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printcontentsfull screenprint12 VIDEOMAKER >>> APRIL 2019
by Chris MonluxPowerful, but
not perfect
Apple iPad
Pro
Apple
http://www.apple.com/STRENGTHS- Fast performance
- Long battery life
WEAKNESSES- Poor data workflow
SUMMARY
The new iPad Pro (3rd Gen) is the
most powerful iPad ever and it has a
USB-C Port. It does have some issues
though...RECOMMENDED USERS- Online Video Production
- Casual Video Production
Even though the overall size is
smaller, the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro
offers the same size screen as the
last generation. Compared to the 2nd
generation iPad Pro, the new edge-to-
edge design and rounded corners also
makes this version much easier to
hold on to. In another improvement,
the new Apple Pencil now charges
wirelessly and connects nicely to the
iPad. Goodbye, awkward lightning
port Pencil — you will not be missed.
Overall, it’s much easier to handle
and use the new iPad Pro over the
last generation.
The 12.9 inch iPad Pro can be con-
figured with 64GB of storage all the
way up to 1TB. You can choose either
Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi+cellular versions. We
reviewed the Wi-Fi version, which
starts at $999 going all the way up to
$1,750 for the 1TB version. With the
64GB capacity, expect to need to pay
for cloud storage. That means slow
access to data. For video editors, the
more storage the better.Performance Perspective
The performance of the iPad Pro is
excellent. This is the most powerful
iPad ever. To put that into a bit of con-
text, the fastest standard iPad costs
$329 and has a Geekbench Multi-core
score of 5,931. The iPad Pro’s scoreis 17,931. Because of its robust per-
formance and USB-C connection, it
seemed that this new iPad Pro was
going to be the first iPad for video
editing. This still may be true, but the
workflow for getting video from exter-
nal sources onto the iPad is painful.
Take this example: Say you have
60GB of unedited footage. That’s not
a huge amount these days. You are
not able to plug in an external USB-C
storage drive and drag the files on to
the iPad.
Instead, you’re forced to do one of
three things: You can push your foot-
age up to the cloud and then down-
load it again to the iPad. You could
also use Airdrop, assuming you have
an Apple computer. Both solutions
are slow. The second option is using
Apple’s USB-C SD card reader for $40.
You then could use the SD card to
move data from your camera or com-
puter to the iPad. The last option is to
connect your camera directly to the
iPad and offload it from there.
For video producers, managing data
is a fact of life, so just getting started
using the iPad to edit video stinks. The
easiest and best workflow is to capture
everything with the built-in camera,
but the iPad is just so big — talk about
cumbersome. We hope that Apple will
open up the USB-C for data transfer$1,000 to $1,REVIEW
T
he new iPad Pro (3rd Gen) from
Apple is hands down the fastest,
most powerful iPad ever made. It’s
better in every way than its predeces-
sor, offering a wonderful Multi-touch
interface and up to 6 gigabytes of
RAM. It has a USB-C port, though it
can’t connect to external storage.383 R01 Apple iPad Pro open.indd 12 2/19/19 2:40 PMVIDEOMAKER >>> APRIL 2019 13
is 17,931. Because of its robust per-
formance and USB-C connection, it
seemed that this new iPad Pro was
going to be the first iPad for video
editing. This still may be true, but the
workflow for getting video from exter-
nal sources onto the iPad is painful.
Take this example: Say you have
60GB of unedited footage. That’s not
a huge amount these days. You are
not able to plug in an external USB-C
storage drive and drag the files on to
the iPad.
Instead, you’re forced to do one of
three things: You can push your foot-
age up to the cloud and then down-
load it again to the iPad. You could
also use Airdrop, assuming you have
an Apple computer. Both solutions
are slow. The second option is using
Apple’s USB-C SD card reader for $40.
You then could use the SD card to
move data from your camera or com-
puter to the iPad. The last option is to
connect your camera directly to the
iPad and offload it from there.
