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When the iPad Pro was introduced in September in all its enormous 12.9-inch glory it made waves with its size, but also its power.
This was a device that when you first saw it, toyed with your perception of perspective – being a very familiar iPad shape and yet being so much bigger.
But what you could do with it made it such an enjoyable piece of hardware. If you sat in the perhaps narrow field it was aimed it – creative types who sketch, edit and are very mobile – it could do everything you possibly wanted.
Now Apple has decided that it needs to bring this level of productivity to more users, and so the iPad Pro now has a smaller sibling – one that comes in at a more recognisable 9.7-inches on the display (close to that of the iPad Air 2).
But has chopping off some of the size dented the iPad Pro’s power?
This is the iPad Pro shrunken down, and all the key points are still there, but have been fused with that of the iPad Air.
The new Pro weighs the same as the Air 2 – which doesn’t sound interesting until you consider the heftier hardware architecture that is inside.
It has the same A9X chip as the larger Pro, providing what Apple calls “console-class graphics”, and puts it in the same area as many laptops when it comes to processing speed and power. But remember this is the same size as Apple’s supposed “standard” Air tablet.
On top of this, there’s the same 12-megapixel camera as you’ll find in all Apple’s latest smartphones. Taking photos on a tablet still looks a bit silly, but now you actually have a legitimate reason when the camera is this reliable.
The four-speaker audio system introduced in the larger Pro is here too, as are the sensors that change the output and balance it as you rotate the device.
The display on the new Pro is also being used as the springboard for some new Apple screen technology.
The first of these is what the company calls True Tone. This automatically adjusts the white balance on the screen based on the light around you, aiming to constantly provide the best viewing experience that is as close to paper-white as possible.
The screen is noticeably less-reflective too – about 40 per cent less than iPad Air 2 and again makes this a gorgeous display to look at.
As part of iOS 9.3, Night Shift comes with the Pro as well. This automatically lowers the blue light on the screen once the sun goes down – using the time on your device and geolocation to log sunset – if the feature is turned on.
Apple says it could help your sleep. A bold claim, and one that will take some more testing before judgment can be passed.
Finally, the screen also has some Mac desktop technology built it. The screen has the same colour gamut (think spectrum) as the Mac with 5k Retina display. In plain English, it means you can see a broader scheme of colours on this screen than any other mobile device Apple has ever put out there. Looking through high-quality images on the new Pro was a hugely impressive and engaging experience as a result.
For those looking for a hybrid style experience there is some more goodness in that the new smaller Pro is compatible with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard.
New, smaller keyboard and cases have naturally been created too.
Another iPad, particularly one similar in size to the iPad Air 2 doesn’t sound very necessary, but somewhat like the iPhone SE there is some logical market placement going on here.
The power the new Pro can offer will no doubt appeal to an audience now very familiar to using tablets. A starting price of £499, and the possibly to go up to 256GB of storage for the first time, means it will tempt plenty who are looking to upgrade.
Another well-packaged option for the tablet market.
