Computer Shopper - UK (2020-10)

ISSUE392|COMPUTERSHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 39

TICKALLTHEhardwareoptionboxesonthhis,
thenewestandbiggestiPadPro,andyou’ree
lookingatnearly£2,000intotal:£1,6 19 for
thetop-spec,1TBstorage-plus-cellulartableet,
plus awallet-shredding£345 forthe Magic
Keyboard.The 128GB, Wi-Fi-only model is alot
cheaperat£969,but eitherway,this kind off
cashbringsalotofexpectationstoliveuptto.
Therehavebeenbigchangestothe
internals,includingthenewA12XBionic
processorandsupportfor802.11axWi-Fi,also
knownasWi-Fi6.Thekeyboardhasalsobeen
completely redone,finally adding atouchpad,
which wasmissing from the foliokeyboardfor
the previous iPad Pro 12.9(Shopper373).

ADDED LITTLETOUCH

When thekeyboard is flat on atable,the key
action is positive,withasolid bottomstopand
apleasant action. We had no problems typing
on this forhours at atime.Then there’sthat
touchpad,which introduces bigchangesto
iPadOS, bringing aseamlessautomatic
switching between pointer and touch mode.
Thereare afew caveats: the keyboard is
phenomenally expensive fora2-in-1
attachment, costingnearly threetimes as
much as Microsoft’spriciestSurface Cover,
and the touchpad is on the smallside.Still,
what it lacks in size it makes up forin
responsiveness,especiallyinApple’s own
apps.MicrosoftOffice doesn’t supportthe
pad as effectively–moving thecursor is a
little clunky–but overall this is ahuge
upgrade on the previouskeyboard design.
We also like how it folds down over theiPad
in onesmooth action, and canberemoved
quickly with no fiddly cables or latches. This is
helped by the USBType–C socket on the left
of thekeyboardhinge,which canpower the
iiPPaaddPPrrootthhrroouugghhtthheeccooonnnneeccttoorrppiinnssbbuuiillttiinnttoo

APPLE iPadPro

12.9in(2020)

★★★★★

£1,619•From http://www.apple.com/uk

VERDICT

ThisisthemostexpensiveiPadProyet,but
alsothemostambitious–andbest

iPADOSTABLET

thekeyboard. However,itdoesn’tsupport

data,soanyinterface dongles will still needto

connecttotheiPadPro’s own Type–C socket.

Thetabletitselfisbuilt like atank,though

it’smuch faster than one.Scoring 1,119 in the

Geekbench5single-core test and 4,671inthe

multicoretest, theiPadPro breezes past the

Surface Pro 7(Shopper387)and Samsung

Galaxy TabS6(Shopper386), which are both

among the highest-performing 2-in-1s of their

respective operatingsystems. It’s also bristling

with graphical power,judgingbyits251fps in

theGFXBenchManhattan offscreentest.

Battery life,however,isweird. In various

runs on our 1TB model, we sawruntimes of

anything from 6h 15mto14h 29m, and pretty

much anything in between. None of thiswas

repeatable,nor predictable,despitecontrolling

everything from the screenbrightness to the

wirelessradio configuration. At the very least,

we can’t complain about longevityinnormal

use,thoughit’sextremely rare forour video

loop test to produce such inconsistent results.

GLASSWITH FLYING COLOURS

MMore happily, the display –a2,732x2,048, IPS

paanel –issuperb.Wemeasuredaround

522 0cd/m^2 at maximum brightness,and withan

avverage delta-Eof2.2, colour accuracyis

reespectable.Like somehigh-end smartphones,

thheiPadPro runs its screenatarefresh rateof

122 0Hz,soany movementlooks smootherand

cleaner than it wouldona60Hz tablet.

Thespeakers are also good, forthe most

ppaart. They’re at their weakest when handling

baass, with the weedy sound you wouldexpect

frrom such asmall device,but voice clarityis

sttrong andtheygenerally work wellfor video

caallsorthe occasionalvideo. As with the2018

iteeration, there’sno3.5mm headphone socket.

Ofcourse,theiPadProhasneverhad

troublewithdisplayorprocessor

performance;historically,theseries’main

problemhasbeenwithitssuitabilityasa

work device,whatwithitrunning the

mobile-focusediOS and having acramped,

touchpad-deprived keyboard peripheral.

Today, thingsare very different. TheMagic

Keyboard is transformative. The keyaction,

trackpad operation and the iPadOS integration

areahuge leap forward.App developers have

movedon,too.Thewiderangeofappsinclude

everything from 3D CADmodellingthrough to

serious photo andvideo editing.

TASKSAT HAND

In other words, this is adevice youcan use

every day. In particular, theFiles appmakesit

easier to finddocumentsthaniOS ever did, and

multi-window dragand dropworks perfectly.

Is, then, theiPadPro 12.9worthsucha

vast sumofmoney? We’d sayyes,ifonlyjust;

£349just forakeyboarddefinitely smarts. But

the tabletisonlyhalfadevicewithout it, and

once the two aretogether,it’s abrillianthybrid

that’s fullycapable of getting work done.

JonHoneyball

Batterylife

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 82 forperformancedetails

PROCESSOROcta-core2.4GHz AppleA12XBionic•

RAM6GB•SCREENSIZE12.9in•SCREENRESOLUTION

2,732x2,048•GRAPHICSADAPTORAppleA12XBionic•

TOTALSTORAGE1TBSSD•DIMENSIONS281x215x5.9mm•

WEIGHT643g•OPERATINGSYSTEMiPadOS•

WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.apple.com/uk•

PARTCODEiPad Pro12.9in(2020)

SPECIFICATIONS

14h29m

Thetabletisonly half adevicewithout the keyboard, and

oncethe twoaretogether,it’s abrillianthybrid