iPad · Pro

2015

iPad Pro (12.9-inch) (1st generation)

The inaugural iPad Pro introduces an expansive 12.9-inch 5.6-million-pixel Retina display, Apple Pencil active stylus support, the magnetic Smart Connector, and four-speaker spatial audio driven by the desktop-class A9X chip.

Announced
2015-09-09
Family
iPad
Branch
Pro
Historical weight
Paradigm shift

Key specifications

Apple verification ↗
Display
12.9" Retina IPS, 2732×2048
Chip / CPU
Apple A9X · 2.16 GHz
Memory
4 GB
Base storage
32 GB
Ports & charging
Lightning, Smart Connector
Weight
713 g
Dimensions
305.7×220.6×6.9 mm
Original OS
iOS 9.1
Launch price
$799
Released
November 11, 2015
Discontinued
June 2017
Graphics
PowerVR (12-core)
CPU cores
2

Generation delta

What changed?

Introduced

8
  • iPad Pro product tier

    A new premium product line tailored for creative professionals, engineers, designers, and enterprise users.

    Design
  • 12.9-inch Retina display

    Apple's largest iOS display at launch, featuring 2732-by-2048 resolution at 264 ppi (5.6 million pixels, 78% more screen area than a 9.7-inch iPad), oxide TFT substrate, photo alignment technology, and a custom timing controller (TCON).

    Display
  • Variable display refresh rate

    The custom timing controller dynamically slows the display refresh rate from 60Hz to 30Hz when viewing static content, conserving battery life.

    Display
  • Apple Pencil (1st generation) active stylus support

    Sub-pixel precision stylus with pressure sensitivity and tilt angle detection, supported by display sensors that scan the touch surface at 240Hz (double the standard touch rate) for near-instant responsiveness.

    Display
  • Smart Connector

    Three-pin flush magnetic interface on the chassis edge that provides a bidirectional communication and power link to accessories like the Smart Keyboard, eliminating the need for Bluetooth pairing, cables, or internal accessory batteries.

    Connectivity
  • Four-speaker audio system

    Four speakers built directly into the unibody aluminum enclosures with rear resonating chambers delivering 3x the acoustic output of iPad Air 2; automatically adjusts the orientation of high frequencies to the top two speakers regardless of how the device is held.

    Audio
  • Apple A9X chip

    Third-generation 64-bit architecture featuring custom dual-core Twister CPU, 12-core PowerVR Series 7 GPU, and an embedded M9 motion coprocessor, paired with 4GB of LPDDR4 memory and a 128-bit memory bus with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

    Silicon
  • USB 3.0 controller over Lightning

    The Lightning interface supports USB 3.0 transfer speeds (up to 5 Gbps) using adapters such as the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.

    Camera

Retained

4
  • Touch ID capacitive fingerprint sensor in the Home button

    Touch ID capacitive fingerprint sensor in the Home button.

    Sensors
  • 8MP iSight rear camera with f/2.4 aperture and 1.2MP FaceTime HD front camera

    8MP iSight rear camera with f/2.4 aperture and 1.2MP FaceTime HD front camera.

    Camera
  • 3.5mm stereo headphone jack

    3.5mm stereo headphone jack.

    Product
  • 10-hour battery life rating backed by a massive 38.5-watt-hour battery in a 6.9mm chassis

    10-hour battery life rating backed by a massive 38.5-watt-hour battery in a 6.9mm chassis.

    Power

Technology DNA

Ideas carried by this generation.

Canonical predecessor

Starts a new branch

Other lineage references