Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad Pro may be its most-consumer friendly to date

SINGAPORE — Four-and-a-half months ago, I brought the then-newly released 12.9-inch iPad Pro to the office and most of my colleagues’ reactions were: “Why is it so big?”

Apple’s latest 9.7-inch model, on the other hand, has received more positive feedback. Given that its size and weight are exactly the same as the Air 2, it probably feels more familiar and comfortable.

The 9.7-inch Pro is essentially a down-sized version of last year’s 12.9-inch model, with a few new features. The 9.7-inch’s True Tone display, for instance, ensures the screen’s white balance is adjusted to match the light around you, giving it a more natural and accurate, paper-white viewing experience.

The 9.7-inch’s front and rear cameras are also an upgrade, allowing you to shoot 4K videos and Live Photos. Although I’m not fond of taking photos with my tablet, the better image quality is useful when it comes to scanning documents.

Performance-wise, the 9.7-inch Pro comes with the new A9X chip that is also used in the 12.9-inch model, and is said to deliver two times the CPU and graphic performance of the A8X chip in the Air 2.

As with the 12.9-inch model, this boost in performance is particularly evident when video-editing or playing graphic-intensive games. It took barely a second to render 4K videos, and there was no lag in games like Infinity Blade III, Geometry Wars, or The Room. The four-corner speakers with built-in sensors also add to a more immersive gaming experience — delivering rhythmic and powerful bass regardless of the device’s orientation.

In benchmark tests, the smaller Pro runs a little bit behind the 12.9-inch version. The 9.7-inch’s chip is reportedly a 2.26GHz unit with nearly 2GB of RAM, while its bigger brother’s system memory is nearly double that. In real-life use however, I doubt anyone would notice any difference.

What continually impresses me about the Pro is how stunning colours look on the display. Apple says the iPad Pro uses the same wider colour gamut as the iMac with Retina 5K display, delivering 25 per cent greater colour saturation. The advanced Retina display is also said to be 25 per cent brighter and 40 per cent less reflective than the Air 2. In fact, I don’t recall any tablet that produces less glare than the Pro.

Battery life on the 9.7-inch Pro is excellent. It lasted me nearly an entire day on regular use, and about eight-and-a-half hours while constantly playing videos. However, I did have one bug-bear with the Pro’s battery: It takes a very long time to get a full-charge — about four to five hours. This problem also came with the larger 12.9-inch model, but Apple has released a Lightning-to-USB C cable that provides a faster charging boost for that size.

When it comes down to daily use, the 9.7-inch model is more portable and easier to handle than its larger brother. However, I personally prefer the larger-sized Pro, which is a better laptop replacement, especially when multi-tasking and watching videos.

The 9.7-inch’s Smart Keyboard (at $228) is less comfortable to type on, compared to the larger version, as the keys are not as spaced out. iOS 9’s split-view feature also functions better on the 12.9-inch Pro given the larger “real estate”.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes in silver, space grey, gold and a new rose gold metallic finish. It starts at S$898 for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model. The 9.7-inch model also comes with a new 256GB capacity, the highest of any iOS device, priced at S$1,418 (Wi-Fi only). You can buy the 9.7-inch iPad Pro now from the online Apple store and other authorised retailers.