2020 iPad Pro 12.9’ Review — This Thing is a Monster!
I always loved iPad’s. My first and only iPad was iPad Air 1st gen. For 5 years, I used it in any situation, and it became my buddy. However, it is now 2020, and I had to upgrade it to a much bigger, much powerful iPad, 2020 iPad Pro.
Introduction
Different from my iPad Air, I wanted to make my new iPad Pro to be my computer. It turns out, it can replace my pc. Almost 90% of what I can do on my pc can be executed in this machine. Of course, I have done my research before I buy it. Some work-related operations cannot be done by iPad Pro, and that is okay for me. I have a work computer to do all of these things. When these operations neglected, iPad Pro was the perfect choice for me.
I will not lie, I thought about buying high spec MacBook Air or entry-level MacBook Pro, but the portability of iPad Pro won me. Also, when I think of what I can do with this device creatively, the iPad was much ahead of MacBook Air.
I’m talking about this device as my computer because I want it to be my daily used device in any circumstance. I don’t want to carry anything substantial. I thought of this for a very long time and made my decision. Let’s talk about its features!
Design
This thing is thin, really thin! The feeling of holding this device is impressive. Because of the perpendicular edges, it is much more comfortable holding this device. My older iPad Air was uncomfortable to hold for an extended amount of times; I needed a stand for that thing for an extended amount of usages times. However, that is not the thing with iPad Pro despite its heavier and more prominent design. Reading a book in this gigantic machine unexpectedly pretty comfortable.
I had some questions about having only one USB-c port, but after 4 days of usage, I saw that most of the time, it is enough. During these 4 days, I wrote an essay, edited and rendered a video, play games, and draw various things, and I never needed two ports.
The speakers in this machine are magnificent. Now, I don’t need to use my portable speaker anymore when I am using my iPad Pro. It’s speakers supply more than I need. Also, it is funny that this thing and my 5 years old iPad Air has the same pixel density. Because this thing looks gorgeous. Of course, there are many technologies embedded in this screen, but still, it looks much better. The moment I opened the device, I was amazed by the 120 Hz screen. Promotion technology is beautiful. Also, the big screen has so much to offer. While writing this, I have so much room to pour my ideas into. That is a great feeling to have.
I loved the Touch ID on my iPhone 6. But this year, I met Face ID on my two new devices, iPhone 11 and iPad Pro, and this thing is just amazing. Especially in iPad Pro because it can read your face independent of your device orientation. This is pretty handy in many situations.
I am not the kind of person who uses his tablet’s camera to shoot pictures. The most I can do would be scanning a document by the camera, and that is it. However, this thing has pretty good cameras and, of course, LiDAR. I tried the cameras at home to shoot basic stuff, and the results were pretty good. On the other hand, I didn’t have the chance to try LiDAR just yet.
Performance
It was pretty funny that the first time I opened the device, I made it give a reset while editing a photo. At that moment, I reconsidered my decisions, but I think that was just an unusual error. Because I performed much heavier tasks since then and not a single problem has occurred. 6 GB of ram is pretty good to have in this machine. I never saw a problem during the transition between the apps. They immediately opened and continued the task.
On my old computer, it took 5 minutes to render a 2 minute, 1080p video while in iPad Pro, for 4 minutes 1080p video to render it took only a minute. This thing is pretty powerful! I am thrilled with my choice right now.
Today, I opened the iPad at 7 am and used it none stop until 11:45 am. I reopened it at 1 pm, and it is now 3:30 pm, and my charge is 5%. During these times, I write this essay, I read several articles and took the screenshot and take notes on them, worked on Excel and Word at the same time, watched the video, studied Duolingo, and worked on my next project. I am delighted how it handled all of these things for over 8 hours. I started to love this thing more and more!
Portability
This was the most crucial aspect of my choice because after using a chunky PC for several years, I wanted to have a more portable and lighter device. Because of its excellent battery life, I don’t need to think about carrying the chargers to the meetings. When everything is done, just turn off the screen, and you are ready to go. This was the computer side of the device when I look at the tablet side of it, it provides the same mobility as my older iPad. I can still watch videos in the kitchen while I am cooking, or I can even look at my social media accounts while resting. I know that it is much bigger, but mobility stays almost the same.
