Ever since Apple carved out a market for a device that no one had realized was necessary, Apple has been steadily improving upon their iPad with incremental updates. Although its usefulness was questioned at first, the world soon followed suit, with laptops have becoming more tablet-like and tablets catching up to match the performance and productivity capabilities of laptops.
Although stunning in design and incredibly easy to use, the iPad was quickly overtaken by other products that were better for productivity. Yet, it remained a leader in the tablet market, as most found its ease of use, stunning design, and build quality hard to ignore.
Apple reveals the latest iteration of the most popular iPad model with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. It features a 10.5-inch retina display, which is 20% larger than the 9.7-inch screen it replaces, while reducing the borders to maintain similar overall dimensions. Still incredibly light weight, weighing in at only one pound, the new display features 120Hz refresh rate for a smoother, crisper, and more responsive experience. Performance is powered by 6-core A10X Fusion chip and a 12-core GPU.
Despite the hardware being impressive on this latest iPad Pro, it’s iOS 11 that will be soon coming to the iPad that impresses most. The new operating system narrows the gap between a traditional computer and the iOS experience, introducing a Mac OS-like dock for multiple apps, a more robust multitasking interface, and most importantly a file organization system that has been traditionally lacking in iOS devices. The Apple Pencil also gets more powerful with the ability to make up pretty much anything on your screen, while Notes gains the ability to search your handwritten notes as well.
With the new hardware and software updates for the iPad, Apple elevates the tablet experience from a media consumption device to a productivity driven device that can now live up to its potential of replacing a traditional laptop. The new iPad Pro is available now for order and will start shipping next week, starting at $649.