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Well it appears “big things getting smaller” is an overarching theme for today’s Apple announcements. Along with a new smaller iPhone SE, The company has just announced a smaller version of the iPad Pro. With the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple is adapting its iPad lineup to fall in line with that of the Macbook Pro: There are now different screen-size options under the “Pro” umbrella.
The new iPad Pro is a lot more portable than the original 12.9-inch model, as its 9.7-inch screen is the same size as the iPad Air 2. Despite the smaller screen, the new iPad Pro’s display has a new feature Apple is calling "True Tone." Four ambient sensors measure the ambient light in the room to adjust the brightness and color temperature of the display.
As you might expect, the “Pro” tag comes with a price. This new tablet will start at $599 for the 32GB Wi-Fi-only model, or $749 for 128GB, and $899 for 256GB. It goes on sale March 24, and ships March 31. It comes in four colors, including a new rose gold finish.
Other core features are in line with those of its bulkier sibling. They both pack the same 64-bit A9X processor and 4GB RAM, they both have a similar Smart Connector along the bottom edge for connecting Apple’s iPad-friendly keyboard accessory (a smaller one is available for this new model). Four speakers pump out louder, richer sound for your Spotify and Netflix sessions. Like the larger Pro, it’s also built to work with the fast, fluid, and precise Apple Pencil. Its main 12-megapixel camera records 4K video, too.
The most surprising thing about the smaller iPad Pro is the keyboard case. Most iPad keyboards are cramped and terrible; this one's not exactly spacious, but it's far less cramped and terrible than most designed for a 9.7-inch slate.
Of course, "most surprising" is a pretty low limbo bar here. The iPad Pro is one part iPad Air, one part iPad Pro. All the features of the Pro, all the looks of the Air. You get the idea. It's light and thin, sturdy and beautiful, as always. It's fast as all get out. Its most unique feature is the display, which not only works with Apple's new Night Shift feature but uses a feature called True Tone that automatically adapts the screen's colors to its surroundings in order to make the picture more accurate. Apple's really good at lighting its hands-on rooms, so that particular feature was hard to test aggressively, but it does seem to work.
The big questions for the iPad are whether people will care enough to upgrade, or switch from their PCs as Tim Cook would love them to do. The PC switch seems like a stretch: we immediately missed the bigger screen, even of the larger iPad Pro, for reading or editing photos. Having a lighter, smaller, more wieldable device is wonderful, though, and even with the keyboard case this Pro feels fantastically portable. It looks like a great iPad, with most of the best features of all the other options, but a 9.7-inch PC replacement still seems like a tall order.
