iPad Pro 9.7 release date, news and features
Update: Apple just confirmed the iPad Pro 9.7 today. Here’s everything we know from the March 2016 keynote.
It’s been over 500 days since the iPad Air 2 launch, and Apple’s flagship tablet is overdue for a specs refresh. The good news is that the new iPad has inherited the extra Pro-level features in that time.
Yes, this is a 9.7-inch iPad Pro instead of a generic iPad Air 3 update, giving more consumers a chance to wield that Apple Pencil and easily grasp normal-sized tablet, one that doesn’t cost nearly as much.
That’s not to say we weren’t impressed with the iPad Pro 12.9 last year. It had “enough grunt” to be a genuine laptop replacement, to quote Apple quoting techradar at its March 21 keynote.
It’s more of a case that this new iPad Pro 9.7 is more accessible in terms of size and price. Apple has squeezed the original iPad Pro specs into a smaller design, with an even more brilliant display.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple’s new super-thin tablet for 2016
- When is it out? Announced today, launching on March 31
- What will it cost? $599 (£499, AU$899)
9.7-inch iPad Pro release date
You’ll be able to touch your Apple Pencil to the smaller 9.7-inch iPad Pro display before the end of the month, with the official release date being March 31.
Next Thursday’s launch happens in 13 countries, including the US, UK and Australia. Apple promises to add another 47 countries to the list soon, with a more vague “early April” release date.
Eager iPad Pro 9.7 owners can pre-order the new tablet one week ahead of the launch by tuning their browsers to Apple’s online store on Thursday, March 24.
iPad Pro 9.7 price
Naturally, the new iPad Pro is cheaper than the iPad Pro 12.9, but it’ll actually face the first price increase for Apple’s 9.7-inch tablet line. There’s some good news here, though.
In the US, it costs $599 for the entry-level 32GB model, which is actually the same as the 32GB iPad Air 2 launch price. There’s no more 16GB edition to tempt you into an internal space-limiting nightmare.
Apple is selling the 128GB iPad Pro 9.7 for $749 and also introducing a new 256GB edition for $899. All three have Wi-Fi and cellular variants that are slightly more expensive.
In the UK, it costs £499 for the 32GB, £619 for 128GB and £739 for 256GB. In Australia, the price has also increased: AU$899 for 32GB, AU$1,149 for 128GB and AU$1,399 for 256GB.
iPad Pro 9.7 design
Apple managed to fit everything we know and love about the iPad Pro 12.9 into a smaller, more portable 9.7-inch aluminum body. It’s just as powerful, and now more sevtle.
At 6.1mm thin, it has the same exact dimensions as the iPad Air 2, and still weighs under one pound. In fact, the official weight comes out to be an identical 0.96 pounds, or 437g.
That really contrasts with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro at 1.57 pounds or 713g. The 9.7-inch version will fit in your bag a lot better and you won’t feel the extra weight quite as much.
It includes everything you’d expect, including Touch ID, the sleep/wake button at the top, the still-alive headphone jack and built-in stereo speakers.
Only now, the there are four of those built-in speakers, delivering stereo audio from both the right and left sides of the tablet. Yes, the new iPad Pro is in real stereo, unlike the close-together Air speakers.
iPad Pro 9.7 display
Apple spent the most time talking about the new iPad Pro display, and for good reason: it’s a lot better than the already gorgeous iPad Air 2 screen, even at the same 2K resolution.
What does that mean? Well, specifically, it’s now 25% brighter and 40% less reflective than the LCD in on the Air 2. It should make outdoor use a lot more feasible, even when the sun is out.
Also, its wider color gamut matches that of the iMac with Retina 5K display, delivering a 25% greater color saturation for more vivid colors over everything we saw from 2014 iPad Air 2.
That said, the resolution hasn’t changed. It remains 2048 x 1536 with 264 pixels per inch (ppi). It seems like less on paper, given the 12.9’s 2732-by-2048 resolution, but it’s the same 264 ppi in the end.
iPad Pro 9.7 specs
While the iPad Pro 9.7 takes design cues from both the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro 12.9, it uses the larger iPad Pro specs to promise us more powerful performance stats.
That’s mainly due to the fact that it’s equipped with the ultra-fast Apple A9X processor. We’re not sure if it also has 4GB of RAM and 12-core PowerVR GPU beneath the smaller iPad frame.
However, we should know all about the internal guts when a day-one teardown in performed on March 31. Benchmarks, meanwhile, await our full 9.7-inch iPad Pro review.
Source: techradar.com
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With ya skywalkr2. It's hard to imagine anything faster, more powerful, longer lasting and reliable as the Air 2/iPhone 6s lines. I'm also with you holding a year as I bought my wife the Air 4 for Christmas and set it up last weekend. Wow!