I bought the 256 GB version, but I am planning to use a portable hard drive to carry my folders. In this hard drive, I will mostly keep my videos and drawings. Because they are the space-consuming things, I have. Since I was carrying hard drive by me while using my older computer, nothing will change in this manner.
Accessories
Of course, to create a better experience, I bought accessories. Since I will use this device daily and write a lot of things, I purchased Apple Smart Keyboard Folio. Also, since I am planning to take notes by hand and draw many things, I bought a 2nd Gen Apple Pencil. And finally, I also bought dongles.
Apple Smart Keyboard Folio
I was having some questions about this keyboard because I both heard positive and negative feedbacks about it, but my feeling is very positive right now. Yes, the traveling time of the keys is much shorter, but the sense of using it excellent. Since I don’t like long traveling times, I have no problem with this keyboard. The material of this thing makes me want to press more and more on the keys.
Having the option to go between apps without touching the screen is perfect. That makes many things a lot faster. I believe I have so much to discover since I am unfamiliar with the Mac keyboard, but I will learn.
I didn’t want to spend extra money on Magic Keyboard because I think I don’t get the additional value by the extra money I give. That is, of course, a pretty personal choice. Maybe, a couple of months from now, I may spend some money to buy an external mouse, but not the magic keyboard.
Apple Pencil 2nd Generation
The same thing didn’t happen on Apple Pencil because, from the beginning, I made my plans according to the Apple Pencil. The first thing I noticed was its material is pretty Pencil like. When I am holding it, it really feels like I am holding a pencil. The second thing is, it is the perfect tool to draw illustrations or take notes. I am questioning the money I spent on agenda and notebooks. Most likely, I will get rid of all my notebooks except my journaling notebook. The reason is not that iPad cannot create a medium to the journal; instead, I choose to write my feelings on real paper, I like to see them in that format.
The surprising thing was Apple Pencil instantly became my only tool to edit photos and videos. It turns out, using the Pencil is much more accurate than using my fingers. I didn’t expect that at all.
Many people say that the screen protector Paperlike makes the use of Apple Pencil much better. Currently, I don’t have the opportunity to buy it, but in the future, I want to give it a shot.
Dongles
As I stated before, I bought dongles to make things much more comfortable. However, what I got was pretty simple, 3.5 mm Audio to USB-C and USB to USB-C. I purchased the audio adapter for recording my voice by the external microphone. In my latest project, I did the voiceovers with that setup, and it was in pretty good quality. The reason for buying the USB dongle was connecting my external hard drives to iPad Pro. Currently, they can supply the things I need; however, in the future, I am thinking of upgrading them. The other thing I want to improve is HDMI dongle to connect my iPad Pro to an external display. Since I don’t have an external display at home, I don’t have to rush it.
I want to thank Apple here for its simple Audio to USB-C adapter because I had so many issues about my DJI Osmo Pocket and external microphones. It turns out, DJI limited Osmo Pocket’s USB-C port to its dongles, and no other adapter can be used to record audio by an external microphone. Giving 40$ to the simple adapter is kind of absurd. I thanking Apple because that is not the case with their adapter. By a reasonable price, I get what I needed.
My Feelings
As I stated before, my motivation was to get a portable, powerful, and modular device that I can use at any moment of my life. This is my fourth day using it, and the first four days were pretty great. I had some questions about video editing on the iPad, but all of these are gone. I have only used Luma Fusion and provided me what I needed. I don’t know if I will need something more potent in the future, but all my demands have been met right now.
I didn’t expect much difference between iOS 12 and iOS 13. My older iPad Air is looking like a toy near the 4th Gen iPad Pro. I believe I will use this device every day for a very long time.
Conclusion
Compared to the previous generation iPad Pro, the 2020 iPad Pro has slightly more power and 2 cameras plus LiDAR sensor compared to only one camera on the 2018 iPad Pro. I was thinking of buying this machine since the fall of 2019, but rumors of the new generation made me wait. Most of the people tell that it is unnecessary to upgrade from 2018 to 2020 iPad Pro. I have no comment about this since I didn’t use the previous generation. However, many tests show that it makes sense to not upgrade it.
That was not my case to buy this device. I needed such an upgrade for quite some time, and after buying it, I fell in love. I am planning to use everything this device provides. This is only the first essay about the 2020 iPad Pro. Soon, I will talk about it more!
