iPad Pro (12.9-inch, 1st generation)
A 12.9-inch iPad with 5.6 million pixels and the first Apple Pencil, which changed who bought iPads.
Released November 11, 2015 · Discontinued June 5, 2017 · From $799 (32 GB, Wi-Fi)
Apple built a 12.9-inch iPad and told everyone it could replace a laptop. The screen holds 5.6 million pixels, more than a 15-inch MacBook Pro, and the A9X put it within range of most laptops on sale that year. Four speakers in the corners adjusted their output depending on how you were holding it. The Apple Pencil arrived with it. That changed who bought iPads. Illustrators, architects and anyone who drew for a living had a reason to own one, and Procreate on an iPad Pro became a genuine professional tool rather than a novelty. The Smart Keyboard was less convincing, and iOS in 2015 could not really do the laptop job Apple was claiming.
Reviews & Reception
Reviewers admired the screen, the speed and the engineering of getting a 12.9-inch display into something this thin, and kept returning to the same question: who exactly this was for, given what iOS would and would not let it do in 2015.
We're impressed by the iPad Pro's processing muscle, its screen technology and the design skills that have squeezed such a big display into such a slim and lightweight package
We love the iPad Pro, which is a beautiful and classy product, but we suspect that it may remain a niche interest for the time being.