Apple iPad Pro 12.9-Inch Display, 32GB (Space Gray)

Let me say this right up front; I've enjoyed Apple iPads since they were introduced. However, I also use Android tablets, and have enjoyed those equally, including the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, several Sonys, many iterations of the Nexus line, and my phone of choice is a Galaxy Note 4. So yes, I am a fan of Apple, but I'm equally a fan of Android. I don't see either platform as being better, just different.

With that being said, I will say that the iPad Pro is a beautiful, amazing piece of tech. It's HUGE (basically the size of two iPad Air 2s side by side.), but that screen is gorgeous to see. But what ultimately tipped me over to buying one is the speakers and the Pencil stylus. I'd love to give this a 5, but there are definitely a couple of factors that keep me from doing so. The first is the cost. This thing is EXPENSIVE enough to give you justifiable pause. You could buy yourself a nice powerful gaming laptop, like the CUK MSI GE62 Apache 15.6-Inch Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i7-5700HQ Processor, 1TB 7200rpm HDD , NVIDIA GTX 960M, 12GB RAM, Windows 10 Operating System) for the same, if not lower, price. In other words, I don't know if most people could justify the cost. But if you can, it has a great deal to offer in the way of power and true tablet capabilities that definitely set the iPad Pro apart, but you'll have to plunk down another $100 for the Pencil stylus to fully unlock those capabilities. It's undoubtedly the best digitizer for everything from note taking to masterpiece artwork, and I can easily see the potential for growth far beyond into just about every type of app, even games. It's literally like writing or drawing on a piece of paper. Apple may be late, but when they execute, they make it as close to perfect as possible.

And the sound is far above and beyond that of ANY tablet, and even most notebooks, including most gaming machines. While the truly deep bass is lacking, the overall experience still has plenty of punch from lows to highs, and rewatching movies or playing videos or music gives you a rich soundscape that let's you hear things you didn't even know were there, from subtle instrument whispers to the slightest of reverb, and it makes the experience far more enjoyable because of it. And amazingly, dialogue stays true and evident even when accompanied by the loudest of effects. I'm not sure how Apple pulled it off, but I'm extremely glad they did. I've been waiting a long time for any tablet to have this level of sonic ability. It sounds so good that it makes all the Dolby (or other) enhancements sound like a gimmick. Playing games, especially ones you've played before, brings immersiveness to a whole new level. You really have to experience it to believe it.

While the screen is crisp and rich with color, I do see one other factor that leads me to hold back that last star, and that factor is screen brightness. Even at full brightness, it's not nearly as bright as other iPads, and I suspect that Apple HAD to do this in order to maximize battery life while keeping down the weight and thickness. I'm not saying that it's bad by any means, it's just not what you expect from an iPad. At least, that's been my experience.

But as a whole, I think this beast of a tablet offers the best iPad experience so far, whether for casual use or the most demanding tasks. Multitasking is not only possible, but actually worth it because of the A9X processor and ample screen real estate. The bottom line is this: if you don't want to get one of these, then don't go look at one. You've been warned.

PROS:
Silky smooth performance, even when multitasking.
Rich sound that's truly exceptional, and not just OK.
The most natural, responsive digitizer capabilities, ever.
HUGE, crisp screen.

CONS:
Screen brightness not nearly as good as other iPads.
Pencil stylus not included.
EXPENSIVE, EXPENSIVE, EXPENSIVE.

THIS is the iPad I had been waiting for all along. I have had the iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad Air 2, and this one beats them all as it is faster and has the right screen size for my work. I have had it now for 11 days and here's what I think:

Is it a laptop replacement for me? NO.
I have a Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 that is almost as slim, has a touchscreen that turns into a tablet by folding over and is fast and has a 500GB SSD as I run many software programs like Tableau, Adobe Photoshop and other analytics software and need a full featured laptop.

So why did I buy this expensive iPad Pro? (Gold, 128 GB WiFi)
It is FAST. The A9X chip makes it blazing fast with quick uploads and downloads. The iPad 3 had slowed to a crawl.

