The Gen XY Lifestyle
Is there a Case for the iPad Pro?
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus may have been the star of the show at last week’s launch, but the iPad Pro was perhaps the most intriguing announcement.
Make no mistake, the iPad Pro is a monster of a tablet. For starters, it has a display measuring almost 13 inches (12.9 to be exact) with a resolution of 2732 x 2048. Let’s put it this way, it has even more pixels than the 13-inch retina Macbook Pro.
Under the hood, the new 64-bit A9X is touted by Apple to be almost twice as fast as the previous flagship iPad, the iPad Air 2. The iPad Pro also features four speakers instead of two, and Apple claims that it offers more volume, as well as depth in sound. And if you change the orientation of your iPad, the intelligent speakers will also respond accordingly.
The large screen estate also plays nicely with iOS 9, which introduces a split view feature (two apps on screen at once), making it feasible to actually look at two windows of apps comfortably. But of course, it’s the Pencil that makes the iPad Pro, ‘pro’.
The iPad Pro was designed with a ‘fluid drawing experience’ for artists and design professionals in mind, and this is down to the Pencil along with the redesigned touch system of the display. Coupled with the Smart Keyboard, which doubles up as a cover, the iPad Pro doubles up as a laptop, and effectively covers all bases.
Is it for you?
While the bells and whistles that the iPad Pro offer may be tempting to general consumers – it looks like a really stunning entertainment system – the hard truth is that it would be severely under-utilised that way. The tablet is rather pricey as well, and doesn’t factor in the cost of the Pencil and Smart Keyboard, which are sold separately. It’s not exactly a tablet you’d like to bring out and about, regardless of how thin and light it seems to be. Apple certainly didn’t think so as well, as it only offers LTE for its highest end model. For most of us, carrying a 10 inch tablet is pretty much the full extent of our commitment, and the seven inch tablet, while infinitely more bag-friendly is less of an incentive given that most smartphones these days feature large screens anyway.
However, if the iPad Pro fits a gap in your needs (or wants), look out for it this November, with prices of USD$799 (32GB), USD$949 (128GB), and USD$1079 (128GB LTE). The Pencil costs USD$99, while the Smart Keyboard will set you back USD$169.
