After years of rumors, Apple's super-sized iPad Pro is finally a reality. This 12.9-inch slate is built for power users, boasting a beefy A9X processor, four-way speakers and a stylus designed to give maximum flexibility to creatives and office workers alike. Available in November for $799 via Apple's website, the slate is also retailing at AT&T starting Nov. 11, and you can add the tablet to your data plan for $10 a month. Here are the most exciting features of Apple's biggest-ever tablet.
Massive 12.9-Inch Display
The iPad Pro packs the biggest display ever seen on an iPad, with a 12.9-inch screen that boasts a 2732 x 2048 resolution. If you do the math, that's a whopping 5.6 million pixels. The display is big enough to house a full-size virtual keyboard, and gives your fingers plenty of breathing room to play a digital piano. It even packs a variable refresh rate to keep things extra-smooth.
Beefy A9X Processor and 10-Hour Battery
Apple's biggest tablet is also its most powerful, featuring a new A9X processor that promises twice the memory bandwith and storage performance of Apple's A8X chip. Apple even went so far as to call it faster than 80 percent of all portable PCs released in the last year. You can expect to take advantage of the slate's power for a while; Apple claims that the Pro will have a 10-hour battery life.
Smart Keyboard
The iPad Pro's optional Smart Keyboard turns the tablet into a laptop, much like Microsoft's Touch Cover does for the Surface. This $169, fabric-based keyboard utilizes the same dome switches as the latest MacBook, and, when you attach it to the Pro's Smart Connector, iOS 9 will automatically optimize itself for physical keyboard input.
Apple Pencil
Another key iPad Pro accessory, the $99 Apple Pencil is designed to make doodling on the iPad feel as natural as scribbling on actual paper. Apple's first-ever stylus is built to offer super-low latency with accurate force detection, making it easy to make detailed works of art. Apps such as Microsoft Office will be optimized for the Apple Pencil, allowing you to annotate documents without getting ink on your hand.
Petite Design, Big Speakers
Despite its meaty feature set, the iPad Pro retains Apple's knack for slim designs at just 6.9-millimeters thin and 1.57 pounds. It's the first Apple slate to pack four speakers, which, according to the company, allow the tablet to be three times louder than the iPad Air 2.
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