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PrettyWings

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 3, 2016
505
616
There have been a few posts asking about the 12.9, with all the holiday sales. One thing I did before I bought mine was read threads like this. I was originally going to just talk about the 29 Watt Charger, but I thought somebody might find some more thoughts on the device useful.

I have had the 12.9 iPad Pro for one month, as of a couple of days ago. I have the 128 GB in Gold.

I recently bought a 9.7 iPad Pro as a gift for somebody else and I set it up for them, and that is when I knew I had to get one. The 9.7 is great, but to have that in a bigger form factor is what got me to the store. I bought it for school, entertainment and to pretty much have a mobile computing device to do things without having to use my Macbook.

The last iPad I owned was the iPad 2. With everything this thing can do, and the look, it feels like a fully grown iPad, and I'm not even referring to the size when I say that.


On the size note though, it's slightly bigger than I thought it would be. I still remember my mouth was open in awe for a few seconds when I pulled it out of the box. The other thing I thought about immediately was that it's lighter than I thought it would be for the size of the thing. Is it the lightest thing? Perhaps not. Is it heavy? Nah. Some have commented on the weight. I read one comment about it being too heavy to be in a backpack. To me, it's not even something that crosses my mind when I'm using it.

It is also very pleasant looking. I was deciding between the Gold and the Space Gray. I am glad I got the Gold. The thin bezel is actually a shinier gold than the back of the tablet, like the outline of the home button. It's a nice accent that makes it feel premium. I often take it out of a case and use it because it's so nice to look at.

As for using the thing, it is blazing fast. Practically instantaneous. I have not had one app crash in the month I've been using it. Pictures and text look so vivid and crisp on this thing. I've actually started to read more.

And then the sound on this thing really makes watching shows and movies an immersive experience. I've been getting some use out of the TV channel apps. Typically, I don't watch a lot of stuff on anything other than a TV, because I don't like watching stuff on smaller screens, but the quad speakers are very full-sounding. It picks up volume quicker, with each press of the volume increase button, towards the higher end of the volume range, but even at the lower end, the sound is very detailed. I've gone back and listened to a lot of my music to see if I could hear things that I didn't hear before.


The battery is one of the most amazing things to me. You can literally use the thing all day. I've not changed any settings and I lose around 10% for every hour I use it.

I own a Macbook, an iPhone 6s Plus, an Apple Watch, and Apple TV 4 and the iPad Pro 12.9 is my favorite Apple product. I can't think of anything I don't like about the actual device (My only gripes are the music app in iOS 10, there is no default audio recording app, the Apple Pencil must be plugged back in for it to turn back on, and that Apple only sells 2 colors of the silicone case and smart cover for the 12.9)



Now, about that 29 Watt Charger, I can say it's a game-changer. No more having to set aside 3 hours where you have to be without it or be tethered to an outlet. This is nice because you no longer have to think about whether you should charge it overnight, even if it's not at a low percentage, just so it could be at 100% tomorrow and last through the day. If you forgot to charge it overnight and you can spare about an hour, you can almost get it up to full power. Also great to have if this is your main device. I went from having it charge for 3 hours to get it up to 100%, to having it charge just a little longer than 1 hour.


I've also purchased these things to use with it: Apple Pencil, SPARIN tempered glass screen protector, ICareCase Red Leather Case, Charcoal Smart Case and Smart Cover, 29 Watt USB Type-C Charger and 2 Meter USB-C to Lightning Cable, and Stouch Tablet Stand.


I can give a little feedback on any of these.
 
Last edited:

Abazigal

Contributor
Jul 18, 2011
20,382
23,857
Singapore
What's the state of app support for the larger iPad Pro? Not getting one anytime soon (happily using my 9.7" iPad Pro) but curious as to how the situation is on the ground.
 

jason.rogers

macrumors newbie
Sep 1, 2015
17
9
Great review! Love my iPad as my main device. How does the tempered glass screen protector work with the Apple Pencil ? I was debating on weather to get the 20 watt charger and now after reading this I think I will.
 

PrettyWings

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 3, 2016
505
616
What's the state of app support for the larger iPad Pro? Not getting one anytime soon (happily using my 9.7" iPad Pro) but curious as to how the situation is on the ground.

App support?

Great review! Love my iPad as my main device. How does the tempered glass screen protector work with the Apple Pencil ? I was debating on weather to get the 20 watt charger and now after reading this I think I will.

