 Apple’s iPad Pro tablet has a 12.9-inch display with 5.6 million pixels

 It works with a ‘Pencil’ stylus – a tool Steve Jobs once described as ‘yuck’ 

 Tablet features the A9X chip is 1.8 times faster than the A8X in iPad Air 2

 Prices start at $799 for 32GB Wi-Fi up to $1,079 for 128GB Wi-Fi and data

Rumours about a larger iPad have been circulating since last year and Apple has finally revealed its giant device at an event in California.

Called the iPad Pro, the tablet has a 12.9-inch display with 5.6 million pixels, meaning it has more pixels than a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

However, Apple set tongues wagging with a controversial accessory -a $100 Apple ‘Pencil’ stylus – a tool Steve Jobs once described as ‘yuck’ and declared that ‘nobody would want.’

The introduction of the Pencil will surprise many long-standing Apple fans because the tool was hated by the late co-founder Steve Jobs.

APPLE’S IPAD PRO SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 12.9-inch

Thickness: 6.9mm

Pixels: 5.6 million

Processor: A9X – 1.8 times faster than iPad Air 2’s A8X 

Speakers: Four  

Accessories: $169 smart keyboard and $99 Apple Pencil stylus 

Colours: Silver, gold and space grey 

Price: 32GB $799, 128GB $949 and 128GB $1079 Wi-Fi and data

Availability: November

Making the announcement, Apple’s boss Tim Cook said: ‘iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of computing.’

‘In just five years, the iPad has transformed the way we create, the way we learn.

‘We’ve been amazed with the new and unexpected things people have done with the iPad, so we asked ourselves, how can we take the iPad even further?’

‘This is the biggest news in iPad since the iPad. It’s called iPad Pro.’

The iPad Pro’s width is the same height as the iPad Air, and it is marginally thicker than last year’s iPad Air 2 at 6.9mm, compared to 6.1mm.

Aside from its ‘monster’ size, the iPad Pro is more powerful than its predecessors.

It features the new A9X chip, which Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said is 1.8 times faster than the A8X in the iPad Air 2.

He also said that the iPad Pro is faster than 80 per cent of the PCs that shipped in the past six months, and its graphics are faster than 90 per cent of those PCs.

For the first time, Apple’s flagship tablet has been fitted with four speakers.

These speakers balance the sound based on how it is being held.

It also comes with two new accessories – a case with a keyboard built in that resembles the one sold with Microsoft’s Surface range, and a stylus called Apple Pencil.

The pencil houses intricate and accurate pressure sensors, capable of measuring a range of forces.’ The carefully positioned sensor determines precisely how hard the tip of Apple Pencil is being pressed down,’ says Apple.

The introduction of the Pencil will surprise many long-standing Apple fans because the tool was hated by the late co-founder Steve Jobs.

Mr Jobs once famously said that if a company makes a stylus for a tablet, then ‘they blew it’.

Apple’s Newton platform originally came with a stylus when it launched in the 1990s and the trend took off with the launch of the PalmPilot.

The iPad Pro (pictured with Apple’s boss Tim Cook) has a 12.9-inch display with 5.6 million pixels, meaning it has more pixels than a 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display. It features the new A9X chip, which Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said is 1.8 times faster than the A8X in the iPad Air 2

But, at the 2008 Macworld event, Steve Jobs slated the stylus.

He said: ‘Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em, put ’em away, you lose ’em, yuck. Nobody wants a stylus.’

He added: ‘So let’s not use a stylus. We’re going to use the best pointing device in the world.

For the first time, Apple’s flagship tablet has been fitted with four speakers that balance the sound based on how it is being held. It also comes with two new accessories – a $169 case with a keyboard built in, and a stylus called Apple Pencil (pictured with Apple’s Phil Schiller)

Apple said that that the display in iPad Pro has been redesigned to work with Apple Pencil to ‘dramatically reduce latency and deliver incredible accuracy for activities’. The $99 Pencil (pictured) is fitted with sensors that measure both pressure and tilt and it is paired using a Lightning connector

‘We’re going to use a pointing device that we’re all born with – born with ten of them. We’re going to use our fingers. We’re going to touch [the iPhone] with our fingers.’

Apple said that that the display in iPad Pro has been redesigned to work with Apple Pencil to ‘dramatically reduce latency and deliver incredible accuracy for activities’.

Examples given at the conference included illustrations and 3D design.

The Pencil is fitted with sensors that measure both pressure and tilt and it is paired using a Lightning connector.

Apple’s iPad Pro goes on sale in November in silver, gold and space grey.

Prices in the US start at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi model, $949 for 128GB and $1079 for a 128GB version with both Wi-Fi and data. UK prices have not been announced yet.

The tablet will run on iOS 9.

Following the announcement, Stephen Ebbett, global director of gadget insurer Protect Your Bubble said: ‘Apple don’t just want to own your pocket and wrist, they clearly want to own your room and office, too.

Apple’s iPad Pro goes on sale in November in silver, gold and space grey. Prices in the US start at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi model, $949 for 128GB and $1079 for a 128GB version with both Wi-Fi and data (pictured). UK prices have not been announced yet. The tablet will run on iOS 9

‘With the size of the iPad Pro, the quality of its screen and its four-speaker audio system, Apple has made a statement that the iPad is here to stay.

‘You get the feeling that the laptop in its current form is on the way out, and the iPad Pro is the future of flexible working.

‘As for the Pencil, only Apple could make a stylus pen sound like the bee’s knees, and which people will almost certainly go out and buy.’

Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, added: ‘For the average consumer, the iPad Pro isn’t more than a big screen and stereo sound, with a colossal price tag.

‘And all those accessories, like Apple Pencil, are sold separately and don’t come cheap either. This is very much pitched at the business user.’

 STEVE JOBS AND THE STYLUS

Apple’s Newton platform originally came with a stylus when it launched in the 1990s.

And the trend took off with the launch of the PalmPilot.

But, at the 2008 Macworld event, Steve Jobs slated the stylus.

He said: ‘Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em, put ’em away, you lose ’em, yuck. Nobody wants a stylus.’

He added: ‘So let’s not use a stylus.

‘We’re going to use the best pointing device in the world.

‘We’re going to use a pointing device that we’re all born with – born with ten of them.

We’re going to use our fingers. We’re going to touch [the iPhone] with our fingers.’

He later said that any company that uses a stylus for a tablet had ‘blown it.’

Via: dailymail