Let's get this out of the way: It's really big. See, the thing about Apple's new iPad Pro is that you're not supposed to leave it on a table all the time like a Surface begs you to. It's meant to be held, in your hand. All 12.9 inches of it.
And the crazy thing is, it sort of works. This 1.57-pound, 6.9mm-thick device is a little clunky, sure, but it's entirely possible to hold in one hand. It's sturdy and handsome, with speakers on all four corners and the same rounded-rectangle feel as its smaller brethren. It's just enormous. I can't say that enough.
I stood at the iPad Pro demo booth at the Billy Graham Auditorium watching Furious 7 while simultaneously poking through some of the new features—mostly holding the device in two hands. The screen, for one thing, looks amazing. At 2732x2048 resolution, it's the highest-res iOS device ever—and while I can't say it's miles better than the normal-sized iPad, it's certainly as crisp and sharp as any display I've ever seen. If Apple's ultimate tablet goal is to build a piece of glass onto which you can project your hopes, dreams, and apps, the iPad Pro feels like a realization of that dream.
During the keynote, Apple execs talked a lot about how difficult this screen was to create—but you'd never know. It's smooth and fast; in fact, every part of the iPad Pro is smooth and fast. The $99 Pencil stylus feels like a particular triumph: It is, bar none, the most fluid and lag-free stylus I've ever used. The big, white cylinder is downright fancy; it feels like you should use it for calligraphy or signing the Declaration of Independence. But whether I was marking up an email in Mail, or doodling in Notes, it worked just incredibly well.
The real question with the iPad Pro isn't going to be whether or not it's great. I can tell you, even after only a few minutes with the device, that it's almost certainly great. It's big, bright, surprisingly wieldable, and with the Pencil and the keyboard case, it's easily multipurpose. The question will be, is it great for you? The iPad is still a tablet, and running iOS means it's still going to be a little clunky—using Word, I found myself wishing I had all my keyboard and mouse shortcuts handy and didn't have to keep picking up the Pencil or tapping the screen. And if we learned anything from the Surface, it's that the world might not be ready for this type of device just yet.
