If you’ve seen commercials and articles about Apple’s new iPad Pro, you probably know a few key things about it. It’s a giant (and I mean enormous) iPad with a 12.9” Retina display. Apple made a cool new stylus for it called Apple Pencil and it’s clearly meant to compete with Microsoft Surface. Beyond that, iPad Pro has a few, lesser-known new features that truly make it shine.

Stereoscopic Sound

One of the most noticable differences between iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro is the sound. iPad Pro has four individual speakers at each corner of the device. This gives it a full stereo sound, producing up to three times the volume of other iPads at a wider frequency range. Best of all, it automatically detects whether the iPad is in portrait or landscape, shifting the higher speakers to the top and lower frequencies to the bottom.

USB 3.0 Lightning Port Speeds

Some users quickly discovered something unannounced by Apple: iPad Pro’s Lightning Port is capable of reaching USB 3.0 speeds. Every other Apple device with a Lightning connector only transfers at USB 2.0 speeds. This means doing things like syncing with iTunes, transferring images from an SD card or camera, or displaying video via HDMI will be faster.

Variable Refresh Rate

For the first time on iPad, iPad Pro includes variable refresh rate. The display detects when there is little to no movement on the screen and changes the refresh rate (number of images displayed per second) from 60 frames per second (fps) to 30fps. A higher refresh rate drains battery, so the ability to change the refresh rate on the fly improves the overall battery life of iPad Pro compared to other iPad models.

A9X Processor for Desktop-Class Speeds

In Geekbench tests, the A9X chip performed at roughly the same level as Intel’s Core i5 chip from 2013 and outperformed the current Core M chip found in Apple’s new MacBook. It’s the fastest iPad ever, with 1.8x better CPU performance and 2x better graphics performance than the already blazing fast iPad Air 2.

The Smart Connector

For the first time, iPad Pro has something called a Smart Connector. This port on the side of iPad Pro allows it to power the keyboard and pair to it simultaneously, eliminating the need for Bluetooth technology or a rechargeable battery in the keyboard.

What do you think of the new iPad Pro? Will you be buying one? Let us know in the comments below!