iPad Pro: Entertainment, Content Consumption, and Second Impressions

Let's start with second impressions. There is a reason Apple seeded all official reviewers with a Smart Keyboard cover and an Apple Pencil. Without these accessories, the iPad Pro is just a giant iPad. This also explains why reviews of the device seem to be much more positive from reviewers equipped with these accessories.

My first impression was done without the benefit of either of the new accessories. My second impression is with the benefit of the Logitech keyboard designed for the iPad Pro with Apple's assistance. I will talk about the keyboard in a separate post. Let me just say that with a proper keyboard, the iPad Pro is starting to feel a whole lot more like something that is worthy of the lofty name it wears.

To be sure, there are times when I take the iPad out of the bulky keyboard case and use it as a giant iPad. It is great in that mode. But to be worth the price and the hype, it has to be more than that. My second impression has changed so much from my first impression, that I... We'll save that for the very end. For now, let's take a look at how it handles itself when the work day is over:

All Work and No Play? No Way!

The iPad Pro might well be the best portable television money can buy. I have an old 55" plasma TV at home. I've been meaning to replace it as soon as the budget allows, or until I get up the nerve to do something completely irresponsible. When I am sitting in my comfy TV-watching chair with the iPad Pro in my lap, the iPad Pro provides a screen roughly equivalent to a 60" TV.

The picture on the iPad looks better than the picture on the TV. If you need a bedroom or kitchen TV, skip the TV and pick up an iPad Pro. Even the sound is great. It is not as good as my sound system that is connected to my TV. Then again, I have a Bose speaker setup. However, the sound on the iPad Pro is still better than any notebook or similar sized device. The stereo separation is meaningful. And the volume is plentiful.

I am a casual gamer. I'm talking Candy Crush casual. All the games I play are better on the iPad Pro. I'm a big fan of driving games. I think my favorite iOS game of all time is Labyrinth HD 2. It has not been updated in over 2 and a half years. But it is still great, and even better on the iPad Pro.

If you are measuring the entertainment potential by how much fun you can have on the device, it gets a 10 out of 10. But fun is not the only measure of the device. The iPad air is just as fun. To earn the "Pro" moniker, it has to be more than fun. Is it possible that the iPad Pro is misnamed? Next time, I will explore the "Pro" part of the iPad Pro.

Oh... As for my second impression, I've put my Macbook 12" Retina up for sale. I'm all in with the iPad Pro.