First shipments of Apple's 9.7" iPad Pro arrive, are promptly unboxed

AppleInsider

As scheduled, customers who purchased Apple's 9.7-inch iPad Pro last week began to receive shipments on Thursday local time, with pictures of the new tablet now flooding social media outlets.

As seen in photos provided to AppleInsider by reader Ron, who lives in Australia, Apple's latest iPad model is arriving on doorsteps of eager fans in parts of the world where it's already Thursday. Apple quoted preorder shipments for March 31, the same day iPad Pro 9.7-inch is expected to land in retail stores.

Apple announced the 9.7-inch iPad Pro alongside the new 4-inch iPhone SE at a special event earlier this month. Like its 12.9-inch namesake, the "Pro" 9.7-inch slate is powered by an advanced A9X SoC and comes with a built-in magnetic Smart Connector, four-speaker array and specialized display components for Apple Pencil support.

Exclusive to the 9.7-inch model is a True Tone display that adjusts screen temperature and brightness depending on a user's surroundings. The display also boasts a wider color gamut than the 12.9-inch Pro, reaching saturation and accuracy levels seen on the iMac with 5K Retina display. In addition, Apple included a 12-megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash capable of shooting 4K video. Apple also redesigned its Smart Keyboard to fit the new Pro's smaller form factor.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro starts at $599 for a 32-gigabyte model with Wi-Fi connectivity, $749 for a 128GB version and $899 for a new 256GB tier. Cellular versions are priced at $729, $879 and $1,029 for 32GB, 128GB and 256GB of storage, respectively. A new rose gold chassis joins the usual space grey, gold and silver color options.

After an initial launch in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the U.K., the U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S., Apple expanded availability to 46 additional regions on Tuesday, with those shipments scheduled to arrive on April 4.

For those still on the fence, AppleInsider was able to spend some hands on time with the device last week. A comprehensive review will follow.

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jdw

Appleinsider, when creating your "comprehensive review" be sure to compare the 4GB RAM in the 12" Pro to the 2GB in the 9.7". Let us know if there are cases where the full 4GB would really have helped the 9.7" or if 2GB in the 9.7" is truly sufficient with any app and combination of apps in RAM. One thing I know is that my iPad3's 1GB RAM has always been insufficient. I like to keep 1Password open while switching between other apps, but I find myself having to enter my 1Password password endlessly because iOS always kicks it out of RAM. I want to know if a 2GB or 4GB iOS device would prevent that from happening most of the time. Thanks.

milkmage

jdw said:

Appleinsider, when creating your "comprehensive review" be sure to compare the 4GB RAM in the 12" Pro to the 2GB in the 9.7". Let us know if there are cases where the full 4GB would really have helped the 9.7" or if 2GB in the 9.7" is truly sufficient with any app and combination of apps in RAM. One thing I know is that my iPad3's 1GB RAM has always been insufficient. I like to keep 1Password open while switching between other apps, but I find myself having to enter my 1Password password endlessly because iOS always kicks it out of RAM. I want to know if a 2GB or 4GB iOS device would prevent that from happening most of the time. Thanks.

uhh,, my apps seem to resume after a reboot.. you sure saved state is using RAM? I have an old 30 PIN.. which doesn't have a problem keeping 1P unlocked.. course an ipad that old isn't doing much more than imdb and safari (it never leaves the couch) i pretended to use a pencil on it.. glad I got the 12 instead.

jdw

milkmage said:

uhh,, my apps seem to resume after a reboot.. you sure saved state is using RAM? I have an old 30 PIN.. which doesn't have a problem keeping 1P unlocked.. course an ipad that old isn't doing much more than imdb and safari (it never leaves the couch) i pretended to use a pencil on it.. glad I got the 12 instead.

Of course the apps resume after reboot and even before reboot, but do you use 1Password?

When iOS suspends an app (removes it from RAM), you will still see it in the launcher (press Home button twice) but it won't take up RAM.  So when iOS suspends 1Password (again, "kicks it out of RAM") and then when I open 1Password again, 1Password asks me for my password again.  This happens too often because 1GB is insufficient RAM to keep 1Password open most of the time.  

