After my posts speculating about the iPad Pro I have my hands on one and thought I would pass along my initial impressions. Before I start I should comment I am running iOS 9.2 beta 3 and not iOS 1 that came "in the box".
- The screen is really big and the images really sharp.
- Over all the form factor is pleasingly thin and although it is heavier than smaller iPads I do not perceive the additional weight — possibly because it is so well distributed over the larger form factor
- It is a bit too long to fit into my favorite messenger bag, but it will work if I leave the top inch or so protruding.
- I did not get either the top or bottom covers because I am waiting for the keyboard which acts as a screen cover and like the pen will not be available until the second week of December. A back cover with a handle you could slip your hand into would be nice however
- The on screen keyboard has all the standard keys including numeric and shift keys that appears in applications that have been "tuned" for the iPad Pro
- As advertised it is fast and really responsive
- The audio is IMHO crisp, clear, bright, and brings out highlights and subtleties in tunes I have not heard even on good external speakers. The stereo is really good and you can actually hear the sound change as the sound adjusts to the rotation of the iPad. The iPad Pro immediately became my music player of choice. If you are into heavy metal there probably will not be enough bass to suit you, but classical music, cool jazz, even bluegrass sounds great
- Apps really need to be adapted to the larger iPad Pro screen size, and it is surprising how many apps are already adapted. Some older apps that have not been kept up to date work, but they can be a weird on the big screen. One side of the screen blank, a smaller screen in the middle of a large black frame, etc.
- Initial setup was a piece of cake. Turn it on, enter my Apple ID and password and it automatically found and started downloading the last backup from my old iPad. It did take a good bit of time even on a 65 Mbps network connection so if you have a slower connection you may want to backup to iTunes and then download the backup from there rather than from iCloud.
- It is early in the learning process, but so far I am a heppy camper and getting up and running has been easy. That process has been greatly eased by iCloud
- I almost forgot to mention the convenience of finger/thumb print identification
I was considering the MacBook or MacBook Air for my portable computing needs when the
iPod iPad Pro was announced and ended up being several hundred dollars less expensive but basically the same screen size and as fast as the MacBook Pro. At this point I am convinced I made a good decision to go with the
iPod iPad Pro. The only downside is my wife came in last night as I was listening to some classic Dave Brubeck on the Pro and now she wants one — just for the sound quality of no other reason.
IMHO the ball is now in the app developer's court to provide the same level of functionality in the iOS versions of their apps as in the OS X versions. I have already seen comments from several indicating they are considering or actually working on doing that very thing.
