iPad Pro 9.7-inch
THE GOOD The new iPad Pro delivers a fast processor; a bright, antireflective display; support for Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories; better, louder speakers and top-notch cameras, in the same exact body as the iPad Air 2.
THE BAD A higher price, plus expensive accessories. Less RAM and a slightly slower processor than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. iOS still limits overall flexibility of this iPad.
THE BOTTOM LINE It's still not a full-fledged laptop killer, but the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the best iPad ever made -- a near-perfect balance of tablet power and portability.
I'm writing this on the 9.7-inch iPad Pro with its Smart Keyboard sitting on my lap. On a plane. The keyboard's comfy. It's not backlit, but I can guess the keys by touch pretty well. The display is beautifully crisp and vibrant. And it runs a magic mix of work tools and fun stuff. I can read easily. I can play games. I can watch movies. It's extremely convenient.
I've used the Air 2 and a Belkin keyboard case as my go-to for a while now. It's a compact, convenient combo. And I type on the iPad. Lately, a lot. I use it for taking quick notes, or as a security blanket when my laptop's somewhere else. It comes with me to work.
But the iPad still, despite Apple's insistence on it being the future of computing, isn't a laptop replacement. I can't bring it to a press conference and make it my one machine to cover the event. I can't run the camera-tethering software I need, or easily communicate in a window with my teammates via Google Chat (though I can with Slack), or write and edit and publish stories from my in-browser content tools. I can't even do my corporate expenses on my company's Java-based accounting system. Maybe I could come up with some way it could meet my needs, but it wouldn't really do it the way I'm used to. And that's the point, really. My tools don't always line up with the iPad's tools. The iPad, and its vision of the future of computing, remains stubbornly separate from the Mac, and less multipurpose than a Windows device.
All of those frustrations seem to to belie "Pro" moniker on this iPad. And yet, if I were to pick the iPad that came closest to perfection, it would be this one. It's a portable dream. The tiniest little productivity tool Apple makes. It's got performance, better sound and display, and -- what am I looking for that's really missing?