On some level, this is just the way iOS works.  When you open an app, then open 5 other apps thereafter, you've probably burned through 1GB of RAM by then and iOS kicks apps out of RAM.  Tapping an app that has been kicked out of RAM is a somewhat seamless experience.  There's a delay (for example, a Safari web page refresh), but mostly they pick up where you left off, EXCEPT for highly secured apps like 1Password that protect you by ensuring that when the app is kicked out of RAM, the user is forced to enter the password again.

Unfortunately, there is no 1Password preference setting to kill that "protection" feature, and I hate it because I find myself entering my 19 digit password about every single freaking time I tap on the 1Password app.

Having more RAM would not necessarily guarantee that an app will always be in RAM on iOS, but my guess it would improve the overall iOS usage experience as there would be fewer apps kicked out of RAM.  But that's how iOS works. In addition to extra RAM though, my wish is that iOS would be considerate of modern iOS hardware that has more RAM, such that we the user could tell iOS in the preferences what apps we want to remain in RAM.  Really, the only one I personally care about is 1Password.  I want to enter my password, then be allowed free access to it until I logout or force-quit the 1Password app.

multimedia

I'm not a user of 1Password. But on an iPad Air 2 or Pro, why can't you log into it with Touch ID instead of needing to enter your password all the time?

jdw

I own a 2012 3rd generation iPad3 which does NOT have TouchID fingerprint recognition.  So, you are correct that such a feature would bring me some relief.  Even so, the 1Password TouchID page still says the Master Password (which in my case is very long) will need to be manually entered because "TouchID is not an outright replacement" for the Master Password:

https://support.1password.com/touch-id-faq/

But yet another reason to have lots of RAM is to ensure a more responsive experience.  The A9 chip in the iPad Pro will likely provide a lot of that, but the fastest possible experience is when an app is still in RAM and you switch back to it (like Safari) and nothing needs to be refreshed.

In light of the cost of the device, Apple really should have put the full 4GB into it.

tmay

jdw said:

I own a 2012 3rd generation iPad3 which does NOT have TouchID fingerprint recognition.  So, you are correct that such a feature would bring me some relief.  Even so, the 1Password TouchID page still says the Master Password (which in my case is very long) will need to be manually entered because "TouchID is not an outright replacement" for the Master Password:

https://support.1password.com/touch-id-faq/

But yet another reason to have lots of RAM is to ensure a more responsive experience.  The A9 chip in the iPad Pro will likely provide a lot of that, but the fastest possible experience is when an app is still in RAM and you switch back to it (like Safari) and nothing needs to be refreshed.

In light of the cost of the device, Apple really should have put the full 4GB into it.

With the NAND bandwidth that Apple has brought to iOS devices, you probably won't even notice small apps reloading, and even large games will probably load pretty fast.

foggyhill

tmay said:

jdw said:

I own a 2012 3rd generation iPad3 which does NOT have TouchID fingerprint recognition.  So, you are correct that such a feature would bring me some relief.  Even so, the 1Password TouchID page still says the Master Password (which in my case is very long) will need to be manually entered because "TouchID is not an outright replacement" for the Master Password:

https://support.1password.com/touch-id-faq/

But yet another reason to have lots of RAM is to ensure a more responsive experience.  The A9 chip in the iPad Pro will likely provide a lot of that, but the fastest possible experience is when an app is still in RAM and you switch back to it (like Safari) and nothing needs to be refreshed.

In light of the cost of the device, Apple really should have put the full 4GB into it.

With the NAND bandwidth that Apple has brought to iOS devices, you probably won't even notice small apps reloading, and even large games will probably load pretty fast.

