The iPad Pro: Now A True Photographer's Tool

When Apple released the first 12.9-inch iPad Pro (go. macworld.com/129), I wondered if it was finally an iPad that photographers could embrace without also getting an armful of trade-offs.

- Jeff Carlson

When Apple released the first 12.9-inch iPad Pro (go. macworld.com/129), I wondered if it was finally an iPad that photographers could embrace without also getting an armful of trade-offs. The answer was: almost (see: go. macworld.com/pps). Although that initial model and the subsequent 9.7-inch iPad Pro improved upon earlier iPad generations in significant ways, several items still came up short.

Now, the iPad Pro has finally reached a tipping point for photographers. The improved hardware in the just-released iPad Pro models, plus software improvements in iOS 10 and the upcoming iOS 11, make the iPad Pro (mostly) fulfill the potential of the iPad as a true photographer’s companion.

HARDWARE BOOSTS

In general, earlier iPad models were powerful enough for most things, but that didn’t translate necessarily to photography tasks. Apple skimped on internal memory—as little as 256MB—which affected performance when dealing with large image files. The 2017 iPad Pro models each include 4GB of RAM, which gives them plenty of working space.

Storage is also much better. Gone are the days of trying to shoehorn images onto a 16GB device. iPad Pro capacities start at 64GB, move into a more comfortable 256GB, and top out at a comparatively roomy 512GB. At last, iPad storage is on a par with laptop SSDs, which is important when you can realistically fill multiple 32GB memory cards with images during vacations or long photo shoots.