The 9.7” iPad Pro is an upgrade from the iPad Air 2 in essentially every respect. What’s interesting is that in some ways it actually represents an upgrade from the 12.9” iPad Pro. While a quick examination of Apple’s launches would lead you to believe that the 9.7” iPad Pro was launched late, it actually looks like it was launched on schedule, while the 12.9” model was the one that was delayed. This explains the significant gap between the displays and cameras of the two iPad Pro models, with the larger of the two having been planned to launch before Apple began moving any of their products to a wider gamut, and well before a 12MP camera debuted on the iPhone 6s. Because of this, Apple is now in a bit of an awkward situation, as there’s no way for someone to actually buy an iPad with the absolute best specs for every component. It’s worth going over where the smaller iPad Pro differs from the larger model, as well as what changes have been made coming from the iPad Air 2.
The iPad Pro 9.7” is better in every way over the Air 2 and better in some ways over the iPad Pro 12.9” but if performance is the #1 factor, the 12.9” is still the top-dawg.