The 9.7" iPad Pro Review
by Brandon Chester on June 1, 2016 9:00 AM ESTA Smaller iPad Pro
When the 12.9” iPad Pro was the only iPad Pro, the appeal it had was fairly obvious. Supporting Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard brought the iPad experience to a whole new level, and the large display allowed for an enormous canvas for full screen apps, as well as two essentially full sized iPad apps side by side. Of course, the large display also made the iPad Pro much less portable than Apple’s other iPads. Now that the 9.7” iPad is also an iPad Pro, it appears that Apple doesn’t consider the display size as playing a role in what defines an iPad as an iPad Pro. With that factor eliminated, it seems that Apple’s criteria for the iPad Pro is that it supports the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, and is powered by the fastest ARM SoCs that Apple can produce.
While the 9.7” iPad Pro shares a name with the 12.9” model, I think the use cases for each are quite different. Much of this comes down to what sort of application workflow you can have given the constraints of the display. In turn, this changes how you use the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, and so it’s worth going over how the experience with these accessories translates to the smaller iPad Pro.
Given that it’s by far my most used accessory, I’d like to begin with the Apple Pencil. The Apple Pencil was the first stylus that I ever used where I felt that it could truly replace my paper notebook and pencils for note taking. The Surface Pro 4 is an awesome device, but the integration of the Surface Pen within apps and the OS isn’t at the same level as the iPad Pro, and the accuracy and latency of the pen itself aren’t either. The 12.9” iPad Pro is particularly useful for taking notes in an academic setting, as you’re able to keep one application open for taking notes and another for viewing web resources, lecture slides, or a textbook. The 9.7” doesn’t have the same ability, and for the kind of use case where you need to be writing things by referencing other material, I think the 12.9” model has an obvious advantage.
However, the 9.7” iPad Pro excels in other situations, and for my current work I actually prefer it to the 12.9” model because I find myself needing to take notes in meetings. In a setting where you don’t need to reference other materials, the ability to use the 9.7” iPad Pro comfortably while standing and the fact that its size and mass makes it easy to pass around makes it a much more appealing device. You can almost treat it like a pad of paper on a clipboard in some respects, and that’s something you definitely cannot do with the larger iPad Pro.
For me, the Smart Keyboard is a different story. I have the Smart Keyboard for the 12.9” iPad Pro, but I never ever use it. The only occasion where I found myself using it was when I had to use a terminal application to SSH into servers to do some work, and that’s an almost hilariously niche use case for an iPad. Beyond that, I never felt that the keyboard provided any advantage to me compared to just using the on-screen keyboard. On top of that, the added mass is significant, and with the Smart Keyboard attached to the 12.9” iPad Pro the mass of the full package ends up being quite high for what I perceive as little to no benefit. Obviously there are situations where the keyboard can be helpful, such as working on documents or writing a review such as this one, but for my work my computer is still an active part of my day, and when I’m using the iPad I’d rather write things down with the Apple Pencil than type them out.
With the 9.7” Smart Keyboard Apple does address a couple of my issues with the larger one. For one, it’s obviously much lighter due to its smaller size. It’s actually light enough that I wouldn’t really mind if I had to keep it attached to the iPad as a cover, but I still opt not to because it does impact the usability of the device when you hold it while the cover is folded around the back. What hasn’t been addressed is the unsightly folded design which is awkward to set up, and the fact that it honestly isn’t the most compelling accessory despite commanding such a high price.
While the Smart Keyboard probably isn’t for me, I’m sure there are many users who are interested it and are wondering what sort of experience you get from the smaller version. I originally saw concerns about the usability of a smaller keyboard, but I don’t think the 9.7” Smart Keyboard is any worse than the 12.9” version. The smaller keys take some time to get used to, but you do get used to it. The travel distance is equivalent to the larger one, and so the feel of the keys themselves hasn’t changed, which is either a good or bad thing depending on how you feel about the larger Smart Keyboard. Honestly it really is just a shrunken down version of the other Smart Keyboard, and as a keyboard it works okay, but there’s not a whole lot to say beyond that.
Ultimately, the 9.7" iPad Pro provides the same feature set as the larger model, but there are obvious limitations caused by the smaller display. Workflows that require viewing two full iPad applications at the same time don't really work, and there are certain apps like Paper and Adobe's Photoshop suite where the 12.9" iPad Pro has a significant advantage due to the larger canvas. On the other hand, the 9.7" model's portability opens up use cases where the larger model is too cumbersome to use, particularly situations where you have to hold the iPad for a considerable period of time. As with most devices that come in multiple sizes, you'll have to decide for yourself which one better suits your needs. On the iPad Pro you can at least be sure that no matter which one you choose, you won't be missing out on any of the features that differentiate the iPad Pro from the rest of the line.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
144 Comments
View All Comments
name99 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
"The 9.7" iPad Pro does well in 3DMark's graphics test, but like Ice Storm it doesn't do well in the physics test. It seems that this test is programmed in a similar way to Ice Storm, and in that sense I'm not sure how representative the physics test is of real-world performance "The physics test conveys utterly no information. If you look at the code, it's obvious that the physics score basically scales as frequency*numberOfCores. So those octacore CPUs get their one (and only...) chance to shine.
But all you're learning is something you already knew --- that the SoC has lotsa cores running at a high frequency. You're learning nothing predictive about how those cores behave on real code.
An analogy is to judging an SSD by its interface speed --- "ooh, it supports PCIe3x4 --- obviously it must run at 4GB/s under any and all circumstances", or to assuming that the only number you need to know about a memory system is that it connects to DDR4@2400.
name99 - Wednesday, June 1, 2016 - link
I find the NAND performance numbers very interesting when compared to that tiny new Samsung BGA SSD:http://www.anandtech.com/show/10385/samsung-begins...