For video producers, managing data
is a fact of life, so just getting started
using the iPad to edit video stinks. The
easiest and best workflow is to capture
everything with the built-in camera,
but the iPad is just so big — talk about
cumbersome. We hope that Apple will
open up the USB-C for data transferOperating System: iOS 12
Chipset: Apple’s A12X Bionic chip
with Neural Engine
CPU: Apple 64-Bit Octa-Core
Coprocessor: M12: Motion, Neural/
AI, Voice
GPU: Apple 7-Core
Storage: Flash 1 TB
Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient
light sensor, Barometer (Altimeter),
Compass, Depth, Face ID, Gyroscope
Display Panel Type: IPS LCD
Size: 12.9′′
Viewing Angle: 178°
Brightness: 600 cd/m²
Ports: 1x USB 3.1 – Type CYou can comment on this article by going on-
line: http://www.videomaker.com/?p=The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is the
first we are going to look at. It’s also
the least expensive at $750 for the
256GB version. The same capacity
iPad Pro is $1,125. The screen size of
10.5 inches is closer to the smaller
version of the iPad Pro. It also comes
with an SD card reader.
Next is the Google Pixel Slate. The
Slate is more expensive than the
equivalent iPad. It comes with an Intel
i7 processor, two USB-C Ports and
16GB of RAM.
Last up is the Microsoft Surface Pro- At $2,300, it’s the most expensive
product we considered. It is the only
other tablet to offer up to 1TB of stor-
age. It also has an Intel i7 processor,
along with USB-A, mini display and
Surface Connect ports.
Final thoughts
The 12.9 inch iPad Pro (3rd Gen) is
a powerful machine. If the next iOS
allows for data transfer over USB-C
from an external storage device, the
iPad Pro would be the must-have tab-
let for video editors on the go. Until
that happens, it will have to settle for
being the best iPad ever and hope for
a better tomorrow.from an external drive in the future to
alleviate this pain point.What is it like to edit
video on the iPad Pro?
Once we got our footage transferred
via Airdrop, we tried out a few differ-
ent iOS editing apps to see how it felt
to edit using only a touch interface.
We used both Adobe Rush and
iMovie to edit a project on the iPad
Pro. The experience editing in both
was as good as it gets — they are both
simple intuitive apps, and when used
in combination with the Apple Pencil,
we could easily see someone using
the iPad Pro for editing on the go.
We wouldn’t go as far as to say that it
would be the only tool we would use
to edit, but getting a rough edit on the
tablet and finishing on a desktop is
totally possible.The must-have accessories
For most uses, the Smart Keyboard Fo-
lio and Apple Pencil are required. The
Folio is $200 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro,
and the 2nd generation Pencil will set
you back $130. If Apple products are
not expensive enough on their own,
the pricy accessories will break the
camels back. The Folio allows for a lap-
top experience, allowing for handsfreeTECH SPECSApple iPad Pro
REVIEWviewing with mulitple viewing angles
and, of course, adds a keyboard. The
Apple Pencil flows well when drawing
or writing and is much more precise
than a finger when editing video.Other performance
The iPad Pro has a great battery
life. We used it heavily for watching
videos, surfing the internet and edit-
ing video all day without it needing
a charge. Like all lithium batteries,
battery life will go down over time
depending on use. Apple offers a long
list of best practices to get the longest
battery life from their products.
Another plus, the screen is nice and
bright, offering 600 nits of brightness
— bright enough to use in full sun situa-
tions. Additionally, the screen has a very
good anti-reflective coating to minimize
issues for viewing in bright conditions.
The screen is not 4K, instead offering a
resolution of 2732 x 2048 at 264 ppi. It
still looks great, however.
ProMotion technology also automat-
ically adjusts the display refresh rate
up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling and
better responsiveness on iPad Pro.Marketplace
For more context, let’s look at three
other comparable tablets.Improved Apple PencilAudio: 4x Integrated Speaker
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth: 5.
Front Camera Resolution: 7.0 MP /
Video: 1920 x 1080p 60fps
Aperture: f/2.
Rear Camera Resolution: 12.0 MP
/ Video: 3840 x 2160p 60 fps
Focus Type: Phase-Detect Auto-
focus
Battery: Lithium-Polymer Provid-
ing up to 9 Hours per Charge (36.
Wh)
Dimensions (W x H x D): 8.5 x 11.
x 0.2′′ / 214.9 x 280.6 x 5.9 mm
Weight: 1.4 lb / .64 kgChris Monlux is Videomaker ’s Multimedia Editor.383 R01 Apple iPad Pro open.indd 13 2/19/19 2:40 PM