TECH @ EGOR

iPad Pro 10.5" Review (2017)

Introduction

The iPP came out a few weeks ago, and I was the first to get one. Here is my review and thoughts.

Pros

Portability

While the ten-and-a-half-inch is a little bigger than the nine-point-seven, the bezels are much thinner and the difference in size, once the device is in the user’s hands, is unnoticeable. What’s more, there’s no difference in weight- that also helps.

Screen

The screen is the main interface of any iPad. From 2010’s original device, it was very important for Jony to have the iPad sport the best display possible. In the 10.5 inch Pro, that is taken further with a new technology called ProMotion. ProMotion allows the display to refresh at 120Hz versus the previous 60Hz. In the most basic sense, everything is now more fluid. The first time I used the 10.5", I almost could not believe it. You really have to try it for

As usual, the display is Retina, True Tone and P3.

Chip

The A9x chip is powerful as per usual with Apple processors. Not much to say here.

Touch ID 2.0

The fingerprint sensor in the iPad comes from the iPhone 7, as a lot of things in this computer do. I find that it does not make much sense in a computer, as the time opening the computer won’t impact the usability. What’s more, I find myself signing in by pressing cmd+H and typing in the password more often than touching the sensor.

Camera

The iPad Pro uses the camera from the iPhone 7, and it is the best I’ve ever used in a somewhat compact body. However, the massive body does not allow me to quickly whip out the device and take a picture. That’s quite sad, because of that the camera can only be used for scanning documents and showing off.

Apps

I guess the best aspect of the iPad Pro as a computer are the apps. In the past three years since the original 12.9" Pro came out, iPad Apps improved greatly from blown-up iPhone counterparts to Mac software that was boiled down and built back up using only the essentials. However, this does mean most software’s feature set will not be rich enough for quote on quote power users.

Cons

View Controller

I’d say this is the biggest con of this computer (in my opinion). Basically, in half-and-half split view, the 10.5“ shows two iPhone apps, and the 12.9” shows two vertical iPad apps. This is inconvenient at times, Burt ninety nine percent of the time I do not notice.

No Instagram App

Instagram was always phone-first, and the concept of photos as little digital polaroids will be killed if transferred to the large screen of the iPad

Some apps yet to support Split View

This is a controversial topic, as some people do not even use split view. However, when established apps like Spotify and Paper by 53 do not support the noted feature, it arouses some questions. I personally even switched from Paper to Evernote on the iPad Pro.

Replacement for Mac

Smart Keyboard

The Smart Keyboard is the accessory you really need if you plan on using the Pro as a Mac. Personally, I love mine. It is not perfect but decent on the lap. It’s not cramped unlike the nine-point-seven-inch, and offers suggestions on a touch-bar like bar at the bottom of the ten and a half inch display.

Great Apps I’d Like to Recommend

Ideal Specification

If I had the money and could purchase a Pro again, I’d go for 64gb, silver and cellular. Let me explain.

64gb most of the files you’ll store will be stored in Github or in the cloud- device storage is not needed.

silver my favorite color, and all of my  devices are silver or white, even my Zippo.

cellular I am fed up of using the Mobile Hotspot feature on my iPhone.

Conclusion

In general, the iPad Pro is the best computer I’ve ever used, and I’ve used MacBook Airs, Pros and just MacBooks for a long time now. The iPad has a great screen, a selection of easy-to-use, yet still powerful applications while still keeping its fundamental pro- it is an iPad and is familiar to almost everyone on this planet. Personally, I will recommend this computer to everyone who requires a lightweight, powerful and easy-going machine.

What is really remarkable about the Pro is that it is a diverse computer- on one hand you have Viticci doing power user stuff like complex workflows and coding, and on the other your average granny browsing Facebook, yet they are both satisfied with their choice of machine.

P.S.

I wrote this piece in the back of a Mercedes E-Class on the iPad Pro 10.5" using Workflowy and iA Writer in half-sized split view.