2nd Generation iPad Pro 12.9 Reviews

[Mickeylittle]

Well by now we should have several 2nd gen IPP 12.9 owners so please take a minute and leave some comments either comparing it to gen 1 or just your thoughts on it if you were not a gen 1 owner.

 

[Mickeylittle]

I just got mine last night so this is an early analysis and I'll hit on the 4 areas of the attached Poll in comparing this 2nd generation 12.9 to the 1st generation.

1) The display is much nicer to me for the following reasons
A) True tone is fantastic
B) Additional brightness levels are almost too bright to look at! Should be great when watching a movie on a car ride

2) Speed is faster as apps just open (period) I know the original was fast and I don't have one to compare to currently but I do not remember it being quite this fast.

3) Scrolling with both the pencil and finger works flawlessly. It seems like it did before so I can't say that it's better now than before but it seems so slick and yes the text is readable even while scrolling.

4) I am not an artist so all I use the pencil for is writing notes in One Note and scrolling apps and web pages but I do notice that my handwriting seems to be a bit better in One Note. (Maybe I'm trying harder, not sure) But seriously the pencil seems to glide along and it appears that a very good process is even better now.

Well this is my early take after 6-8 hours of setup and playing around. I hope some others will pipe in with their thoughts as well.

 

[Mickeylittle]

Am I really the only one here that's got the 2nd generation 12.9 who also owned the 1sr generation 12.9?

Well even if that's the case look at the poll because the bottom 4 questions are for new owners who did not own the 1st gen.

So after a week I have absolutely no complaints and am not missing my Surface Book in the slightest! When I need to do some Pivot Table work I do that on my laptop as the IPP or Excel for the IPP is just lacking.

Everything is still working just like it should nice, fast, flawlessly. This thing will totally spoil you! Use it for a week and then get on a different tablet and you'll see what I'm talking about!

 

[Diane B]

I'd love to have the 2nd gen but can't justify upgrading. I've read the reviews, the comparisons but plan to wait for 3rd gen--which could be awhile LOL. I'm really having a hard time waiting for IOS 11 though--and at this point don't want to put the beta on my Ipad.

 

[Mickeylittle]

I'd love to have the 2nd gen but can't justify upgrading. I've read the reviews, the comparisons but plan to wait for 3rd gen--which could be awhile LOL. I'm really having a hard time waiting for IOS 11 though--and at this point don't want to put the beta on my Ipad.

I hear you on the iPad 2nd gen as if you are happy with the 1st gen then heck no don’t upgrade! My son has the 1st gen and he isn’t! As for the beta IOS 11 I went ahead and installed it last night and so far so good. I only have 1 app that won’t work as the developer will have to upgrade for it to work on IOS 11. The good news is there are pretty painless instructions on how to revert back to IOS 10.

Proper iOS 11 downgrade procedure detailed on Apple support page

 

[Jonathan tuba]

I have also noticed the battery drain far slower on the 2nd generation iPad Pro (12.9"). I use for playing music and what would have used 30% of battery before is now less than 10% on the my new 2nd generation iPad.

Great I can now play all day without worrying about battery running out. I wonder if this is a result of the new variable refresh rate?

Another great benefit I have noticed is the brighter screen. Now no problem viewing out in the sun.

I loved my 1st generation iPad Pro, but the 2nd generation is definitely better still.

 

[AQ_OC]

I still have the 2015 12.9 IPP 128GB and the 2017 12.9 IPP 512GB. I upgraded primarily because I wanted all that extra space.

I immediately noticed and appreciated the display's ability to adjust its color temp. The warmer displays are welcome, which is a surprise to me.

You can see, if you look hard enough, that the display looks better when you scroll. Pinch to zoom is nicer in magazines, too. However, this seems largely unimportant to me. I would not upgrade just for this.

Yes, the pencil tracked better (as in it keeps up better) in just about any app that uses the pencil. I don't draw but I do write a lot of equations and math so this is welcome, but it is not earth shattering or anything close to that, but it counts in day-to-day use.

Games load faster. I don't play games but I always keep some around.

As far as image quality, I can't tell much of a difference except for the color temp of the screen. One reason I have the 12.9 rather than a smaller one is that view images from my photography on my iPad. It gives me a check that is between my 27-inch monitor and my iPhone 6S+ screen.

I use an app called Explain Everything to present lectures on various topics. It will let you record a marked up / annotated video, replete with voiceover. I just did one where I had the same PDF file loaded on both iPads. I simply started them both at the same time and did a recording as I mumbled gibberish and marked up the screen with each hand. Since I'm using different hands and not making exactly the same marks on each, the recordings are not the same, but the overall length of the recording is roughly the same based on when I ended each recording. After the recordings were finished, the next step was to create a video that could be uploaded someplace for viewers to listen to at a later time. As my lectures can go on to about 70 minutes, the time it takes to export these videos is a big deal as it holds the iPad prisoner until it is done. A causal test showed that by the time the 2017 iPad finished making the video, the 2015 iPad was at 67%. Well, I took the pic at 67%. It could have been even quicker, but that was what I caught on camera.

