Apple today unveiled the much awaited iPad Pro at its special event in San Francisco, California. The iPad Pro is the “biggest ever iPad” with 12.9-inch Retina display that delivers 5.6 million pixels.
The Apple iPad Pro runs on iOS 9 out of the box. The presence of the new iOS on the iPad Pro certainly means that there are some all-new multitasking features. Further, there is an upgraded Retina display that comes with a variable refresh rate and is built with an oxide TFT panel that consumes lesser power than the one featured on the iPad Air 2.
Powered by a 64-bit Apple A9X chipset, the iPad Pro is claimed to have 22 times faster CPU performance and 360 times faster GPU performance than the first-generation iPad. The new chipset has two times faster memory bandwidth of the A8X chipset. Moreover, it is claimed to be 80 percent faster than Microsoft Windows running portable PCs.
Apple has partnered with developers to offer new apps on the iPad Pro. There is an updated AutoCad to give designers and architectures a solution that they previously had on their computing devices. In addition, there are two-side four speakers to deliver stereo audio experience.
The Apple iPad Pro features an upgraded keyboard that has auto-predict functionality and easy swiping from one key to another. Also, the company has launched a Smart Keyboard that makes the iPad Pro a closer competitor against Microsoft Surface Pro 3. The keyboard comes with a smart connector that connects with the iPad through a slide gesture.
Although Steve Jobs didn’t like to add a stylus for iPhone, the company has now unveiled the Apple Pencil as the first official stylus for the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil has an advanced precision technology that detects the position as well as the amount of force and point, just as Samsung’s S Pen, and works simultaneously with finger touch.
Phil Schiller says that the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro is the “one of the most advanced technologies” that Apple has designed so far. There are apps like Notes and Mail that by default support the Apple Pencil inputs and Microsoft and Adobe are among the initial developer partners that are using the new technology to offer an advanced computing experience on their apps.
Similar to the iPad Air 2, the iPad Pro has a Lightning connector and a fingerprint sensor-embedded Touch ID home button. The device is claimed to deliver 10-hour battery life on a single charge and comes in silver, gold and space grey.
Apple iPad Pro specifications
- 12.9 inch Fully laminated Retina Display with 2732 x 2048 resolution at 264 ppi
- A9X chip with 3rd gen 64-bit architecture and M9 motion coprocessor
- Dimensions: 305.7x 220.6 x 6.9mm; Weight: 713 grams (WiFi) and 723 grams (Wi-Fi + Cellular)
- 32GB/128GB variants
- iOS 9
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
- Four speaker audio
- 8 MP iSight camera, f/2.4 aperture, 1080p video recording
- 1.2MP HD front-facing camera, f/2.2 aperture
- 4G LTE (optional), Wi‑Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and HT80 with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2
- 38.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery with up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music
Starting November, the Apple iPad Pro will be available with a price tag of $799 for 32GB and $949 for 128GB. Customers can also opt for a 128GB model with 4G LTE support for $1,079. The Apple Pencil will go on sale for $99 and the Smart Keyboard will be available for $169.