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You're going to love it......

And I do. I've had it a week now. It doesn't feel quite as gigantic compared to my Air 2 as when I first opened the box. I barely feel the weight difference between the Pro and Air 2. Split screen is so much nicer to use that I actually do use it, whereas on my Air 2 I rarely did. The speakers are great! Battery life is excellent - I finally plugged it in this morning to charge although I still had 16% left.
 
My first iPad was the iPad mini 2, then I got the iPad mini 3 a short while after it came out because I got it for a 125 off. So I gave the 2 to my wife.

Then I got the air 2, gave the 3 to my wife and the 2 to my mom. But I missed the mini, bought a mini 4 with lte on swappa, so I sold the air 2.

After split view was came out I kind of wish I had the air 2 again but I waited. With the releases of both iPad pros I have debated switching to one of them. The 9.7 pro would be nice for the Smart Keyboard, I don't think I will use the pencil so it might not be worth it pricewise to get it over the air 2 though it would still be nice spec wise to get it.(I have a kid now so I try not to spend as much as I use to).

So I was thinking the air 2 vs the iPad Pro 12.9. I have never been one to use the iPad as much as most, I use it for the bible, highlighting PDFs, and epubs. But I was hoping the 12.9 would help me use it more, and not my 13" rmbp. My wife has started to use it a lot more and instead of buying another I thought maybe the 12.9 would work.

I use my MacBook for word documents, Internet, and my biggest thing is downloading movies and tv shows. I use Netflix when I can but not everything I want is on it, so I do resort to downloading some things.

I went with the 12.9, I got a 32gb. I got one used for $575, too good to pass up. I've only had it since Thursday but so far I think I can manage with Netflix only on it and use the MacBook when need be, Internet usage is excellent with the 12.9, not as quick as MacBook in terms of navigating, and watching movies isn't as comfortable in bed than the MacBook. My sister told me she was going to buy me the apple Smart Keyboard as a gift so I am hoping that will help with that.


I am super impressed by this iPad, just hope iOS 10 will make this even better. Also split view is amazing on this, super convient, hoping that is expanding on soon too. Luckily the apps I generally use the most are supported too.


My question, would anyone recommend the Apple Pencil mainly for just annotations?(hightlighting text). My big issue with the pencil besides price is storing it, would have been nice to have it magnetically connect to a part of the iPad or Smart Keyboard is some way.


If anyone is on the fence, I would recommend the iPad Pro 12.9 in a heart beat.
 
If you're only annotating I'd suggest a cheaper generic stylus.

No point paying extra for palm rejection and pressure sensitivity.
 
The 12.9" iPP is my first iPad and I love it. I've always had my eye on iPads since the first launch, but I never bought one because I hate buying things that I don't know I'll make very good use of. Mainly because--though I might have found an iPad slightly better in some cases for movies, shows, e-reading, and very occasional casual web browsing and games--I felt that doing those things on my TV, MBP, or iPhone were very acceptable for me already (all except e-reading... I tried out an iPad Mini as a dedicated e-reader for a short stint, but I didn't like that I couldn't palm it comfortably and I returned it, but that's another story). But truly mobile productivity and art were the two holy grails that no device had ever fulfilled for me, until now. Mobile art was obviously lacking because no Apple device had a good, native, pressure-sensitive stylus. And I felt that mobile productivity was lacking because even the lightest Macbook with OSX would never be as light and portable and as versatile and as quick and easy to use and with as great real-life battery life as a tablet with mobile OS/apps; and iPad wasn't productive enough because the screen was too small, it would refresh too often, and until somewhat recently there was no split view (which wouldn't be that useful on such a small screen anyway). But the 12.9" iPP with Smart Cover and Apple Pencil (plus multitasking in iOS) has fixed all that. It's not perfect (mainly I just sometimes wish iOS had more robust file management), but for me it is by far THE best balance of mobility and usefulness for an on-the-go device thus far. And now, besides my work computer, it is my MOST used device--for productivity and art, as well as entertainment. I really never thought I'd see the day that an iPad would become my most used device. Also I heard the addition of the Smart Keyboard really completes the transformation of the iPP into a productivity device--more so than the 9.7" because the 9.7's smaller sized keyboard makes for cramped typing--so I'll probably be trying that out as soon as I get a chance.
And all those entertainment uses for iPad (movies, browsing, etc.) turned out to be superb on the 12.9 as well, as an added bonus. Loving those speakers. Size has not been an issue. But I should note that I knew going into it that holding the 12.9 for long periods, especially lying in bed, would not be pragmatic, so I got a mount and arm to attach to my nightstand. Now I can watch movies/shows and read very comfortably in bed and I don't even have to worry about putting the iPad away before I fall asleep. Also because of the iPP's size and the lack of space on my desk, I got another smaller arm mount to attach to the edge of my desk, so it's great having that play a show while I work. And with Continuity, I can always leave my phone charging on my dresser next to my keys and wallet.
All in all, I could hardly be happier with the iPP. For me, it was 12.9" or bust. But that's just me. If you don't draw much, nor want to do a lot of productivity, and mainly want an entertainment device, and you value better portability over the bigger screen--then I'd say the 9.7" iPP was made for you. Actually, I know what valuing portability over screen size is like. Ironically, I'm a 4" iPhone guy.

Or a foldable iPad.
Start with a Mini. Unfold to 9.7. Further unfold to a 12.9.
Now that would be interesting.

Unfold 5 more times and you'll reach the moon.
 
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I bought the iPad pro to use as a whiteboard I could draw on for presentations for the classes I teach, and as a personal math notebook. For me the larger pro works better for this, as my handwriting is neater if I can write larger. Were it not for that, the smaller pro would probably be a little easier to carry around. Actually, were it not for that, I probably wouldn't have bought a pro at all. I still use my iPad mini for reading books and web surfing and brief note taking (using the virtual keyboard) on the go.
 
If I do get pro for keeps it'll be 9.7 and when on sale and jail breakable.

Doodling on a tablet is becoming an increasingly interesting thing

12.9 is unwieldy even in my lap on the couch. Ymmv

Plus if not for 2gb of ram and usb2 (oh well) the 9.7 has more features -- true tone camera front facing camera and supposed increased contrast

My air2 has such a great screen first shot and works well on9.0.2 tweaked out
 
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