That's one thing some people don't realize, compared to machines 10 years ago, these machines need a lot less memory to operate.

dewme

jdw said:

Appleinsider, when creating your "comprehensive review" be sure to compare the 4GB RAM in the 12" Pro to the 2GB in the 9.7". Let us know if there are cases where the full 4GB would really have helped the 9.7" or if 2GB in the 9.7" is truly sufficient with any app and combination of apps in RAM. One thing I know is that my iPad3's 1GB RAM has always been insufficient. I like to keep 1Password open while switching between other apps, but I find myself having to enter my 1Password password endlessly because iOS always kicks it out of RAM. I want to know if a 2GB or 4GB iOS device would prevent that from happening most of the time. Thanks.

Are you certain that this is a memory depletion problem on the iPad and not simply the configured behavior of 1Password on iOS? It could also be a bug in 1Password, e.g. https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/60267/intermittely-have-to-re-enter-my-master-password

henrym

Looks like the 9.7 version is also better when it comes to photography than the 12in version as seen in this comparison https://versus.com/en/apple-ipad-pro-9-7-vs-apple-ipad-pro . Although I really don't think the ios9 is enough for productivity, it has much fewer productivity apps than say, the windows os in surface hybrids of microsoft.

dewme

HenryM said:

Looks like the 9.7 version is also better when it comes to photography than the 12in version as seen in this comparison https://versus.com/en/apple-ipad-pro-9-7-vs-apple-ipad-pro . Although I really don't think the ios9 is enough for productivity, it has much fewer productivity apps than say, the windows os in surface hybrids of microsoft.

Depends on what you consider "productivity." The makers of the huge office mega-suites have used huge marketing campaigns and branding to try to convince you that putting every conceivable feature from text entry to document publishing into a bloated software package makes you more productive. But if "productivity" is measured in the quality of communication, conveyance of ideas between writers and readers, team collaboration, task completion, effectiveness and efficiency, and moving the ball on progress then many of these so-called and self professed "productivity" apps are quite the opposite, they are productivity killers and time suck holes. Instead of having scientists, engineers, and business people focused on problem solving they're prettying up fonts and page layouts and playing with page transition on presentation software packages. It's hard to imagine that any of the major endevours that preceded the advent of "productivity" apps would have taken place if such apps had been available. We'd still be sifting through PowerPoints on the Manhatten Project and Moon Landing, and they'd all be in German.

Don't get sucked into the fantasy. Productivity is only achieved at the human level and these tools must serve us, not the other way around. If you need a staff of people to administer a toolset then you are serving the tool and all the talk of productivity is smoke, mirrors, and marketing.
     

2old4fun

jdw said:

Appleinsider, when creating your "comprehensive review" be sure to compare the 4GB RAM in the 12" Pro to the 2GB in the 9.7". Let us know if there are cases where the full 4GB would really have helped the 9.7" or if 2GB in the 9.7" is truly sufficient with any app and combination of apps in RAM. One thing I know is that my iPad3's 1GB RAM has always been insufficient. I like to keep 1Password open while switching between other apps, but I find myself having to enter my 1Password password endlessly because iOS always kicks it out of RAM. I want to know if a 2GB or 4GB iOS device would prevent that from happening most of the time. Thanks.

On my iPad Pro 12.9" any time 1Password is moved off screen it needs to be unlocked again. In split screen it stays active but lock as soon as it it moved off screen. I believe that is way that it is coded and not a memory issue. Probably a check with Agile would confirm that.

skeptical

Unboxing photos? Still?

tmay

scxfan said:

Nice iPad.

But the unboxing of an iPad is pretty stale nowadays.

And in an era where iPad saes are falling, what does Apple do?

Release a more expensive iPad!

I will make the same comment about Microsoft; PC sales are falling so MS and OEM's  have turned to making expensive hybrids, which are decent laptops but poor tablets, and MS no longer has much in the way of mobile, so which company is making bad choices?

I have an iPad Pro, and while I won't say that it replaces a laptop/desktop, I can see that Apple will continue to evolve and innovate the iPad and iPad Pro lines, and companies will continue to create professional apps that will allow the tablet to replace laptops/desktops for an ever growing number of users.

6sgoldfish

dewme said:

HenryM said:

Looks like the 9.7 version is also better when it comes to photography than the 12in version as seen in this comparison https://versus.com/en/apple-ipad-pro-9-7-vs-apple-ipad-pro . Although I really don't think the ios9 is enough for productivity, it has much fewer productivity apps than say, the windows os in surface hybrids of microsoft.

