Apple iPad Pro first impressions: The One Device To Replace Them All?

Irrespective of where your allegiance leans--toward Apple or Android--it’s virtually impossible to argue with the fact that it was the iPad that kicked off the whole tablet brigade. That innocuous slab of glass aimed at delivering a consumption-first experience with our content quite literally changed the way we read online news, watched portable movies or played games.

Every tablet that has been launched since has largely treaded the same path--a device meant for media and content where the focus is on watching, viewing and reading. The screen sizes have varied, but the focus has never really realigned toward the device being used for serious content creation. Sure, the battalion of aftermarket accessory manufacturers have provided a steady stream of Bluetooth keyboards for all manner of Android and Apple tablets, but it still never really led it to becoming a true convergence device. The one device to replace them all was still elusive.

Now, over five years since the launch of the first iPad, we have a tablet that is attempting to do just this: the iPad Pro pulls no punches when it comes to packing serious processing ability into an innately portable and useable form factor. After spending some time with this intriguing device, here are my takeaways.

The first meeting

Like every Apple device, the unboxing is an unmistakably minimalist yet tingly experience. From tearing away that shrink wrapping to pulling apart the two halves of the box with their apparently micron-level fit, it’s impossible to open the entire package quickly--you just have to do this slowly. Which is all part of the show really. Lift off the lid and your first eyefull is of that 12.9-inch dark glass. It’s expansive--larger than any iPad you’ve ever seen--which is where the first hit of awe happens.

Lift out the device and all you see is the neat, recessed coil of Type-C USB 3.0 cable, alongside a little paper folder containing the mandatory quick start guide, the regulatory leaflets and the SIM removal tool (this was the 128GB WiFi+Cellular iPad version.)

Holding up the tablet its size and heft are evident, though not uncomfortable--it’s a large, cool slab of metal and glass that feels pleasingly balanced in the hand, even when you flip it over and hold it in various orientations. For a device so bit, it it unusually light--lesser than most ceramic dinner plates. Everything is where you expect to find it--the front camera up top, the round button at the bottom (doubling as a fingerprint reader,) and the rear camera. Then there’s the innocuous three-point ‘Smart Connector’ on the left edgewhich in this case we used to attach the much-touted Smart Keyboard. Finally, there are not two but four individual speakers near each of the corners--the sound field is crafted so that bass frequencies are routed to the lower two speakers while the mids and the highs are piped through the upper speakers, and this also realigns with the device’s orientation.

Then the screen--that screen is just flat-out gorgeous. Packing almost 5.6 million pixels on a 12.6-inch real estate makes for sharp rending of everything from serif on Web text to tiny details from your DSLR camera photos. The viewing angles, color saturation, brightness, it’s all characteristically brilliant, as has been the case with this iPad’s precursors.

Getting stuff done

With a 3rd generation 64-bit A9X chip pulsing at its core, this tablet delivers about 2.5x the processing performance and a staggering 5x the graphics power of the earlier A7 processor. And the numbers certainly translated--during a prior demo of the product, I saw AutoCAD 360 running an apparently massive mesh file of downtown San Francisco. Zooming and panning the entire scene was flawless, with not even a shadow of a hiccup--from state-level down to the bolt of a seat of a stadium, it’s like the file was being viewed on a high-end graphics workstation.

Even with a task as demanding as video editing, this tablet handles 4K streams like a breeze, enabling clipping, splicing and all that good stuff using the intuitivity of the touchscreen. And for the fun of it, you can also open two additional 4K video files and edit them concurrently--the device is that ridiculously powerful.

Tapping into its multitasking abilities, you can even run multiple apps in split-screen, side-by-side view for really amping up on your productivity--especially useful when researching and writing articles, or keeping a live video running as you’re catching up on the latest news stories.

We’ll be diving more into more extensive, real-world applications with the device, but from what we saw so far, suffice to say it’s got enough grunt that won’t leave you missing your laptop.

But the fun is in the accessories

Sure, the tablet--pricey as it is--shines in virtually any application you throw at it. But it really comes into its own when accessorized with that much-vaunted Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard.

The Apple Pencil aims to deliver as close a pencil-like experience as can be achieved in a glass and plastic world. Constructed using numerous sensors, it is able to communicate several types of information with the paired iPad, including the amount of pressure applied, the direction and even tilt. Put together in the sketching context, there’s nothing quite like this--from sharp lines to misty shading, it looks and feels just like the real thing. In the hands of a skilled artist, this experience is revelatory.

The pencil is also handy in more modest applications--you can, for example, open a JPEG attachment sent via email, mark it up with doodles and sketches, and send it on in one go. Or you could physically sign a PDF file, eliminating the conventional print-sign-scan approach.

Then there’s the Smart Keyboard--a folio-like keyboard accessory that plays various roles when attached to the iPad Pro. For starters, there’s no pairing required--the device magnetically snaps to the tablet making contact with the Smart Connector, and that’s it. The keyboard itself is surprisingly comfortable and intuitive to use--being full-sized, it feels much like a laptop keypad, even in terms of tactile response. Which is surprising, given that it uses no physical switches beneath the keys--the buttons are crafted using a contiguous, fabric-type material that actually delivers a subtle yet reassuring spring, which makes for intuitive typing. And being completely sealed, it is also spill resistant.

The folio is articulated, enabling it to be used as a keyboard with a built-in prop for holding up the tablet, or folded back to act as a kickstand for a viewing/touchscreen only use (reading, presenting or watching a movie,) or it can be folded flush across the tablet’s screen for protection during stowage.

There were instances though, where attaching the iPad to the Smart Keyboard got a bit confusing, especially with the orientation it sits in. But a few rounds of practice fixed this. Also the pencil doesn’t really have a place you can attach it to, so you’ll need to be especially mindful of leaving it around (being completely cylindrical, it also happened to be notoriously prone to rolling off the table.)

Having a single device that can be used in lean back mode (content consumption) as efficiently as in lean forward mode (content creation) has been a portable device pipe dream. But a couple of days into using the iPad Pro makes it clear this is a device aiming to take on that challenge. In the right hands and using the right blend of apps, the iPad Pro is the first, real hint of a device-converged future. Over time as more bespoke apps become available, it’s easy to see this tablet really becoming a single go-to tool for both casual entertainment and solid productivity.

Now if only I didn’t have to trade my firstborn to buy the damn thing.