when there should be a curve.
Wow, you are right. The first time I watched it I was like "Wow, basically no difference". But looking closer, it looks like the Surface can't do curves. Interesting.
 

Lesser Evets

macrumors 68040
Jan 7, 2006
3,527
1,295
Apple needs to focus on two things as the iPad Pro matures into next year and beyond:

• Connectivity ( to external drives, back-up, cameras, etc. etc. etc)
• Software jumping over to iPad (theirs and others)

If they do that, they will have a "laptop killer" within a couple more years.
 

iosuser

macrumors 65816
Mar 12, 2012
1,005
753
given how much they were promoting the pencil, thought it would do much better vs. surface than it seems to do.
I am thoroughly impressed by the super low latency of the Apple pen(cil). Given how many years and generations from Wacom, NTrig et al has over Apple on their first generation pen, serious impressive stuff.

No, I'm not interested in the iPad Pro. Just impressed by the pen's performance.
 
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nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Can't wait for my iPad Pro, but for that rear shell--go third party! Not a good buy. It's really nice, but not $79 nice.

The folding smart cover I like JUST enough to MAYBE get--especially the way it sits flat with no tenting in that video. And the pencil is worth it to me for sure. But not that rear shell. (And not the keyboard—maybe perfect for some, but it's just this giant flap of a thing! I'll go 3rd-party, or simply keyboardless.)
 
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rdlink

macrumors 68040
Nov 10, 2007
3,226
2,435
Out of the Reach of the FBI
I think we'll start to see more and more applications created to take advantage of this. The iPad was "just a bigger iPhone" when it came out, and right now this isn't much different, however with time we'll likely see developers using this really big iPad for some cool uses. It'll take some time until we get there, but I believe some really cool things are coming.

Developers have already been using it with some cool results. It's just that most users don't have the need (or sometimes the imagination) to go out and look for the cool stuff. They use it to FaceTime their kids, track their Facebook and Instagram accounts, check their bank balance and watch movies on an airplane.
 
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BigBeast

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2009
643
39
Wow, you are right. The first time I watched it I was like "Wow, basically no difference". But looking closer, it looks like the Surface can't do curves. Interesting.
I don't see how you could come up with the conclusion that there was "basically no difference." It seems clear as day to me – even when looking at the still image preview of the video.
 

Jack Delgado

macrumors regular
May 11, 2012
138
347
I think we'll start to see more and more applications created to take advantage of this. The iPad was "just a bigger iPhone" when it came out, and right now this isn't much different, however with time we'll likely see developers using this really big iPad for some cool uses. It'll take some time until we get there, but I believe some really cool things are coming.

Unfortunately, given over a year, developers haven't done much with the extra real-estate provided by the 6+ either. I'm not counting on them burning development time for the extra real estate on the ipad pro.
 

arcite

macrumors 65816
still dont see the point of the "pro". just add 3d touch and stylus to the air. BAM you'll have sold 1 to me already.


Any kind of visual apps that need space, like stock market tracking, weather, news feeds, twitter feeds --- all benefit greatly from extra screen real estate.

These complaints just show, most people don't need a "Pro" device.
 

Renzatic

Suspended
Wow, you are right. The first time I watched it I was like "Wow, basically no difference". But looking closer, it looks like the Surface can't do curves. Interesting.

The Pro does look smoother and more responsive than the SP4, but it's hard to compare sampling points because it could be the software rather than the hardware that's making for those jaggy edges.

The best thing to do would be to test the pen out in multiple applications. Like Procreate for the iPad, and PS/Illustrator for the SP.
 
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