Day 1: Apple iPad Pro (2015) 128 GB WiFi + Cellular

iPad Pro

New iPad Pro (2015)

The Apple “iPad Pro Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB – Space Gray” has arrived and here are my impressions.  For a little background this is my first iPad and first new Apple product.  Normally I stick with Nexus and Android devices due to the apps and flexibility.

The first impressions of the packaging seemed pretty standard, nothing to speak of.  I have been expecting a monster of screen but the screen was a good size and smaller than expected.  Setup was pretty straight forward but you will likely forget everything you opted into by the time it is done.

Once powered on the screen looks big, especially with the icons so far apart.  The power button is the top with the volume buttons on the side which is nice so you don’t accidentally hit the power button like i do all the time on my Nexus phones.

iPad Pro in Case Open

 The programs load quickly and are quite responsive.  Most built in and 3rd party apps re-size well to the larger screen but there are a lot of white space.  Once of the first items I was going to look into was an app like Ampere to see how fast it charges.  This has been on my mind going from the Nexus 6 with quick charge 2.0 and microUSB to the Nexus 6P with the USB-C cable plugs.  Both charge quickly but I wanted to compare it to the iPad but that test will have to wait.
Downloading the remaining apps were quick and browsing the web was quick on WiFi and Cellular.  Speedtests on the Speedtest.net app were 58 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up with a ping of 58 ms on T-Mobile. That led me to think, is this the existing network bands or was this on the new LTE 700mhz Band 12.  Unfortunately I couldn’t find any apps like that for free and a lot of apps that were not free but still don’t know if they will tell me the answer.

Logging into the device was quick and easy. The fingerprint sensor worked fast after it was setup.  It took a while to get every permutation of the finger to be read, and I should have read the instructions closer, but it took.

iPad Pro in Case Flat

The onscreen keyboard is quick and responsive.  The split keyboard option seems to be missing right now as the option does not show up in settings or on the onscreen keyboard. The Apple Keyboard and Pencil is still on back order but will get here sometime this year.  Current I have the back cover case and folding front cover.  Both fit quite well and work better than any of the comparative ones for the Android tablets I have used.  They were pricey, just like the tablet, but both fit quite well.  Long term I don’t know if I will use this set of case/covers or the keyboard case on back-order, or if I will keep the iPad pro before the Holiday return period ends (January 8th).

Below are is the iPad and accessories used in this review:

In Review:

 What are your thoughts so far if you have a iPad Pro or are considering getting one?

Written by James