The 9.7" iPad Pro Review
by Brandon Chester on June 1, 2016 9:00 AM ESTStill Image Quality
With the iPhone SE we saw Apple bring the 12MP camera from the iPhone 6s to a $399 phone. The 9.7" iPad Pro brings it to the iPad. More specifically, it's a ~1/3" 12MP sensor with a f/2.2 aperture. The A9X SoC comes with the same ISP as Apple A9, and so we should see parity between the photo quality on the iPhone 6s, the iPhone SE, and the 9.7" iPad Pro. In my iPhone SE review I said that the camera was a substantial upgrade over the one used in the iPhone 5s. In this case the gap is even larger, with Apple moving from an 8MP sensor with 1.1-micron pixels to a 12MP sensor with 1.22-micron pixels. Not only does moving to a higher resolution sensor enable UHD video recording, but the fact that the sensor is larger with more pixels will help to improve the quality of photos in good lighting, and even more so in poor lighting. Using Apple's latest SoC is also what allows for 1080p120 slow motion video and Live Photos.
| Daytime Photography |
As I said in my iPhone SE review, there's not a lot to say about this camera because we've already seen it in the market for many months now. While it's not the absolute best sensor in a smartphone, it's by far the best one in any tablet. Apple's processing gave them a lead over the competition when they were shipping 1.1-micron 8MP sensors in iPads, and with the 9.7" Pro moving to the same camera as the iPhone 6s the leap in image quality is significant. In the day you can see improved detail. It's also possible that the optics are an improvement over those used in other iPads, as you can see proper detail capture in some areas of photos where MTF limitations caused artifacting on older iPads.
| Night Photography |
As with the iPhone SE, the 9.7" iPad Pro is equivalent to the iPhone 6s when shooting in low light. In these particular shots there's a slight different in exposure but that could simply be due to me having a bit of trouble focusing on the same area with such a large device. The overall detail is equivalent between all the devices using Apple's 12MP sensor, and when you compare the 9.7" Pro to other tablets they're in completely different classes. The competition from Google is let down by worse cameras, worse ISPs, and worse processing, to the point where you basically can't use them to take a photo in low light. The best competition I've seen for the iPads was the Tab S2. Unfortunately, Samsung only loaned that to us for a short period so I no longer have it for comparisons, but given that it was equivalent to the iPad Air 2, it's safe to say that this new iPad Pro is really without competition for camera quality.
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Meteor2 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
Unlike the commenter above, I did notice you say that. Would've been good to name a smartphones which are better though.hlovatt - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
@Brenden,Which note taken app do you use? Is it OCR?
Thanks.
Brandon Chester - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
I used to use Notability but now I use Goodnotes. It has OCR for searching but I don't think it can do translation to a text doc format.KPOM - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
I love Goodnotes.hlovatt - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
Thanks for the Goodnotes suggestion, I will give it a try.Loved the review particular the display analysis.
Wolfpup - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
Glad for the explanation of True Tone...quite simple/obvious when it's spelled out like that, and sounds like something we'll eventually take for granted everywhere.That said, don't be scared off of the 12.9" model! I personally don't understand an iPad at all for "productivity"-to me they're fancy eReaders. I bought the 12.9" model because 9.7" has always seemed too small to me for graphic novels and magazines. Like it's usable, but it's compromised.
The 12.9" model, while it's limited compared to like a Surface, is still pretty awesome at being an eReader. The screen's fantastic, and Apple really nailed the weight and size and whatnot. IMO that's not as important in a 10" tablet, but at nearly 13" it could get out of control if it weren't well done-but they've come close to the weight and size and "in hand feel" of my iPad 2 with a screen that can finally display a full sized page without compromise. I was tortured over the decision for ages, but finally decided to go for it, and am glad I did...everything just looks so much better and I don't feel like I'm squinting or compromising anymore.
Apple's scaling hardware or software or whatever seems to do a nice job too. I'm pretty sure that Marvel Unlimited supports the 9.7" screen's resolution, but NOT the 12.9" one yet, but it looks fantastic on the larger screen. Okay, I still prefer physical paper, and I'd prefer an eInk equivalent to this, but it's really good..
Meteor2 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
That's a really good point. The 12.9 Pro, with its 3:2 screen, basically replaces paper. That said, I find the compromise that the 9.7 screen (in an Air for me) makes in terms of size v weight advantageous.arsjum - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
12.9 iPad Pro has 4:3 screen resolution, Surface tablets have the 3:2 one.andrejg - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
That is one expensive reader :-)trewtrew - Monday, June 6, 2016 - link
Agreed, iPad Pro 12.9" has been perfect for textbooks reading as well as note taking.