I ordered the iPad Pro online at first light this morning and picked it up at the Apple Store in Stonestown, San Francisco, just as the store opened. Aside from the sticker shock — more than $1,326.49 for the iPad, Pencil and Smart Keyboard — I was surprised at how readily it is available. Seems like there’s plenty in stock, despite reports of short supply.
The iPad Pro is getting lukewarm reviews, but isn’t that what we always get from the professional reviewers? The same-old measured response that’s neither wildly enthusiastic nor harshly critical? It was the same with the iPhone 6s-es, the new MacBook, and the 6 Plus before that. “They’re not for everyone!” the reviews tended to say.
Well, bollocks! I’m excited about the iPad Pro. I’m as excited as I was about the first big-screen iPhone a couple of years ago. I think size does matter, and the bigger screen on these devices makes a huge difference.
But we’ll see. I just got my hands on it. Check out the video to see what’s in the box and my initial impressions.
The first thing you notice is how ridiculously big the iPad Pro is.
I’m curious to see if the Pro soon becomes the right size, just as my iPhone 6s Plus is now the ‘right size,’ in the sense that older iPhones look ridiculously small and doll-like.
The design and build quality is, of course, absolutely fantastic. It’s a gorgeous big slab of metal and glass. It’s the same beautiful design and build as the iPad Air, but noticeably heftier.
I’ve become blasé about how ridiculously light the Air is. But I do remember how heavy the first iPads were, and how your hand would tire when reading. I’d normally have to prop it up.
I fear it’ll be the same with the iPad Pro — no one-hand reading in bed with this thing!
The big screen is gorgeous though, and split-screen multitasking looks like it’ll be easy and natural to use.
So far — I like!
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
9 responses to “First impressions with the big and beautiful iPad Pro”
Video is marked as private, can you make it public?
Here, watch this video. PSYCH!
Oh, I get it he’s pulling an Apple secrecy trick.
I’d be interested in seeing the smart keyboard in action, Leander.
“Aside from the sticker shock — more than $1,326.49 for the iPad, Pencil and Smart Keyboard…”
Glad you like it. But if you know before you buy exactly how much it costs, including the price of each accessory, how is it sticker shock?” Just curious.
I’m with you, Leander. Got the 128/LTE and LOVE it. Still waiting on the Smart Keyboard and Pencil (both were out of stock).
The size makes it a realistic device for WordPress design and posting, one of my necessary use-cases.
My MacBook Air is about to be relegated to the closet.
“no one-hand reading in bed” – *coughs*
Gotta have one hand free… cough cough…
Two surprises: sticker shock and ready availability… Anyone at home?