Have either of you upgraded to iOS 9? Or, maybe your Airs came with it… How is it? I've been holding off upgrading.
I've updated my Air2 through development program to I believe the third iteration of 9.3, and I love it. My iPad Pro as well with one of the favorites being white balance granular control for evening reading, a warmer temperature, making it easier on my eyes
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damn how much do you read?
I'd want the pen to work with it. Pro is too big but I would love to use an iPad for sketching.
Boy! Wouldn't THAT be nice!
Mac's have fallen off the cliff. MacBooks have really been stagnant for ten years. OR 5 years if you insist that physical design actually matters.
All apple seems to be able to do is push the plus/minus size buttons for it's products.
And wouldn't it be nice if someone told Apple that a 48GB bump in memory for phones/tablets should NOT cost $100. Especially when it cost them around $5. This is the kind of gluttony that got Apple in trouble in the 90's. REALLY REALLY expensive, "slightly" above average products.
The best(!) file (transfer) managers are as bad as expected. There are dozens of useless file apps. Hint: start with Syncios and GoodReader. This will save you from even greater disappointment.
Loving my new iPad Pro. Found it really annoying not being able to connect the Apple Pencil to it though. Found this cool product called a PencilMate. Works a treat! Here's the site:
http://www.pencilholder.net
you should stop to touch your dick when you see an ipad… Masturbation isn't good for brain… The pixel C is better in all points than ipad air 2, no doubts about that.
I ALWAYS WONDER IF I COULD JUST ORDER THE COMPANY HOW A PRODUCT I WANT FOR MY PERSONAL USE
Sounds more like you're looking for excuses to NOT buy!
Seriously, buy one, you'll like it! You'll quickly discover that having a file manager is an overblown need, something extra that you easily do without! There's lots of myths floating around about i-devices not being able to open diverse files, not being able to open a file from one app in another, etc.
Many apps come with folder management and most key ones (e.g., Safari) support the iOS "Open in…" feature which allows you to open, say, a PDF you find on line in whichever app can read it! Likewise, attachments received via email can be opens in the requisite apps– your choice! Truly, you'll discover that it's mostly nice NOT having to manage files or have a Finder. Plus, even is OSs with file managers, you still have to do conversions, different apps make a hash out of each other's docs, etc.
As to the matte screen… Really?! That's all that's holding you back?! Matte screens can dull the image and, unless you're under a host of odd, overhead lights shining at all angles on the screen, you'll have few distracting whatsoever.
Just get one! You'll have a great time enjoying a HUGE range of benefits that easily trump the lack of the two things that concern you!
i am agree with author of this topic and another people that put their comment. i wish ipad air 3 have bigger battery than ipad air 1 while ipad air 2 have smaller battery than ipad air 1
i know it is because of smaller thickness of device and that newer processor use less power, but because of that i sold my new ipad air 2 128gb cellural and bought new ipad air 1 128gb cellural in 40% lower price. on another hand i hope that apple will make air 3 in the thickness of air 1 (air 2 with 6,1 mm is to thin, 7,5 mm is perfect) and then will be place for bigger battery with better performance than air 2 and air 1. current resolution it is great for me, no need to change it at all (bigger resolution = lower performance in games / apps, and there is a lot of apps adjusted to current native resolution which will look worse with using scale in bigger resolution, and i do not think that each app will be updated to bigger resolution), if i have to say some more, will be great to have speakers in landscape position and not portrait like now – please ask yourselve and answer: are you play with games or use music apps in portrait mode more frequently? no, answer is: in landscape mode. APPLE engineers, if you read this comments, please make bigger battery in ipad air 3 and ipad no to thinner than air 2; ipad air 1 thick ess size is the best. ps. of course 16 gb in primary model is a joke not only in future ipad air 3 but in ipad air 2 model as well.
Well u can get a filemanager through Cydia or iPawind, iFile is it? Not sure how good it is but it's been around for many years.
The purpose of tablet is usage ability not to compare with other tablet or bloat spec around. I prefer current resolution with longer battery life. My family have both iPad air 2 and mini 2, I still prefer iPad Air 2 display more than mini since mini have gap between glass and display, mini display is ancient technology not ipad air.
"The iPad Air 2 is the first iPad with an optically bonded cover glass—all previous iPad models had high reflectance air gaps under the cover glass" – Gizmodo 1651239343
And you should watch some test http://www.displaymate.com/iPa…
The only thing mini retina have is more ppi. But is it better display, not quite.
Apple can easily be up ppi without downtime, maybe yes.
But I prefer current ppi with additional 1-2 hours of current usage time.
