Apple iPad Pro Apple iPad Pro Tablet (256GB, Wi-Fi, 9.7in) Gold Review

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is a classic tablet with a massive 256GB of storage, which puts it in the 64th percentile. That's a lot of space for apps, photos, and videos. But the headline here is the GPU performance, which lands in the 99th percentile. That means for graphics-heavy tasks, this older tablet can still hold its own against much newer devices. Its overall score is 51.6, with its best fit being for art and design work.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: that 1GB of RAM sits in the 1st percentile. That's going to limit how many apps you can have open at once and how well it handles modern, complex software. The CPU is also on the slower side at the 34th percentile. But then you have that 99th percentile GPU. For drawing, light photo editing, or watching high-resolution video, the screen and graphics chip still deliver a smooth experience. The 12MP rear camera is decent, and that 10,307 mAh battery is right in the middle of the pack for longevity.

At a current price of $229, this is a tricky one. You're getting a legendary tablet design with best-in-class storage for its age and surprisingly capable graphics. But that rock-bottom RAM is a serious bottleneck for 2024. It's a fantastic value if your use case is very specific and light, like digital sketching or as a media viewer. For anything more demanding, you'll feel its age quickly.

Compared to a modern base iPad, you'd get a much faster CPU and more RAM for a similar price, but less storage. Against a Microsoft Surface Pro, you lose the full Windows desktop OS and the flexibility that comes with it. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra blows it away in every performance metric, especially screen and CPU, but costs many times more. This iPad Pro's niche is its combination of high storage and capable GPU at a very low cost, but you sacrifice multitasking and future-proofing.

I can only recommend this 9.7-inch iPad Pro if you're on an extreme budget and your needs are very narrow. Want a dedicated, portable drawing tablet or a big-screen video player with tons of storage? This could work. But for anyone needing to do more than one thing at a time, or who uses modern apps, that 1GB of RAM is a deal-breaker. Spend a bit more on a newer model with more memory.