Free iPad Pro for Beginners: The Unofficial Guide to Using the iPad Pro by Scott La Counte

Chapter 1: What's the Difference?
    When iPad first burst on the scene in 2010, there was one; there were no different sizes, different speeds, different resolutions. Times have changed. There are all kinds of different iPads now, and three different sizes. 
     
    So how does the iPad stack up? First the obvious:
     
    The iPad Pro is nearly 13 inches; the iPad Air 2 (previously the largest iPad) is just shy of 10, and iPad Mini 2 is almost 8 inches.

    In terms of thickness, the iPad Mini 4 is surprisingly the same as the air at 6.1 mm (the Pro is 6.9mm and the Air 2 is 6.1), but realistically, you probably wouldn't be able to deal which one is the thickest unless they were side by side. What you will notice is the weight; where the Air and Mini are nearly the same way (437 grams and 304 grams, respectively), the iPad Pro is 713 grams (about 1.5 pounds). When you are carrying it in a backpack, it's obviously going to be a welcome relief from a larger laptop, but holding it for long periods at a time becomes a bit cumbersome.
     
    Battery life is the same across all devices (app. 10 hours). So are the cameras (8MP on the back and 1.2 MP on the front); none of the iPad's have the live photos feature that's found on newer iPhones or the 3D touch; all the newest model iPad's, however, do have fingerprint IDs. Storage starts at 16GB for all base models and goes up to 128 GB.
     
    All of the iPads have HD screens; the most pixels per inch is found on the iPad Mini, which has 326 PPI; both the larger iPads have 264 PPI.
     
    So far, they sound pretty much the same. It's really under the hood that you start seeing a difference; the iPad Pro is built much like higher end notebooks. It has a 64 bit processor and A9 chip. To give an example of how powerful that is in more basic terms—the new Macbook that Apple began selling in 2015 has been recorded as being slower than the thin little tablet.
     
    Why do you need that much power? If you do a lot of graphic editing, then you'll be thankful you bought the larger model. The iPad Pro is powerful enough to edit 4K video seamlessly.
     
    The iPad Pro is also the only Apple tablet compatible with the new Apple Pencil, which, for artist is really a game changer.
     
    So who is the iPad Pro best for? Students who want a hybrid computer (i.e. one with a detachable) keyboard, or graphic artist / videographers who want to edit their work on the go.
     
    How does it stack up against other devices (notably it's biggest competitor in the hybrid tablet category: The Windows Surface)? In terms of speed, it's comparable. The tradeoff is you cannot install popular Windows app, nor is there any SD slot. But iPads have always been known for their cutting edge apps—something you simply will not find on the Windows app store.
     

Should I Buy a Computer or iPad?
     
    Can an iPad really replace a computer? That really depends. An iPad Mini and iPad Air are ideally more casual products—perfect for when you just want to browse the Internet or check email. The iPad Pro is the first Apple tablet that really stands a chance of replacing your computer.
     
    In terms of Apple products (not counting Apple’s desktop line: Mac Mini, iMac, and Mac Pro), there’s basically four products to consider: iPad Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, and MacBook Pro. Let’s look at who is best for each one:
     
    iPad Pro: Great for students, artist, and commuters who want a lightweight tablet with computer-like speeds. For some users, the advantage will also be it’s almost the same operating system as the iPhone, so if you know your way around an iPhone, then this will be easy for you.
     
    MacBook Air: The MacBook Air is a terrific lightweight alternative; the biggest trade-off with the MacBook Air is graphics—this is the only Apple computer without a Retina display.
     
    MacBook: MacBook was updated in 2015 and is now the lightest and thinnest computer Apple makes; it looks great—but looks can be deceiving. As it has been