I bought this to replace my iPad Air 2 which suffered a fatal drop onto concrete. That device had served me well for four years, but it was time to lay it to rest. So let's just get right to it.
What I like
-Before you even turn it on this thing makes a pretty good first impression with its aesthetics. No more curved back, no more home button, very small and uniform bezels, sharp edges all around. The camera sticks out a bit which isn't exactly ideal, but since it's going to live in a case that wont bother me. It looks and feels very nice and expensive, and well...it is.
-The next strongest point of this device is the screen. It's very bright, and covers almost the whole thing aside from the thin bezels around the edges. It can be seen pretty well in direct sunlight, and I really like how the display feels like it's right up against the glass, like you are touching it directly.
-The biggest change is FaceID and it really makes using an iPad more fluid. With my Air 2 whenever I unlocked it, used a saved password to sign into a website, installed an app...those are all times where I had to move my finger off the screen and down to the home button. Now authenticating is completely hands off, just wait a fraction of a second for it to scan your face and you're in. Thankfully, unlike on the new iPhones, it works in any orientation. Even upside down. It also uses gestures to navigate now, which once you get used to them are way faster than using a home button.
-It's fast. iPads are very overpowered compared to most tablets, and this one is no different. There is zero lag. Everything just flies. The screen refresh rate is 120hz now which really makes it seem like you are smoothly manipulating physical objects rather than interacting with a screen.
-There are a few other minor things. There are four speakers now, and they are far beyond the ones on my Air 2. The camera is very good. This thing is actually capable of taking 4K video at 60FPS. That is insane for a tablet. Apple finally included an 18 watt charger this time which charges it quite fast. Also the addition of USB type C is nice. Well, sort of.
Now for what I don't like:
-It's very slippery and fragile. Nothing new for iPads, but this very expensive machine is defenseless by itself and pretty much requires a case. Do not drop it!
-Probably the iPad Pro's biggest weakness is that it's shackled to iOS. iOS is a very fast and smooth OS and it really makes sense on portable touch devices, but I can't help feel like this thing could do a lot more. I mean they threw a USB C port on it, but what can you do with it? You can't use a mouse and keyboard, you STILL can't use external storage. I can't even view and edit files on a memory card without transferring them to the tablet first, come on Apple. Imagine if you could just drop this thing into a dock and have a desktop-like experience. Apple says tablets are the future of computing, well...we're waiting.
In summary, this tablet is certainly a worthy successor to my Air 2. It's beautiful, fast, and a joy to use. If you need to replace your iPad then you cannot go wrong with this one. If you don't have a tablet yet, this is the best one you can buy period. I can say with confidence that, like all Apple products, it will be updated long into the future and will only get better as time goes on. I just hope Apple will unleash its true potential.