[I had planned to insert a pic here but it appears I must provide a URL and I'm simply not prepared to do that at the moment.]

So, for me, the extra space, faster processor, better cameras (I use mine as a scanner), the better tracking/refresh, and adjustable color temp, make this iPad a big deal for me. Some on here talk about skipping this one and getting the next one. For me, skipping the next one and getting this one makes more sense, because I can benefit from all of this NOW rather than waiting into the future when I might be dead. I'd be surprised if the next update offers anything more than speed and more storage. I guess they can add the OLED display and that might be good for movie watching, but I can skip that one. Of course, if the next one has a resolution bump too, there is some point at which I would be tempted. But I think I can benefit more now rather than wait until later on an *if*.

 

[Jonathan tuba]

I think the resolution and display on the new iPad Pro is now so good, that for me 'my own eyes' are the limiting factor in definition.

The only limiting areas of the iPad Pro for me are;

1. Some older websites do not respond as I would wish (particularly in box scrolling) - which I guess is something which will disappear over time as those sites are updated.
2. I would like the desktop version of websites to be shown on the 12'9" iPad Pro by default. The screen is bigger than some laptops, so I can't see why not.
3. Waterproofing - I often use outside and it is big worry if it starts raining. I would like the same level of waterproofing as on the iPhone 7 (that would be enough for me to upgrade next year)
4. I would like Apple to add all the same facilities in their native apps on iPad as on the Mac such as ability to set up rules in Mail, ability to compress files in Pages/Keynote and conditional highlighting in Numbers.

It is small things like this that mean I still need a Mac and can't do everything on my iPad Pro - although I actually prefer using the latter for most things.

 

[Mickeylittle]

So far everything looks spot on. I do agree with the comment that it is hard to really say that the display looks better because the resolution is the same on both the 2015 and the 2017 so the True Tone is the upgrade here and I am loving that as are others.

It would still be great to see some people respond to the last 4 questions of the poll if the 2017 IPP is the 1st IPP you’ve owned.

 

[dave_bass5]

Ive got both versions of the 12.9. I love the new one, but don't really notice much improvement. My main reason for getting it was the screen and more storage, as I like to edit my raw files on my iPad these days.
Of course the new one is better, but so far I don't think its really being pushed to show off the new features.
I do have the pencil but never use it. I think that's a where the big improvement would show.

 

[scifan57]

Your iPad Pro will come into it's own when iOS 11 is released this fall. iOS 11 has a host of new iPad only features that will take advantage of all the iPad has to offer.

 

[dave_bass5]

Ive been using IOS11 beta since it went public on both ipads. For now ive gone back to IOS 10 on the new one as the SD card reader doesn't work with 11.

 

[Diane B]

Ive got both versions of the 12.9. I love the new one, but don't really notice much improvement. My main reason for getting it was the screen and more storage, as I like to edit my raw files on my iPad these days.
Of course the new one is better, but so far I don't think its really being pushed to show off the new features.
I do have the pencil but never use it. I think that's a where the big improvement would show.

Thanks for your assessment. I use the Pencil every day, both for writing and for photo processing in several apps, but esp. the new Affinity Photo app and not sure I would see enough improvement there--its very good as is. If I was an artist, I expect I would probably upgrade. I may find things that would be important to me after the upgrade to IOS 11 but its hard right now to justify the upgrade. I can only envy others that have the second gen LOL.

 

[dave_bass5]

Thanks for your assessment. I use the Pencil every day, both for writing and for photo processing in several apps, but esp. the new Affinity Photo app and not sure I would see enough improvement there--its very good as is. If I was an artist, I expect I would probably upgrade. I may find things that would be important to me after the upgrade to IOS 11 but its hard right now to justify the upgrade. I can only envy others that have the second gen LOL.

I agree, i still don't notice any difference in day to day use between the new and old versions. Obviously the new one will pull ahead once IOS11 goes live, as with most computers a new OS will demand more horsepower, but my feelings after a couple of weeks is still one of no regret but where the heck did the money go lol. For me the upgraded storage space was the main reason for upgrading, and for that I'd do it all over again, but I don't see any other improvements worth paying for if you have the first gen 12.9, at least not at the moment.

I really wish i used my pencil more (at all). Although my main creative use is photo editing in Lightroom mobile, I'd love to have the skill to use the pencil with apps like Affinity and Procreate.

 

[Kios]

Audio quality is up on the new pro models, and you don't need to be audiophile to hear that