PC Advisor

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TABLET
Apple iPad Pro
Contact
• apple.com/uk
Specifications
12.9in (2732x2048, 264ppi);
Apple A9X processor; 4GB
RAM; 32-/128GB onboard
storage; iOS 9.1; LEDbacklit
IPS LCD, capacitive
touchscreen, 16M
colours, pixels, Wi-Fi 802.11
a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
with MIMO; Bluetooth 4.2;
8Mp, 1.2Mp cameras;
307.7x220.6x6.9mm; 713g
(723g Wi-Fi plus cellular)
Build:
Features:
Performance:
Value:
The iPad Pro was rumoured for more
than a year: a bigger tablet that
would let you multitask properly,
with the space to run two apps
side by side. A device on which you
could be productive, creating and
not simply consuming content.
Price and availability
As well as being the biggest, this is
also the most expensive iPad ever.
Prices starts at £679 for the 32GB
model, and jump to £799 for the
128GB option. There’s nothing in
between, so if you think 32GB isn’t
going to be enough, tough luck.
There’s also a cellular model which
comes only in 128GB guise that
costs £899 – the customary £100
premium on top of the equivalent
Wi-Fi only model. But don’t forget
you also get a GPS receiver with
the cellular version.
No accessories are provided,
so if you want a Pencil for more
accurate drawing or selection, that’s
an extra £79 and there’s currently a
four- to five-week wait for delivery.
It’s the same delay if you want a
keyboard, which costs £139.
Design
Since the design change which
began with the iPad mini, every iPad
has in essence looked the same. It’s
no different with the iPad Pro. It’s
exactly what you’d expect to get
if you could magically super-size
an iPad Air 2.
It weighs 713g – roughly the
same as the original iPad – and
although it feels heavy compared
to an Air 2, it also feels remarkably
light for its size. At 6.9mm thick,
it’s thinner than you’d expect, too.
Despite all this, there’s no flex
in the aluminium chassis or screen
when you pick it up, even if you
grip it only on one edge or corner.
It’s uncomfortable to hold for very
long with one hand, so this is very
much a lap or desk-based tablet.
In line with other recent iPads,
there’s no mute/rotation lock slider,
so you have only sleep/wake and
volume buttons. On the lefthand
side as you hold it in portrait mode
are three flush connectors that talk
to the optional keyboard (£139)
and are available for third-party
keyboards and other accessories.
The other change is the quadspeaker
system. The speaker-ineach-corner
approach means the
iPad Pro can emit stereo sound no
matter, which way round you hold it,
and it automatically switches as you
rotate from portrait to landscape.
Regardless of how you hold it, the
upper two speakers emit treble
frequencies, with the lower-most
pair handling lower frequencies. We
hesitate to say bass, because there’s
a limit to what the tiny drivers
can handle. While the volume is
impressive – three times the output
of the iPad Air 2 – it’s still not the
well-rounded sound that you’ll get
from a decent pair of headphones.
As you’d expect, there’s a Touch
ID sensor for unlocking and using
with Apple Pay, but it’s the firstgeneration
version and noticeably
slower to recognise a fingerprint
than the iPhone 6s.
Display
At 12.9in, the screen bigger than the
12in MacBook Air and 12.3in Surface
Pro 4 (page 24). It’s also a little over
3in bigger than the iPad Air 2, yet
you get almost twice the real estate
(78 percent). The short edge is in
essence as long as the long edge
on an Air or Air 2, so it’s like having
two 9.7in iPads side by side. That’s
great for multitasking, but it’s also
great for just about everything
including websites, viewing and
editing photos and video, playing
games and generally all the things
you already use a tablet for.
It comes into its own with
apps optimised for the iPad Pro,
especially those with take advantage
February 2016 www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews 27