The New iPad Pro: A Designer’s Dream Device

Tracy Dillon
uMake
Published in
3 min readJun 8, 2017

This week we saw some great announcements from Apple that are definitely game changers. Our favorite, of course, here at uMake, was the announcement of the new iPad Pro.

The 2nd edition iPad Pro was released this week, toting some great improvements and new features. We here at uMake are excited about these additions and to implement them into the app.

One of the most exciting new features for the new iPad Pro is the improved display refresh rate. With a rate of 120Hz, the Apple Pencil’s latency is reduced to a mere 20 milliseconds. Now sketching will feel more natural than ever before. There is virtually no lag between the stroke and the stylus, making your lines feel smooth and more predictive.

The New 10.5" and 12.9" iPad Pros (img courtesy of Apple Inc.)

Performance improvements, thanks to the A10x Fusion chip, also mean users on the new device will be able to push their designs even further, with larger file sizes, and more detailed designs. With 40% faster graphics and 30% faster CPU, this device is going to blow away the first iPad Pro. Not only will the overall experience improve, but we can develop new features that we didn’t think were possible until now.

Another feature that we love is the larger 10.5" screen size on the smaller version of the device. Before you had the option for the 9.7" inch screen on a 1lb device, or the large and heavier 12.9" and 1.5 lb device. The larger screen on the smaller version will enable users to have more freedom when designing on the iPad thanks to it’s low 1 lb weight, and a larger space for creativity.

The first edition 9.7" iPad Pro, compared with the new 10.5" iPad Pro

Along with the new hardware, iOS 11 is sure to bring more excitement to the design experience on iPad Pro with it’s release this Fall.

With Augmented Reality coming to iOS 11, 3D design is going to be bigger than ever. AR brings 3D designs to life when viewed through a screen on your iPhone or iPad. There are so many exciting things that we can do with AR technology that can enhance the design process, bring our designs to new audiences and to be consumed in a whole new way. Now we just need to explore the possibilities.

There is also the new Files App. The files app will improve the way you work on the iPad Pro. It gives not only the ability to view the files on your device, but also from various cloud storage services. Being able to see all of your files, photos, and projects in one place will truly make the iPad Pro feel like a professionals device.

the Files App (img courtesy of Apple Inc.)

A feature that might not seem as pivotal is the drag and drop feature. But when you think of how this can improve the speed and convenience of your work, it’s obvious how big of an impact it can make. You will be able to move files, text, and images from app to app quicker than ever. We can see designers being able to transfer projects between apps just from dragging and dropping effortlessly. This would cut down creation time greatly.

We can’t wait to get our hands on the new iPad and test out it’s capabilities. What new features are you most excited about? What kind of new features could you see in uMake with the updated iPad Pro and iOS 11?

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