I Tried the New iPad Pro Display for the First Time

by Ian Uymatiao

Last Friday I decided to drop by an Apple reseller to try out the new iPad Pro, and especially its 120 Hz display. I was initially skeptical about the need for refresh rates above 60 Hz, as 60 fps motion looks pretty freaking smooth as is. With that said, after I started interacting with the iPad Pro, I couldn't stop scrolling pages in amazement for at least 30 minutes.

It's kinda hard to describe how 120 Hz feels without trying the new display for yourself, but I'll do my best. The new smoothness on the new iPad Pro is, for lack of a better word, intoxicating. It's hard to imagine that motion can get smoother than 60 fps, but it can -- it totally can. 60 fps now feels both adequate, yet frustratingly wanting. It's certainly enough for everyday use, but against 120 fps motion it suddenly struggles to be good enough in the eyes of, well, your eyes!

It's also massively beneficial in other ways. Back when I tested the Apple Pencil on an older iPad Pro, I felt that the drawing responsiveness was decent, but nothing groundbreaking, personally finding it more or less equal to the Galaxy Note S-Pen. But with the new iPad Pro, my jaw just dropped. The Apple Pencil felt extremely responsive. Pencil lag was far harder to detect, only really showing itself when making fast strokes that go from one end of the screen to the other. I'm convinced that the iPad Pro + Apple Pencil combo is the new gold standard for digital drawing tools. While the new Surface Pro + Pen has similar latency, the 120 Hz display on the iPad Pro is going to be Apple's ace up its sleeve for this shootout.

So yeah, I am massively blown away by the new iPad Pro display. I have not envied a display like this since the first time I saw a retina screen. It's at that caliber.

I'm not necessarily going to buy an iPad Pro after this, but boy am I going to start saving up for one of those 144 Hz computer monitors. I am now a convert; high refresh displays are freaking phenomenal. You should honestly try out the new iPad Pro in a store somewhere and scrutinize the smoother motion. You may just get blown away too!