It would be helpful if we could actually post facts instead of opinions. Most people read these comments as a tool to help them decide which model to purchase. Not to listen to a few whiny, self appointed experts try to prove each other wrong. Bottom line, everyone visualizes resolutions differently. Resolution doesn't mean squat to a person with sight impairments and YES, blind people rely on Apple or MAC products too. So, my OPINION, is keep them lightweight and charged up, wireless charging perhaps?
As a temporary emergency solution, I have got an iPad Mini 4 for €339 (which coincides with the maximum price I wanted to pay) because a) there still is no Windows tablet that is non-ruggedised, has a 4:3 display and has a display that is matte or has an at least equally low reflectance and b) the 2% reflectance of the Mini 4 is barely acceptable (the 2.5% of the Air 2 did not convince me).
After 1.5 months of daily use of the iPad, the features I am missing the most by far are:
– file manager (and local file transfer manager to Windows PCs)
– matte screen
The missing file (transfer) manager means that I can only do 30% of the tasks I would want to do with a tablet and cannot do the remaining 70%. It is exactly as I had expected. File management on the iPad itself is difficult to impossible (depending on file types and involved apps; for some file types I need, it is impossible). Local file transfer to / from a Windows PC is difficult to impossible (the more files the harder it becomes; most apps refuse im- and export of files; many apps make it difficult to impossible to open-in files in other apps; for some file types I need, it is impossible).
I have used matte notebook and monitor displays since ca. 1990 and it is exactly what I need and want. I want to see the displayed contents and do not want to see the environment and myself mirrored in the display making reading and work as difficult as possible. Matte displays approach the nice and pleasant matte paper of books. Matte representation on a display let the appearance be "dull" and this diffuse light is beautiful. Too intense colours and a sparkling surface would only distract. A display must not be carneval and xmas tree combined but it must be decent. I urgently need matte displays because of frequent outdoor use or reflected lights and window lights.
The iPad hardware is good (with the know exceptions such as the too small storage and the too large price for more storage) and the iPad can be used for easy surfing or reading tasks for 10 or 11 hours. iOS has confirmed 95% of my bad expectations, such as the impossibility of making the OS more secure than its own implementation. An exception: saving a webpage as a PDF is a useful feature. The record number of apps in the store is as great a disappointment as I expected: of ca. three dozen apps for a specialised purpose, zero fulfil my needs.
For its purpose as a temporary emergency solution, the iPad Mini 4 is worth its €339 but I would advise anybody not to pay one cent more. I.e., the current market price of €369 is too high. As soon as there will be reliable Windows tablets or 2-in-1s (whose keyboard I can hide) with 4:3 matte display, the iPad will just collect dust.
Boy, unless you are holding the screen up to your eyes and zooming in, making the letters HUGE, the pixels are invisible to virtually every mortal on the planet!
As other commenters have noted, resolution is fine (sometimes higher res, as on laptops, renders everything too tiny to view comfortably!) and slightly thicker, with longer battery life, and more RAM, would be higher priorities for most people!
Total copy of the Surface, without all the productivity lol
I really want a 256GB version. I do a lot of reading, so even 128GB is starting to get cramped.
iPad doesn't need a higher resolution screen. The mini is already at retina resolution. I would have loved pencil support built into the mini 4. And pencil support built into the iPad Air 3 or whatever they are going to call it. I'm excited about the Apple pencil. However not excited about pro iPad. It's too big. I like to draw on my iPad mini. But would go a little larger for pencil support. But probably not laptop sized like the iPad pro.
"tide us over" not "tied us over" fyi
That's bizarre Steve and couldn't be more opposite my experience with the Air2 since its release. My eyes are going to hell too (45 years old) and I feel like the entire HiDPI/retina thing has grown with the worsening of my eyes. I own the Air 2 as well as the Mini 2 & 4. There's literally ZERO difference in the sharpness between the three or my iPhone 6s+. The colors on my mini 4 are no MUCH closer to the Air 2 – that much more accurate
But if there's a Single thing I'd like to see Apple avoid it's the ridiculously high PPI levels that do nothing but much battery life. They do little in the way of sharpness …and Apple's iOS has text nailed. Not sure what tablet you were looking at but it certainly wasn't the A2 with its new lamination process, best in the ring reflectability scores and near 100% color gamut coverage with insane density to start.
No need to add more at all (and I'm ambidextrous …own a Note 4 as well as S6 Edge. Very familiar with the OLED trickery and sib pixel layout to 'achieve' such densities.
iOS 9's font changed Helvetica to San Francisco.
I think Helvetica was better.
Apple, please revert to Helvetica!
Dude. It's 2015. Apple passed that horse three years ago