iPad Pro 2016 release date, features & update: multi-tasking gets a level-up in Apple's latest tablet

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Oct 27, 2015 10:26 PM EDT

As Apple releases the iPad Pro this November 2015, many are curious as to how does its user experience compares to other gadgets in its category.

Mobile education consultant Fraser Speirs, who works with schools around the world to develop their next-generation educational technology and curriculum, was invited to an exclusive, hour-long, hands-on experience with the iPad Pro and its accessories. Overall, he was impressed by what he witnessed, according to MacRumors.com.

Speirs says the iPad Pro is an ideal productivity tool, noting that it "is expansive where the Air 2 is intimate. It definitely has a 'work' feel to it, although photos/media are fantastic."

With its massive screen area and powerful processors, Speirs likens the iPad Pro experience to having two conventional iPads working together, taking multi-tasking to a whole new level.

However, he notes that switching to an iPad Pro from the smaller yet lighter iPad Air 2 might not be worth the investment if it's just going to be used to browse the web, watch movies, and read ebooks.

Speirs was just as impressed with the highly responsive Apple Pencil, declaring it as "certainly the best iPad stylus I have used by a country mile." Designed with intricate and accurate pressure sensors, the Apple Pencil is capable of drawing lines of any weight, which translates to different creative effects and applications.

The Smart Keyboard was just decent enough, as far as he was concerned; its size and complexity failed to create an impact.

Here's are other key specs of the iPad Pro, according to Apple:

Operating System

  • iOS 9

Retina display

  • 12.9-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit widescreen Multi-Touch display

  • 2732-by-2048 resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)

  • Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating

  • Fully laminated display

  • Antireflective coating

iSight Camera

  • 8MP iSight camera

  • Autofocus

  • ƒ/2.4 aperture

  • Five-element lens

  • Hybrid IR filter

  • Backside illumination

  • Improved face detection

  • Exposure control

  • Panorama (up to 43MP)

  • Burst mode

  • Tap to focus

  • Photo geotagging

  • Timer mode

Video Recording

  • 1080p HD video recording (30 fps)

  • Slo-mo (120 fps)

  • Time-lapse video with stabilization

  • Video image stabilization

  • Improved face detection

  • 3x video zoom

  • Video geotagging

  • FaceTime HD Camera

  • 1.2MP photos

  • ƒ/2.2 aperture

  • 720p HD video recording

  • Backside illumination

  • Auto HDR photos and videos

  • Improved face detection

  • Burst mode

  • Exposure control

  • Timer mode

Siri

  • Use your voice to send messages, set reminders, and more

  • Use your iPad hands-free

  • Listen and identify songs

Power and Battery

All models

  • Built-in 38.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery

  • Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music

  • Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Wi-Fi + Cellular model

  • Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network
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