Apple's two large tablets, the iPad Air 2£309.55 at Amazon and the new iPad Pro are both large iOS devices.
But there are a few key differences that make each a better fit for different users. Here's what you need to know before you buy.
Let's start with size. Clearly, the iPad Pro is much, much bigger than the iPad Air 2. As Apple demonstrated at its launch event, you can fit two iPad Air 2 units into the iPad Pro's screen when it's tilted in landscape. The new iPad Pro measures 12 by 8.68 by 0.27 inches (HWD) to the iPad Air 2's 9.4 by 6.6 by 0.24 inches (HWD), and they differ in weight quite a bit, with the iPad Pro coming in at 1.57 pounds and the iPad Air 2 weighing in at 0.96 pounds. That makes the iPad Pro far less portable than the commuter-friendly iPad Air 2. But it also makes it better for getting work done. Split-screen multitasking? iPad Pro all the way.
While both iPads have great Retina displays, the iPad Pro's resolution has been upped to 2,732 by 2,048 pixels from the iPad Air 2's resolution of 2,048 by 1,536.
Apple says the iPad Pro can have up to 5.6 million pixels on the screen (compared with 3.1 million on the iPad Air 2). That sounds like it should make for a sharper image, but given the size difference, they both have 264 pixels per inch.
One major change in the iPad Pro is the presence of four speakers on the top and bottom of the tablet to the iPad Air 2's two speakers on the bottom. Apple says the idea here is to produce a "stereo soundstage" around the display. This could be a very welcome upgrade from the rather tinny speakers on the iPad Air 2, and a nice complement to the larger screen.
With decent sound quality, the iPad Pro could essentially double as a small television. Both iPads have an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, so no difference there. (But please don't snap photos at a concert with your iPad Pro.)
Internally, the iPad Pro has been upgraded with Apple's newest A9X chipset, which the company claims is 1.8 times faster than the iPad Air 2's A8X chip. Both iPads will run iOS 9, and with the operating system's new focus on multitasking, the iPad Pro is ideal for moving apps around on the larger screen.
The iPad Pro is also capable of utilizing the new Apple Pencil stylus ($99) and Smart Cover Keyboard ($169), which is resulting in more than a few comparisons to the Microsoft Surface Pro 3£969.99 at Amazon.
So which tablet is better? It depends on your needs. It seems that the iPad Air 2 is still ideal for basic iOS apps, browsing the Web, and reading, while the iPad Pro is a good bet for artists who want to draw on their iPad, and business users who want on-the-go access and editing ability for their most important documents (maybe). And hopefully your company is picking up the tab, since the iPad Pro starts at a steep $799.99.
The iPad Pro arrives in November.
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