Apple iPad Pro 9.7 Very Long-Term Review: The World's Best Tablet

Apple may soon kill off the iPad Pro 9.7 inch and replace it with a new 10.5-inch model. In real terms it's not expected that the new device will be physically larger than this 9.7-inch model, instead the bezels will be smaller to increase the screen ratio. Even so, I thought I'd talk about the 9.7-inch Pro ahead of any new model because it's useful to know how living with it has been. Also, it's probably worth waiting a little to buy, because there will almost certainly be price drops on this model soon, you may be able to get a comparitive bargain.

I don't entirely recommend the iPad Pro 9.7 as a laptop replacement. As a device to work on, it's nice and feels impressive for its size. But I think what it excels at is being a tablet for video viewing, games and other apps, but with more power than almost anything on the market. That's not to say you can't work on it - because I have, and it's awesome for that too.

For me, the iPad Pro 9.7 is just an amazing tablet that does some things that its big brother the 12.9-inch device doesn't. Let's take a look at what makes it worth considering.

Which one and how much?

There are a number of options to spec your iPad Pro 9.7 with. You can opt for either 32GB ($599), 128GB ($699) or 256GB ($799) in storage. It's not a low-cost device, but then it does also have a lot more to offer than most tablets - more on that later.

Unlike the 12.9-inch model, the smaller iPad Pro can have 4G on any one of the storage options.

Adding 4G bumps the cost by about $130. I'm of the opinion that 4G is great to have, but bear in mind the cost of the addition to the iPad will have to be added to the cost of a service plan. So yearly, you'll be looking at hundreds of dollars.

What I will say is that for iPhone owners who have a tethering-capable service plan, you can just tether. Apple makes this so entirely painless that you can do it from the iPad without taking the phone out of your pocket. It might be worth forgoing 4G then, but that's a decision for you. My plan costs me about $15 for 4GB, so that's worth the added redundancy a separate plan gives you.

In terms of picking your storage, I'd say that what you use the iPad for will need to dictate this. I've mostly used streaming video on this device, so having loads of storage isn't a big deal. Saving Netflix files doesn't use up a lot of space either, so it's possible you could get away with 32GB. I'd say 128GB is something of a sweet spot though.

Performance

Like any "current" Apple device, the iPad Pro 9.7 flies at great speed when using apps or playing games. The 9.7-inch machine is a lower-powered than the 12.9-inch device, but there's not much in it and in real-world, day-to-day tests, you can't tell they are even different.

Both sizes are dual-core, but the 9.7 has a 2.16GHz clock speed, down from 2.26GHz in the larger machine. You get 2GB of RAM too, which is halved from the 12.9-inch model. Bear in mind though that the 9.7-inch model doesn't need to drive the same resolution as its big brother. This makes a huge difference, far more than you might think - it's 2.4-megapixels less to drive, and this is a significant gap.

As with my experience of the 12.9-inch device, the iPad Pro 9.7 is a powerhouse. It's a tiny bit less powerful than the larger model, but you won't notice. It's likely that the smaller screen allows for less CPU speed there is less processing needed because there are fewer pixels. But the iPad Pro 9.7 feels incredibly rapid anyway, and one of the reasons to do a very long-term review is to explain how the device has stood up in the face of Apple's various iOS updates and new apps. The news here is predictable, Apple's high-end tablet has done a truly excellent job of keeping pace. You would expect this on almost any tablet, but it's good to confirm that this is the case here. It will also reassure those who opt to buy this device when Apple launches a new model.

Display

As with all things Apple these days, the screen on the smaller iPad Pro is "retina" and has the exact same pixel density as the 12.9-inch device (264ppi).

The most significant difference with the small iPad Pro is that it also features True Tone. This system allows the iPad to match its screen with the ambient light for a much more pleasant viewing experience. This works well and the idea is that when you're writing a document - as I am now - or reading a page that has a lot of white in the background - as you are now - the white of the page will act as if it were a sheet of paper. Therefore the light sensor allows the iPad to adjust colors of the screen and create a more natural reading or writing experience.

The whole display package is impressive though. This is a tablet that has much to offer people who like reading and people who watch a lot of video. I was expecting True Tone to show up in more devices from Apple a lot quicker, but I suspect this will be on all iPad Pros going forward. After all, it's not something that costs a lot to include, but it makes using this iPad really nice and super-comfortable.

Camera

I don't know why Apple made the camera on this thing so good. I mean, I sort of do because the tablet is just about small enough to carry around with you. Even so, taking photos with it makes you look like you came down with the last shower. But the results are great, I can confidently say that there has never been a tablet as photographically capable as the iPad Pro 9.7.

And when you think about it from a video perspective things make even more sense. You can edit clips in iMovie and make a simple, but editorially decent video - I've done this and it works well. So the iPad Pro does, to some extent, become a video editing station. Plus you can shoot 4K video at 30fps, and high-speed at 120fps in full HD. If you were a YouTuber who jets about all over the place, the iPad becomes an attractive option.

Also, bear in mind that people with iPhones can transfer footage either over Airdrop or through iCloud, so you can edit footage from a number of devices. It adds up to a more credible option than you'd think.