About 6 months ago we reviewed Apple’s first iPad Pro, the ultra-powerful uber large tablet representing Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s Surface Pro. You can read all about that review here.
Six months later and Apple has come back with another iPad Pro, this time it’s one that packs all the goodness, in a smaller form.
If you’re now confused and torn about whether to get the 12.9-inch or the 9.7-inch variation, here’s 5 reasons why you should consider tilting getting the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Reason 1: It’s manageable
When the 12.9-inch iPad Pro came out it was taunted as being for a specific set of people. Those who would use it for design or engineering work, perhaps for those with some artistic flare as well.
While the idea of a larger, more powerful iPad may be something worth drooling about, in reality when considering the average Joe, like me, it’s just too big. It’s difficult to manage if you’re carrying it with you everywhere you go, every day.
This is where the 9.7-inch comes in. It’s just as big as the good old iPad we’ve all gotten accustomed to.
It has the exact same weight and dimensions as the iPad Air 2, making the transition for those who want to upgrade a very manageable and easy one from this perspective.
Reason 2: It’s Powerful
While the 9.7-inch iPad Pro maintains the same weight and dimensions of its sibling, the iPad Air 2, there’s another story happening on the inside.
Sporting a 64-bit A9X chip, the same one on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, gives the 9.7incher just as much power and oomph, with less pixels to worry about due to the smaller size.
This is a tablet that delivers just as well as a power PC/workstation does. Whether you’re looking into editing 4K videos, rendering 3D animations or designing the visuals for your next big campaign, this tablet does it all with the superior ease and fluidity one would expect from an Apple product.
Reason 3: The Speakers
Like it’s larger sibling, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes with 4 glorious speakers.
I have to admit, the speakers on both iPad Pro’s are the best speakers I’ve experienced on a tablet to date. Sound is loud with uncompromising quality and it even has built-in sensors that automatically adjust the sound depending on whether you’re holding the iPad in portrait or landscape orientation. Bass goes to all four speakers and the mid and high frequencies always come from the topmost speakers.
Reason 4: True Tone Display
Now here’s a feature you won’t find on any iPad released to date, the True Tone Display.
The True Tone display uses advanced four-channel ambient light sensors that automatically adapt the color and intensity of the display to match the light in your environment. This makes for a more natural and comfortable viewing experience wherever you use your iPad. Whether it be reading the news in your kitchen under cool lighting, browsing the web on the patio in daylight, or reviewing emails at a coffee shop under warmer incandescent lighting.
And I must say, it works beautifully. I spent hours staring into the screen and didn’t feel the discomfort I usually experience after long durations on other devices.
Adding to that, the changes in tonality on the screen are smooth and subtle. This is a feature best experienced in person to see the difference.
Reason 5: Everything else that makes the iPad Pro stand out
The Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, iSight Camera which shoots 4K video and other features you can read all about here.
Conclusion
The concept of having the best of both worlds rarely comes true in real life, but Apple pulled it enough nicely here with the lightness and size of the iPad Air 2 and the power and utility of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
At AED 2,299, AED 2,899, AED 3,499 for the 32, 128, 256GB Wi-Fi models respectively, it’s not cheap, but one must remember here that you’re not just buying a tablet, you’re buying a PC in the form of a tablet. If only we didn’t have to worry about spending more to get the Apple Pen and the Smart Keyboard as well. Once you add those, the overall cost becomes quite considerable. Especially when some of these come bundled with the competition.
