First Impressions of the iPad Pro

The iPad Pro is officially here. I've used the iPad as my primary computer for every aspect of AfterPad for the past 6 months, only breaking out the laptop for advanced photo editing. As such, the prospect of a large-screen, multitasking-optimized iOS device is compelling to me.

So after waiting in line at the Apple Store yesterday, I went home the proud owner of a fully-stocked gold iPad Pro. I've been using it steadily for the past 2 days, and while that is not enough time for a good review, it is enough for me to have some initial impressions.

The Size

The iPad Pro is big. Really big. It's effectively the size of two standard iPads next to each other. For working with documents, it's amazing. I can use a code editor on the left and a preview on the right, with a video playing in picture-in-picture, and not feel the slightest bit cramped.

The larger size doesn't make the Pro significantly more difficult to transport than the Air. Neither fit in a pocket, so you'll already be carrying a small bag. The iPad Pro fits right into my iPad carrying bag of choice, along with my SteelSeries Stratus and keyboard. The larger size does make it more difficult to use in bed – the iPad Pro is the first iPad that feels designed for use on a desk.

Performance

The iPad Pro feels almost identical to the iPad Air 2. Which is to say, it feels really, really fast. The fact that it doesn't feel like an upgrade from the previous model should not be taken as a negative – the Pro has twice as much work to do, pushing a vastly larger screen.

There is one caveat: the version of iOS 9.1 that shipped with the iPad Pro suffers a few areas – multitasking, spotlight search, folder management – with choppy animations. For that matter, do does the iPad Air 2. Updating to the latest beta of iOS 9.2 makes both of these devices run as smooth as butter; it will surprise me if Apple doesn't push out this update very soon.

Aside from that, the iPad Pro is a powerhouse. Thanks to the 4 gigs of RAM, applications stay open for hours in the background and Safari allows many tabs open without requiring random refreshes. Thanks to improved RAM and storage bandwidth, apps download and open faster than ever before. Thanks to the dual-core 2.2GHz A9X processor, opening apps side-by-side doesn't degrade performance. Thanks to the 2X faster GPU, games run better on the iPad Pro than they do on the cutting-edge iPad Air 2.

The Speakers

The iPad Pro is the first iOS device to feature discreet, separated speakers – 4 of them actually – for true stereo sound at any orientation. Regardless of how you're holding the iPad, the system is smart enough to route sound through each speaker in such a way as to create a full stereo sound field. The speakers themselves are larger and louder than those of other iOS devices, creating more sound in addition to better sound.

I was skeptical that small speakers, angled away from the user's ears, would be capable of generating good stereo sound. I'm happy to say I was wrong to worry. For the vast majority of situations – gaming, background TV, background music, FaceTime – the iPad Air 2's speakers are excellent.

I often watch TV in bed on my iPad. When I'm getting ready to go to sleep, I don't want to fumble with plugging in speakers or untangling headphones, so I've been using the tinny mono speaker on the old iPad Air 2. The iPad Pro is a massive upgrade.

The Pencil

I don't own an Apple Pencil yet, but I spent some time using it at the Apple Store, as did my artist girlfriend. It feels different than any stylus I've ever used – much closer in design to a physical pencil than to other styluses. In compatible apps, it supports pressure sensitivity and angles. It refreshes at a much faster rate than other iOS styluses, and uses guesswork to feel even more responsive.

In our (admittedly brief) use of the Pencil, it worked great. Closer to putting ink on paper than any other digital illustration method I've tried. After a half hour of use, my girlfriend was ready to switch to using the Pencil for all her sketches and game concept art illustrations. And I was ready to buy one, except the Apple Stores don't have them in stock, and might not for the next month.

When I finally do pick one up, my girlfriend will put together a full review of it for the site, from an artist and illustrator's perspective. But initial impressions are very positive, and if you do find a store with a Pencil in stock, seriously consider picking one up.

The Keyboard

I spent about 15 minutes using the new Apple iPad Pro Keyboard, and a bit less using the Logitech Create keyboard. Both were better than I expected. The Apple keyboard in particular, I was prepared to hate, but ended up typing well after just a few minutes of acclimation. The Apple keyboard lacks any shortcut keys or advanced inputs – no home button, no escape key, no page navigation – whereas the Logitech is fully decked out with inputs. And while the Apple Keyboard's felt keycaps aren't bad, they're inferior to Logitech's laptop-style scissor keys.

The good news is, the iPad Pro works with pretty much any Bluetooth keyboard. If you already own one, you can pair it with the iPad Pro, and it'll work just as well as it did on any other iOS 9 device. For my writing, I use a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard with full-sized keys and clicky switches, and it works perfectly. I'll probably still grab a keyboard cover of some sort, for portable use and typing in bed, but I'm content to wait for something more in line with my preferences.

If you're interested in a lot more of my thoughts on iPad keyboards, check out the AfterPad iPad Keyboard Review. Though I expect I'll eventually be writing up another one about iPad Pro keyboards.

The Software

I'll end my impressions with software, because it's the most important part of the iPad Pro experience. And as of now, it's the weakest link. Apps need to be manually optimized for the iPad Pro, and the vast majority have not. One's I'd expected to work – WordPress, Netflix, Reeder, Textastic – did not scale to the new layout, and don't work in multitasking or picture-in-picture. Other apps stretch to fill the full screen size, but obviously aren't designed for it, lacking any optimization.

There's good news, though. In addition to Apple's apps, third-party apps that are optimized – Tweetbot, Instapaper, 1Writer, Coda, Procreate – are amazing. Coda's web development environment feels every bit the equal of a desktop program. Instapaper feels like reading a magazine. Procreate… I don't even know where to begin with apps like this. Creating art on the iPad Pro is vastly superior than any other iPad, and I expect this to quickly become the product of choice for artists.

Wrap-up

I respect my readers too much to pretend to review a product after only using it for a couple of days. These are some quick thoughts, based on things prospective buyers might be interested in knowing. I'll have a full review up when I have more time to use the device.

However, I'm not afraid to admit that so far, I'm extremely satisfied with the iPad Pro. It has a few rough edges, especially in non-optimized software, but I'm already preferring working with it to working with the iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini. The iPad Pro won't be the iPad for everyone, but two days is enough time to know it's the iPad for me.