9.7-inch iPad Pro vs iPad Air 2: How Does The ‘PC Replacement’ Differ?

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On Monday, Apple unveiled a much-anticipated successor to its iPad Air 2. The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro looks very much like the 2014 iPad Air 2, but comes equipped with features and specs of the giant 12.9-inch iPad Pro that was released last fall. The Cupertino-based tech giant says its new 9.7-inch iPad is the “ultimate PC replacement.” So, how does the new tablet differ from the iPad Air 2? Let’s find out.

iPad Pro vs iPad Air 2: display

Both the iPad Air 2 and the new iPad Pro have the same 9.7-inch display with 2048 x 1536 pixels resolution. In contrast, the last year’s iPad Pro had a gargantuan 12.9-inch screen with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 pixels. All the three iPads offer fully laminated display, anti-reflective coating features, LED-backlit, and fingerprint resistant oleophobic coating.

In addition, the latest 9.7-inch iPad offers wide-color and True Tone display features. True Tone measures the color temperature of the ambient light and adjusts the tone and color balance of the display to match the surrounding environment.

Hardware

The new iPad Pro is powered by the A9X third-generation processor with 64-bit “desktop-class architecture.” It also has an M9 coprocessor for Hey Siri support. Apple claims that it delivers 2X the processing power of the A8X SoC in iPad Air 2.

The tech giant has also added a Smart Connector that allows you to attach productive accessories such as the Smart Keyboard. The Smart Keyboard connects over Bluetooth and can be charged from the Smart Connector as well. The new iPad can recognize between Apple Pencil and your fingertips. It means you can use them both simultaneously.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro boasts of 4GB RAM compared to just 2GB in iPad Air 2. It will be available in 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options. By comparison, the iPad Air 2 comes in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage variants.

Audio

Apple claims the new iPad Pro has a ‘pro audio system’ with four speakers that produce double the audio volume of the iPad Air 2, which houses a two-speaker audio setup. Sound experience is undoubtedly one of the best things about the new iPad.

Camera

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is better than every other iPad in terms of camera. Its 12.9-inch sibling and the iPad Air 2 sport an 8MP main camera and 1.2MP front snapper. But the 9.7-inch iPad Pro boasts of 12-megapixel iSight camera and 5-megapixel front camera. It also offers 4K video capabilities, support for Live Photos and True Tone flash features.

Software

The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro runs iOS 9.3, which is also likely to come to the iPad Air 2. The iOS 9.3 offers support for videos encoded with Dolby Digital Plus audio streams. The latest iPad also features palm recognition technology and support for accessories.

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