Sure the Samsung numbers are perhaps 3x higher (given different testing methodologies, etc) but I suspect the Samsung volume and power are SUBSTANTIALLY higher. So Apple is doing remarkably well. It would be interesting to know if they are using tricks like TurboWrite (ie use part of the flash as pseudo-SLC) or if that's still on the table, available for next year's performance boost.
sfwineguy - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
Very useful review. Because my own habits may differ from other users, I'm still unsure as to whether I should spring for this new one of try to find an Air 2 (hopefully one with 64 gigs rather than the 16 Apple is offering direct). It seems a bunch of the benefit from the Pro is the camera, which is something I just don't care about.If they had given this the 4 gigs of RAM in the larger Pro, it would be a no brainer for me. I feel like Apple always holds back on the RAM (and tells us we don't need it), which obsoletes their devices quicker than I would like.
ragingfighter - Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - link
In general apple holds back so they get you to upgrade it's a business model it's the way it has to work or you'll be keeping your iPad forever. IN my opinion, I think even if you had a first generation Erewhon is aware the tablet to hold onto. You really have to ask yourself this is it worth spending $600 more not counting the pencil for an additional hundred or the keyboard for an additional 150 that's if you're talking about their base model if you're going be on that then you have to ask yourself if it's worth spending closer to seven to $800. What do you use your tablet for now? Do you find it slow? Have you went to the store and did a side-by-side such a Staples Best Buy or Apple? I would recommend doing that use them a little bit or even go as far as biting the bullet and buy an iPad Pro from Bestbuy demo them side-by-side on the weekend and decide then whether you going to keep it or return it. Depending on where you're from your givien A window of I believe 14 days to return at least a Best Buy it might be an option for you to try them of them both, but your conclusion and stick with itRobertJasiek - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
DisplayMate measures "lowest reflectance" but this is the best only for glare displays. Tablets with semi-matte, capacitative touch display must have a much lower reflectance but, unfortunately, so far come with 16:9 or 16:10 display ratios.I wish a Windows tablet with matte, semi-matte or current iPad-like low reflectance display; iPad-like display ratio, casing, weight, battery duration; battery replaceability or service; great WLAN range; BGA SSD; USB and thunderbolt 3. Still the manufacturers of Windows tablets fails to offer displays suitable outdoors with an acceptably low display ratio and a casing suitable for hours of hand holding.
Many iOS apps do not help if the needed functionality is not available; I find it only for Windows or maybe Linux. This and the missing general file management under iOS mean that 2/3 of my tasks incl. productivity (other than simple proofreading) is impossible on iPads. Therefore the iPad Pro 9.7 is too expensive. Its good hardware can never compensate the failure of iOS and apps. This may be different for some needing only mainstream apps and file formats.
adamod - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
i would buy it but its waaaay to thick for me...totally unacceptablearsjum - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
Is this sarcasm?samer1970 - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
the best tablet ? I dont think so , Core M3/5/7 Tablets are better and with full windows 10Hemlocke - Thursday, June 2, 2016 - link
Have you actually used them as tablets? The SP4 is a terrible tablet. It's heavier, it's stuck in landscape, it lacks a lot of touch-optimized apps, it has an inferior screen, and it has inferior battery life.Oh, but Windows, you say. That's great. To get a decent Windows experience laptop out of it, you're spending $1200 for everything, and a $999 Razer Blade Stealth smokes the half-assed laptop that is the SP4, leaving you with $200 to buy an Nvidia Shield Tablet K1, which is still a better tablet experience than the SP4.
nikon133 - Friday, June 3, 2016 - link
Have you used Surface as a tablet, though?I'm using SP3 as my main tablet and laptop. It is stuck in landscape only if you want to use kickstand. If you want to hold it in your hands, it works in portrait just fine. Since I love kickstand, only scenario I use it in portrait is for comics, which I read in app called Cover. Everything else I do in landscape, and even with heavier hardware, being able to use tablet with one hand (while it sits on my lap or on bed, table... at angle I like) while having the other hand free to hold a cup, glass, sandwich... is more than worth extra weight.
I have all the apps I need for tablet mode. Granted I'm not too demanding with apps, but usual stuff - browser, mail client, FB, maps, weather, FB messenger and Skype, YouTube player, News client, comics and ebook readers, music and media players... are all there and perform well under touch.
I can get 8 hours of light usage out of fully charged Surface Pro 3. Most common scenario, browsing, will fluctuate wildly, but hit usually comes with Flash-heavy sites. Not sure if I can open them on iPad at all. And then, there's very nice type cover sitting in vicinity - if at any moment I decide that whatever casual I do will require some serious typing, transformation is 1 second away.
As a laptop - surprisingly enough, SP4 released keyboard (which works with SP3, too) is one of finest laptop keyboards I have ever used, and even touchpad is quite good - maybe not on MB level, but as good as any Windows laptops does... and I still get to use touch screen, which I do. I wouldn't like touch screen on my desktop's screen, but on small screen that usually sits closer to me than desktop, it makes a lot of sense.
My SP3 also has full Office, Photoshop, Lightroom... among few other desktop programs. I'm using desktop for really heavy lifting at home - and gaming - and SP3 replaces laptop and tablet very nicely for me, at home and on travels. iPads are nice - I'm buying them for my mother every 2 years or so - but they just can't replace both laptop and tablet for me, and since I live in NZ - almost every trip is intercontinental, and having one device less to drag is easily noticeable.