Depends on what you consider "productivity." The makers of the huge office mega-suites have used huge marketing campaigns and branding to try to convince you that putting every conceivable feature from text entry to document publishing into a bloated software package makes you more productive. But if "productivity" is measured in the quality of communication, conveyance of ideas between writers and readers, team collaboration, task completion, effectiveness and efficiency, and moving the ball on progress then many of these so-called and self professed "productivity" apps are quite the opposite, they are productivity killers and time suck holes. Instead of having scientists, engineers, and business people focused on problem solving they're prettying up fonts and page layouts and playing with page transition on presentation software packages. It's hard to imagine that any of the major endevours that preceded the advent of "productivity" apps would have taken place if such apps had been available. We'd still be sifting through PowerPoints on the Manhatten Project and Moon Landing, and they'd all be in German.

Don't get sucked into the fantasy. Productivity is only achieved at the human level and these tools must serve us, not the other way around. If you need a staff of people to administer a toolset then you are serving the tool and all the talk of productivity is smoke, mirrors, and marketing.
     

Well, here's an example of productivity: think iMovie vs Final Cut and Motion. Think Garageband vs Logic. When you need options #2 to make edits on the fly, the iOS version of option #1 simply doesn't do it. Think Photoshop, the iOS version of which doesn't facilitate comprehensive resolution/colorspace settings which are key for DTP tasks. Sometimes you need a file system and more than 2 apps concurrently running. The iPad is still a great device, but not the "future of personal computing", as Tim Cook put it.

But what do I know, I'm probably just saying so because I'm sad to be using my 2011 iMac, according to Phil Schiller  

edited March 2016

rogifan_new

scxfan said:

Nice iPad.

But the unboxing of an iPad is pretty stale nowadays.

And in an era where iPad saes are falling, what does Apple do?

Release a more expensive iPad!

Right because the Surface Pro and Book are so cheap. And the Dell XPS with infinity display too. Oh wait...

nolamacguy

the iPad will continue to gain capabilities and software as its hardware improves. this is inevitable. thus it is indeed the future of personal computing.

icoco3

jdw said:

I own a 2012 3rd generation iPad3 which does NOT have TouchID fingerprint recognition.  So, you are correct that such a feature would bring me some relief.  Even so, the 1Password TouchID page still says the Master Password (which in my case is very long) will need to be manually entered because "TouchID is not an outright replacement" for the Master Password:

https://support.1password.com/touch-id-faq/

But yet another reason to have lots of RAM is to ensure a more responsive experience.  The A9 chip in the iPad Pro will likely provide a lot of that, but the fastest possible experience is when an app is still in RAM and you switch back to it (like Safari) and nothing needs to be refreshed.

In light of the cost of the device, Apple really should have put the full 4GB into it.

I use Roboform and TouchID can cache the master password.  Works very well.

cornchip

I think the last unboxing I watched was for the NMP. What was that 2013?

indiekiduk

The 3rd party case I bought has a problem, the smart cover doesn't activate. It's this KHOMO case in black: http://www.amazon.co.uk/iPad-PRO-Case-9-7/dp/B012DG1T0S

fastasleep

jdw said:

Appleinsider, when creating your "comprehensive review" be sure to compare the 4GB RAM in the 12" Pro to the 2GB in the 9.7". Let us know if there are cases where the full 4GB would really have helped the 9.7" or if 2GB in the 9.7" is truly sufficient with any app and combination of apps in RAM. One thing I know is that my iPad3's 1GB RAM has always been insufficient. I like to keep 1Password open while switching between other apps, but I find myself having to enter my 1Password password endlessly because iOS always kicks it out of RAM. I want to know if a 2GB or 4GB iOS device would prevent that from happening most of the time. Thanks.

Are you sure you don't have "Lock on Exit" turned on in your 1Password settings?

And Settings > Advanced > Security > Require Master Password > Never ?

edited March 2016