One of the highlights of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote was the unveiling of two new iPad Pro models. The flashier update replaces the current 9.7 inch iPad Pro, which now has a 10.5-inch (diagonal) screen but is only a hair physically larger than the model it replaces: 9.8 inches tall and 6.8 inches wide, compared to 9.4 inches tall and 6.6 inches wide. The new one is also 0.05 inches thinner, and weighs the same 1.03 pounds.
(To watch the iPad Pro portion of the keynote, start at the 93:00 mark—yes, that’s 93 minutes; the whole event ran over two hours!)
The size of that display isn’t the only highlight: The 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch models are also brighter than predecessors, and both have True Tone displays (which adjust color balance based on ambient lighting) and P3 Wide Color gamut.
They also operate at up to 120 Hz, double the rate that today’s devices run, resulting in two implications. The higher refresh rate—Apple calls it ProMotion—means the screen updates more quickly, making it significantly more responsive, according to Apple. That extends from touch input to using Apple Pencil, which now operates at a reduced latency of 20ms. ProMotion is also good for battery life, because the iPad Pro adjusts the refresh rate based on what you’re doing onscreen: if you’re browsing the Web or viewing still photos, it switches to a lower refresh rate, and therefore consumes less battery power. Even movies can be scaled back to 60 Hz (without affecting video quality).
One of the things I’m happy to see, for photographers, is that the Lightning port on both models now operates at USB 3 speeds, making for much faster photo and video import. (Last year’s release of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro was stuck with USB 2 speeds, a feature I curse every single time I import photos into mine.)
The new iPad Pro models ship with an Apple-designed A10X processor for greater speed. To demonstrate the processor power, Serif demonstrated their new Affinity Photo application for iPad, which was impressive as hell and just released today. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and see how it performs.
The base configurations now start at 64 GB and go up to 512 GB of storage. You can order them now via Apple, and they begin shipping next week.
Also interesting are the changes for iPad that are coming with iOS 11, also announced at the event. Apple is finally treating the iPad Pro like the powerful computer it is, with lots of multi-tasking and multi-select gestures and options. See more about iOS 11 here; it’s available now to developers, with a full free release to everyone in the fall.
Be sure to watch this short intro video Apple created:
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The iPad for Photographers 
Are you sure about the USB 3 port speed on the iPad Pro 10.5? I could not find any info on Apple’s website.
Hi Dennis. You’re right that they don’t specify the speed on the site. I just went back to the keynote, and at the 104-minute mark, Joz touts “Fast USB 3 transfer” and “Fast charging”. I’ll put a screenshot in the post above.
Thanks! I was debating between the 10.5 and 12.9 for that reason. Big deal for me.
I enjoyed your post. The Apple video, as a learning intro to iOS 11 sucks camel balls. Gave me a headache. Cuts were to quick. Message was lost.