Phil Schiller, senior VP of worldwide marketing for Apple, introduces the iPad Pro with 9.7-inch display during an event at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California March 21, 2016.
Phil Schiller, senior VP of worldwide marketing for Apple, introduces the iPad Pro with 9.7-inch display during an event at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California March 21, 2016. Reuters/Stephen Lam

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the smaller edition of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro that was launched in September 2015, defied earlier speculations that suggested that it would feature the same A9X chip and 4 GB RAM as its larger sibling. Instead, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is powered by an underclocked A9X chipset and only 2 GB of RAM, which leaves us asking: is the new smaller iPad Pro worth your money?

It's fast...but not as fast

The Apple A9X chipset that powers the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is 2.5 times faster than the older Apple A7 chip. However, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s Apple A9 chip is 2.4 times faster than the A7, which indicates that Apple has included an underclocked chip inside the newly launched tablet, Apple Insider reported.

But thumbs up for graphics and battery life

The graphics performance of the A9X is five times faster than Apple A7. However, the graphics performance of the underclocked A9X of 9.7-inch iPad Pro is 4.3 times faster than A7.

As far as clocking speed is concerned, the A9X of 12.9-inch iPad Pro works at 2.24 GHz whereas the A9X of 9.7-inch iPad Pro clocks at 2.16 GHz. Since the tablet sports a smaller form factor, Apple may have underclocked the chipset for better heat dissipation and longer battery performance.

It's also smaller (and we're not just talking about size)

Rumours had indicated the 9.7-inch iPad Pro would feature 4 GB of RAM, but GeekBench screenshots has revealed that it features only 2 GB of RAM. The newly introduced iPhone SE is also packed with 2 GB of RAM.

Furthermore, the Lightning port of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is based on USB 3, but the one present on the smaller iPad Pro is based on USB 2. It means the smaller tablet will offer slow transfer rates.

Show me the money!

The Wi-Fi only edition of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro with 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB storage choices are priced at $599 (AU$798), $749 (AU$998) and $899 (AU$1198), respectively.

The Wi-Fi + cellular edition with 32 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB storage options cost $729 (AU$971), $879 (AU$1179) and $1029 (AU$1371), respectively.

With underclocked A9X, 2 GB of RAM and slow transfer rates onboard, do you think the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is worth your money? Do share your thoughts below in the comments section.comments.

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