9.7-inch iPad Pro... unboxed!

By Rene Ritchie, Mark Guim
last updated

This is the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro. In a box. Coming out of the box. Getting compared to iPad Air 2 and the 12.9-inch iPad Air. With and without Smart Keyboards. And a Pencil.

Seriously. Just watch it!

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

25 Comments
  • I am very interested in hearing how your testing of the Apple Embedded SIM works. Does AT&T lock it, like they do with a removable Apple SIM?
  • Hey Rene. I saw you got one with WIFI and LTE. Is that your preference? Should it be mine with this new 9.7 iPad Pro? Can't wait to hear/read your review on it.
  • Why does one need Apple Pay on a tablet?
  • Apple Pay, Because you can purchase stuff through apps without entering credit card numbers and it auto fills your address. Spares you from having to leave the app to then go on their website and purchase stuff.
  • Thanks Rene. Really helpful. So I noticed that Rene said "first generation" fingerprint scanner for both this and the iPhone SE. Does the 6S have first or second gen? My concern is that the first gen will be slow to open, unlike my 6S which is blazing fast. Thanks again.
  • The 6s has a second generation fingerprint reader which is indeed twice as fast as the first generation. I'm not sure about the original pro, but so far all the other iPads including those that came out at the same time as the 6s all have the first generation sensor. So yes, ... it's "last year's sensor" and it's slower. Same as the mini 4.
  • Rene,
    It's not the same I think. Doesn't the 12.9" come with 4 gig of ram! And it's already being reported that the 9.7" is only coming with 2 gig of ram.
  • Sometimes it seems like Apple is losing it's touch
  • If your going to go back to a 4inch phone they could at least changed the look and feel of the phone. Why not make it thinner
  • The design was already done, that's one of the reasons they can offer it at such a low price. Not to mention, they increased the battery life compared to the 5/s by several hours.
  • The battery life increase could be due to the newer processor to be more energy efficient. Not necessary to be larger battery. Unless someone dissemble the phone to look inside. If they can redesign iPhone 5c and keep the price low. Why can't they do it this time? Posted from my Samsung Galaxy S6
  • I don't like android phones, but I love the way they innovative they step out of the box with looks and freedom. Samsung s7 is a beautiful phone it's what's inside I don't like. Apple is slow to innovative
  • Haha! Apple used to be blamed for not "innovating" and only for great industrial design. Now for some reason "innovation" only means design and they're blamed for not changing it enough over each iteration. Forget about things like Touch ID, 3D Touch, the Apple Pencil, True Tone flash, True Tone display, A-series SoCs, etc. Things that actually work and are actually useful, unlike the gimmicks Samsung throws against the wall and are soon to be forgotten.
  • I would really love to have the Apple 9.7" .I have dreaming of having one.
  • Its quite good...
  • Best Buy sells the 64GB Air2 now....sold Sent from the iMore App
  • My Air 2 is an awesome tablet. Very happy with it. I don't see anything in the 9.7 Pro that makes me say I need to upgrade. That being said, I'm not really sure what Apple could do to make an iPad that much different that everyone would scream for an upgrade. I waited for the iPad to get the retina screen before I bought one and then upgraded to the Air 2 due to the finger print scanner. Really thought that was a necessity. But as I said, nothing screams upgrade with the 9.7 Pro. I wouldn't mind the larger Pro to use as a multimedia playback device but that a bunch of money just to watch TV or movies, etc..
  • Totally agree.
    Wish iMore did not put the 'reported' arrow so close to the up arrow.
  • Yeah, considering my original iPad is still used primarily for video playback, spending all that money would be overkill. My biggest draw (no pun intended) is Pencil support at that size. I considered getting the 12.9" Pro, but it was just too big. I'm glad I waited, this new iPad Pro is exactly what I wanted. It's been 6 years, time to upgrade!!!
  • That camera hump is just a ridiculous design choice. Why Apple, why. Sent from the iMore App
  • I am not impressed with making a device so thin that the camera sticks out. That ipad rocking back and forth as I tapped on articles to read at the table while eating breakfast would really tick me off....and I don't want a case for my ipad to even it out. I will not upgrade to a new ipad until that is figured out. I can live with the phone having that as I do use cases on it. I do like the SE, still the best looking design on a phone yet IMO. Maybe that is why I am still using my 5S.
  • It doesn't rock back and forth as has been reported elsewhere... "Happily, the iPad is so big that it doesn’t wobble at all—the camera bump is just an aesthetic annoyance, not a functional one." Arstechnica.com
    http://arstechnica.com/apple/2016/03/a-day-with-the-9-7-inch-ipad-pro-an...
  • Well, I'm sure the "wobble" is small, but physics is physics. A flat square with a bump on one corner is definitely going to "wobble." It's unavoidable. So the statement that it doesn't is just wrong, and makes me distrust both you and the source of the story. They should say, "it didn't bother me" or something, but to flatly *lie* and say it doesn't wobble is crazy.
  • It's not actually "amazing" that they fit the Pro specs into the smaller iPad when you consider that this is really just ... "this year's iPad." And like every year, this years iPad is a bit more powerful than the last year's. This actually happens every, single, year. The only difference is that this year it's hundreds of dollars more, and they are calling it the "pro." The only thing Apple has really changed this year is user expectations.
  • so true