12.9-Inch iPad Pro Arrives in November

As expected, Apple today unveiled a large-screen tablet known as the iPad Pro, which Tim Cook dubbed the "biggest news in iPad since the iPad."

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Retina display is "the most capable and powerful iPad we've ever created," Cook said during a launch event in San Francisco today.

The device arrives in November in silver, gold, or space gray. It starts at $799 for a 32GB version. A 128GB version will be $949; add LTE for $1,079.

The new tablet is the biggest device to run iOS, said Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, who promised "desktop-class performance" on the device.

Why make the iPad's display bigger? Schiller talked up TV shows and movies that will be "more cinematic" and more "immersive and powerful" gaming. The split-screen multi-tasking in iOS 9, meanwhile, was designed with this iPad Pro in mind, Schiller said.

Apple Smart Keyboard for iPad ProBut in its bid to appeal to enterprise users, the iPad Pro has a full-size software keyboard. Apple will also sell a new $169 accessory, known as the Smart Keyboard, which attaches magnetically and sports physical keys—much like the detachable keyboard on the Microsoft Surface lineup.

If you'd rather write, iPad Pro will also support a $99 stylus known as Apple Pencil, which recharges via a Lightning connector.

The iPad Pro runs the new A9x chip, which is 1.8 times faster than the A8X. It's 6.9mm thin and weighs in at 1.57 pounds. It has a four-speaker audio system that balances as you're holding it, Schiller said.

The iPad Pro sports an 8-megapixel iSight camera and supports Wi-Fi or LTE. For the security-minded, there is a Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

:story: PC Magazine