The tempered glass is good. Some have said it adds a little grip to the pencil. I haven't used the iPad without the glass, but it works nicely.

I thought about the 29 Watt Charger purchase for a week. I thought that maybe it wouldn't change much. What it pretty much did is that I now don't think about charging it. I would think about when I was going to charge it and often I would end up leaving it plugged up all day and come back to it later.
 

Foggydog

macrumors 6502
Nov 8, 2014
408
493
Left Coast
I have been rocking my 12.9, space grey since the spring. It's all the computer I need these days, and you're right, blaZing fast. Oh boy do I love the speakers as well.
Nothing like playing COC on this as well. During war, turn up the volume:D
 
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moxxham

macrumors 6502
Mar 8, 2015
357
450
Sydney, Australia
I love my iPad Pro too. The screen and speakers are amazing. Bit disappoint that it didn't come out in 256GB from day one, because I would have bought it. I hate that the Facebook app still isn't optimised.
The only thing that I dislike about it is the lack of true pro apps e.g. a desktop class Premier Pro and Photoshop. Hoping that developers start taking better advantage of it once version 2 comes out.
 

PrettyWings

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 3, 2016
505
616
Like how many of the apps you use are optimized for the higher resolution, instead of just being a blown up iPad app.

Oh, it's pretty much all of them.


I have been rocking my 12.9, space grey since the spring. It's all the computer I need these days, and you're right, blaZing fast. Oh boy do I love the speakers as well.
Nothing like playing COC on this as well. During war, turn up the volume:D

That's another thing. I now use the iPad more than I use my MacBook. It's really nice to pick this up and walk around with it. There were a couple of days where I didn't even flip the laptop open.
 

Jessica08

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2015
362
110
Roll Tide
Now you have me more jealous than I already am. One week and counting until I can play with mine. :(

It's like being a kid again waiting for Christmas morning. Ha. :D
 
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mickeydean

macrumors 6502
Dec 9, 2011
343
50
Oh, it's pretty much all of them.




That's another thing. I now use the iPad more than I use my MacBook. It's really nice to pick this up and walk around with it. There were a couple of days where I didn't even flip the laptop open.
a bit heavy with a case for me but the iPad Pro is a great device. What the original iPad should have been. perhaps the technology was not ready then.
 

PrettyWings

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 3, 2016
505
616
I likes your post but disagree here: the ring around the button is t-a-c-k-y

My thoughts ;)


Now you have me more jealous than I already am. One week and counting until I can play with mine. :(

It's like being a kid again waiting for Christmas morning. Ha. :D


Oh, do you like that?

PflaflZl.jpg


:p

a bit heavy with a case for me but the iPad Pro is a great device. What the original iPad should have been. perhaps the technology was not ready then.

Lighter than most laptops and much easier to use while standing though. I actually bought the silicone case and smart cover after I bought a different case, because I thought the fit of the smart case would mean it would be the most lightweight case.
 

Scarpad

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2005
2,149
652
Ma
i owned one briefly when it came out but i thought it a bit large, but i'm going to revisit one in March especially if they add a trutone screen, it will also be intersting what they do with that 10.5 inch screen
 

Jessica08

macrumors 6502
Nov 2, 2015
362
110
Roll Tide
I haven't seen the smaller IPP in person to compare, but just how big of difference is the tru tone vs. the screen of the 12.9"? Does anyone have any comparison shots?
 

ericwn

macrumors G5
Apr 24, 2016
12,113
10,899
I haven't seen the smaller IPP in person to compare, but just how big of difference is the tru tone vs. the screen of the 12.9"? Does anyone have any comparison shots?

It will be hard to see a visible difference on a photo, it will just have a slightly different colour than the other screen, plus you'll look at a resolution reduced jpeg file.
 
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ericwn

macrumors G5
Apr 24, 2016
12,113
10,899
i owned one briefly when it came out but i thought it a bit large, but i'm going to revisit one in March especially if they add a trutone screen, it will also be intersting what they do with that 10.5 inch screen

So if they add trutone it won't be too heavy for you anymore?
 

capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
I haven't seen the smaller IPP in person to compare, but just how big of difference is the tru tone vs. the screen of the 12.9"? Does anyone have any comparison shots?

The tru tone is nice but after using it, your other devices like your iPhone screen appear to have a bluish tint. I really wish they could have used it on the 7 Plus.
 
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