Towards the end of last week, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro went on sale, a few days after its release in major American and European markets. Initially, only the three Wi-Fi versions are available, but Wi-FI+Carrier models should be out in a week or two, depending on regulator approval. A similar delay occurred in 2014 when the iPad Air 2 was released.
I have been using the 128GB Wi-Fi model for the last few days. As with its larger sibling -- the 12.9-inch iPad Pro -- there are some surprises. This is a usable machine. My biggest problem is checking my bag to ensure it's still there, I'm so used to the weight of larger devices.
I was sceptical when the big-screen iPad was announced, as were many others. As soon as I got my hands on one in late November, I was surprised by just what I could do with it. Its 64-bit A9X chip is reported to run at 2.24GHz, faster than some computers.
Early critics claimed that it was not a feasible productivity device, with its lack of desktop-class apps. These types of comments are from the dinosaurs. Microsoft, Adobe, Apple and Google (among others) produce iOS apps -- some specifically for the iPad Pro -- and data is available via their cloud services. These major developers are shifting more to subscription services, so data is shared between devices.
The 9.7-inch iPad Pro has the same dimensions and weight as the iPad Air 2, but has the A9X chip with a slightly lower speed (2.16GHz), perhaps to reduce heat in the smaller shell. This provides almost the same power as the 12.9-inch version, but in a highly portable form. In practice, there is no noticeable drop-off in performance.
While there is similar power output, the smaller iPad Pro has a couple extra features. With the iOS update to 9.3, Apple introduced the Night Shift feature, which changes the display in the evening, reducing blues. The light emitted is easier on the eyes. With the iPad Pro, an additional feature called the True Tone display adjusts output depending on ambient light so that whites are displayed more suitably.
The size of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro meant that it was a little unwieldy for taking photographs. The 9.7-inch format is already widely used, so Apple has used the same camera components as in the current iPhone 6s models (and iPhone SE): a 12MP iSight Camera and a 5MP FaceTime camera (for selfies).
There is some reduction in specifications in the Lightning connector. The 12.9-inch model connects at USB 3 speeds, while the 9.7-inch model has the USB 2-speed Lightning port. I used the device on Friday in one of the classes I teach, and had no problems connecting to a VGA projector, but the speed of downloading photos was clearly different.
I used a set of 30 RAW images from my Nikon DSLR (22MB each), downloading them first to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, using the SD card to Lightning adaptor. For this device I turned Wi-Fi off as I did not want any interference from iCloud synchronisation. Displaying thumbnail images, then importing took one minute, seven seconds. I deleted all the images and repeated with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The same 30-image import took 44 seconds. As expected, the larger device with USB 3 capabilities is faster.
Once the 9.7-inch device had been set up, data from my cloud accounts, including photos and music, were available to me. I was able to start work on the device while the last of the apps was arriving. I did add a couple more to take advantage of new features and the Apple Pencil.
I was impressed with MyScript Smart Note, which allows me to take handwritten notes that can then be exported to text or other file formats. This initially worked better with the Thai writing of colleagues than with my untidy scrawl, but the app can be trained. It also works with Chinese: there are some 60 languages in all. I will look at other features and apps next time.
A second device needs a second Apple Pencil (3,900 baht), as these are paired uniquely. It is possible to unpair then pair to another device, but this takes a couple of minutes. I am also using a Smart Keyboard (5,700 baht). This is smaller to fit the dimensions of the new iPad Pro. It's made of the same dielectric material and allows me to use the same keystrokes as on the Mac.
The larger iPad Pro weighs in at 723g with cellular capabilities, while the 128GB Wi-Fi version I have is some 437g (444g with cellular capabilities).
There are three versions of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which comes in rose gold, gold, space grey and silver: 32GB, 22,900 baht; 128GB, 28,900 baht; 256GB, 34,900 baht.
Graham K. Rogers of Mahidol University's Engineering Faculty has OS X-flavoured web pages at www.extensions.in.th/index4.html.
Closer view of the keyboards showing spacing and key size.
MyScript Smart Note - screen shot showing language selector.
