Introduction
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Bearing a “Pro” in its name, the iPad Pro 9.7 adopts most of what we loved about the 12.9-inch model from last year – the duet of productivity-oriented accessories, the outstanding 4-speaker sound setup, the performance of Apple’s most powerful mobile processor, to name a few examples. With this new model, it all comes at a size that’s more manageable, more portable, more familiar to users, sprinkled with a few extra bits we’re going to mention in a moment. But at the end of the day, the iPad Pro 9.7 is an expensive piece of kit, starting at $599 without accessories. Is the figure justified?
In the box:
- iPad Pro 9.7
- USB to Lightning cable
- 10W Wall Charger
- Quick start guide
- 2 Apple decals
Design
Yup, it’s an iPad alright – sleek, pretty, portable, and… familiar. Too familiar, perhaps. In fact, if you put an iPad Pro 9.7 next to an iPad Air 2, you might have a hard time telling them apart. The weight, dimensions, and overall design of the two models don’t just come close. They’re identical. And how are people around us to notice that we’ve upgraded?
Oh yes, the color! The iPad Pro 9.7 comes in Rose Gold, adding another option alongside the silver, gray, and gold variants we’ve already seen. So far this is the only iPad – and one of the very few tablets, for that matter – to be available in the trendy hue.
Colors aside, the newest iPad adopts all the design traits an iPad is known for. Meticulously crafted, the tablet’s metal body is pleasant to the touch and a beauty to behold. Its buttons – a pair of volume keys and a the home button with built-in Touch ID fingerprint reader – are conveniently placed and easy to operate. This is why we don’t really mind Apple sticking to its tried and tested design formula – there’s pretty much nothing in urgent need of change.
But there’s this one thing sticking out… Literally. That’s the protruding camera module spoiling the otherwise perfectly flat back side of the device. Still, we’ll swallow that, knowing that the snapper is supposed to be a great one. And no, it doesn’t make the tablet wobble, in case you’re wondering.
Display
At a glance, not a whole lot of surprises become apparent. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes with a 1536x2048-pixel display at a 3:4 aspect ratio, just like the iPad Air 2. This gives it 264 pixels per inch, which is perfectly sufficient for a tablet. And it is a thing of beauty! Anything from high-res images and video to fine text and 3D graphics looks splendid on the iPad’s screen. On the downside, we’re disappointed to see no 3D Touch functionality here, the reason for its omission still being unclear.
One thing that’s new is the so-called True Tone Display technology, exclusive to the iPad Pro 9.7 as of this writing. In simple terms, it makes the display “colder” or “warmer” to match the temperature of the ambient lighting. The display should look more natural as a result of the color fine-tuning – “almost like looking at a sheet of paper”, as Apple puts it. Perhaps “almost” is too strong of a word, as we can’t really see a dramatic difference. The color shift is really there, but it is very subtle, and we definitely don’t feel like reading a book or a magazine when using our iPad. The real benefit of True Tone Display, in our opinion, is that it eliminates the blueish tone of the tablet’s display. Regardless of the lighting conditions, whites really do look milky white, not bluish as they would appear on most other mobile screens.
True Tone Display should not be confused with Night Shift, which is another color-shifting feature found on the iPad Pro 9.7. When active, the latter filters out blue light during the night hours, thus making the screen go easy on the user’s eyes. You can read more on the matter in our article dedicated to how Apple Night Shift works.
Speaking of colors, the iPad Pro 9.7 displays them beautifully and faithfully, as confirmed by our display measurements. All shades across the spectrum meet their target values with only slight, if any, deviations. There are some inconsistencies with the various shades of gray, but they’re tolerable.
We must also applaud Apple for delivering a tablet that’s easy to use even in broad daylight. The iPad Pro 9.7 shines with over 500 nits of brightness, which, when combined with its low reflectivity, translates to great outdoor visibility.
Camera
Taking photos with a tablet is a surefire way of making yourself look ridiculous in public. Yet people do it anyway. Maybe that’s why Apple chose to put its best camera in the iPad Pro 9.7. On its back we see the 12MP shooter from the iPhone 6s, with Focus Pixels, Live Photo support, 4K and slow-motion video capabilities, up to 63MP panoramas, and software image stabilization.
Upon launching the camera app, we’re presented with an interface that’s simple, intuitive, and familiar. Basically, if you’ve ever used an iPhone or iPad to take photos, you’ll be feeling right at home. Most controls are at a few taps’ distance, and we must admit that having an iPad’s screen as a viewfinder is a great advantage.
Image quality aside, we’re once again impressed how fast Apple’s cameras are. The iPad’s 12MP shooter launches in no time and takes photos with little to no noticeable lag, even if you’re shooting Live Photos in rapid succession.
Videos shot with the iPad Pro 9.7 look steady and fluid thanks to the tablet’s amazing image stabilization algorithms. Better yet, 4K videos recorded with it captivate us with the amount of detail they pack. Seriously, when it comes to video recording, this tablet can outrun most of today’s smartphones. Our only complaint is that the viewfinder doesn’t show us the complete viewing area of the camera when in video mode. The frame is cut from the left and right sides for some inexplicable reason, meaning that the camera “sees” and records more than what is shown in the view finder.
Battery Life
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In real life, the iPad Pro 9.7 easily lasts through a day of moderate usage. That includes browsing the web, listening to music, taking down the occasional note with the Apple Pencil, and wasting a few minutes on a favorite game in our spare time. In the evening, there’s usually enough battery for us to watch a movie or to catch up on the latest videos in our YouTube feed. In other words, battery life shouldn’t be a concern with this one. Still, we’ll run the tablet through our mandatory battery life benchmark and share the results once our testing is complete.
Conclusion
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Sure, the iPad Pro 9.7 is expensive, but in return you get a tablet with a gorgeous screen, powered by a blazing-fast processor, armed with a powerful camera, splendid speakers, and the greatest arsenal of applications on mobile. It’s a device that can keep you entertained for hours at a time, that can help you get some serious work done, that can let you unleash your inner artist when paired with the Apple Pencil.
But we have to make one thing clear – the iPad Pro 9.7 cannot replace a laptop. Unless hanging out on social media is all you do on your laptop, that is. Apple’s tablet, as capable as it is, simply lacks the productivity capabilities of a full-blown desktop operating system, not to mention that the overpriced Smart Keyboard Apple made for it is in serious need of improvement.
Should you get one? If money is not an issue, then yes. Just bear in mind that the iPad Pro 12.9 has greater productivity potential due to its larger size. And if you’re really serious about productivity, consider taking a look at the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which has a well-made physical keyboard and runs a proper, desktop-grade OS. And if money is tight, take a look at the iPad Air 2. It is $200 cheaper as of this writing, which makes it a worthy alternative if you’re not interested in the Apple Pencil or the Smart Keyboard.
Software version of the reviewed unit: iOS 9.3.1
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