It is still light, just similar to the pre-Air models, just a little bigger. In bed, where I use it a lot I have to prop it on a pillow and that's more comfortable as I like to lie on my side and read or watch a movie. When sitting down on the couch I simply hold it and rest it against the couch arm. In a cafe, I keep it in the case and read it resting on a table. It's a little big and gets heavy if you're holding it one hand and don't support it on something, but the size is what I like.

Here's what I mainly use it for:
- Reading Books, Magazines, Newspapers, blogs, Research reports and web browsing:
I love reading digital magazines, paper issues are so passe and clutter up my home. Whether it's Vogue, Wired, Business Week or a research report. This iPad screen (inside the bezel) is exactly the size of a print Vogue or Wired. Was that coincidental? Maybe not! New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal look and read fabulously on this beautiful and crisp screen. Models looks impossibly beautiful in Vogue, ready to leap off the pages. (See pics shot of the iPad Pro screen with Vogue magazine in a dark bedroom in this review)

Books are a pleasure to read, especially if you read cookbooks, art books and others that need a large color format. Textbooks are gorgeous on this iPad and you actually want to read them!

Research reports from eMarketer and PDFs from Forrester, read well. I can zoom into graphs and charts, and read everything on one page without having to slide from side to side as with the older iPads. My favorite blogs and other webpages are easy to read too without sliding over or zooming in all the time. I can see a FULL webpage at one time just like on my computer screen. This is a huge plus.
The ability to switch between apps and see one in a side panel is also nice as I can have something like wikipedia, email or notes running on the side while I do some other work on the main panel and refer back and forth.

Watching movies and shows:

Wow! That's what I said when I heard the speakers the first time. Up until now I had to use accompanying products to listen to sounds during a movie, either a headphone or for watching with someone else, a Bose Sound dock. Now I can watch the movie with the native sound, the speakers are really nice. I can of course, keep using my favorite bluetooth headphones too. The screen is amazing, it's light enough to prop up and hold on a pillow next to me and watch while lying on my side. I am closer to my movies and shows and it's a different immersive experience with no distractions unlike TV watching. It has made me go to bed earlier in the night as it's so nice to use in bed.

Videos can also play in screen like PIP from those older TVs. It's a nice feature if you like keeping a tab on some sports action or for video conferences.

Art:
I love looking at paintings in detail, so art books and books about painting, drawing and other art are excellent on this size. I can zoom in to see the colors unlike a paper book. I can even put a tracing paper or parchment on the screen and create my own interpretation of a picture or painting.

I haven't received the pencil yet as it's still on backorder and no store has it in stock. I do "zendoodling" and drawing, so it would be fun to see if the pencil responds well and create more digital art. I agree that physical mediums are more tactile, but the speed at which I can draw and duplicate patterns or parts of paintings or edit them digitally offers me more creativity and freedom. I could not explore this fully in a smaller sized iPad. Some apps like Paper 53 still need to fully utilize the iPad Pro features, but it's getting there. It's more possible now to create digital art than ever before. I will report back when I have received the pencil as I ordered it as soon as it went on sale.

Split Screen feature: The split screen is amazing if I am looking at a picture and copying it onto a paper on the side. Previously, I had to use my phone and iPad to do this and then the phone screen was too small. The split screen is handy, and very intuitive. It DOES NOT work for all the apps yet, but hopefully the apps that need it will make the upgrade soon.

Is I Pad Pro a good buy for you?
I have more invested in the Apple iOS eco-system, so I did not really consider the Surface Pro 4. After trying the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 I was more frustrated that pleased so I won't even consider the View. Surface Pro though, I am sure, is a better laptop replacement from what I've read, but I am not about to give up my laptop soon anyway. So for me Apple iPad Pro made sense.

If you have an older iPad you can think about an upgrade just because of the speed and multi-tasking available in this one. If you have an iPad Air or Air 2, go try it in the store and see if you really need the larger size. The split screen and multi-tasking is nice but not life changing and you may not need the larger size. I wanted the bigger size ever since I got the first iPad, so it made sense to spend that cash.

In the end I bought this beauty for myself as I'd rather have a gold iPad Pro than anything else this holiday, even diamond earrings, as it makes my life so much more productive than a diamond could!