“An argument being made for the iPad Pro is that Apple will produce the large iPad to deal with slowing sales of existing iPads. New product, new sales is the theme,” James Kendrick writes for ZDNet. “The larger tablet will be a natural for the enterprise, we’re told.
“I don’t see it. An iPad this large doesn’t fit the Apple model when it comes to new products. If it does come to pass, I see it possibly becoming the biggest flop from Apple in years,” Kendrick writes. “The rumored iPad Pro doesn’t fit this business model. It’s nothing new, just a bigger iPad.”
“A 12 or 13 inch tablet is too large to have mass appeal. Sure, it would grab some consumers and get picked up by some companies, but the vast consumer market will not warm to such a big, honking device,” Kendrick writes. “As for the rumored stylus, Apple has always been against them since the launch of the original iPad. Steve Jobs made it clear that he was dead set against them, and I don’t think that has changed at Apple. Plus, the company would have to develop new technology to make it work well as existing styli are not good for heavy work with a pen.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: iCal’ed for future reference as there’s certainly been a lot of patent activity focused on something that’ll offer “nothing new.”
And, why is “mass market” the criteria? If an “iPad Pro” helps cement ownership of the enterprise and education markets for years to come, would that not be a rousing success? Surely the world’s most valuable company can manage to make certain “niche” devices, assuming iPad Pro would even be “niche” (see below), that ultimately work to bolster the success of their platforms.
Imagine an edge-to-edge iPad, with inadvertent touch detection (already perfected by Apple) that’s not much bigger than an iPad Air is today, but that offers far more real display real estate and, potentially, smart pen and other coveted (side-by-side multitasking, of one) features? That’s not a “niche” device. That’s the next flagship “iPad.”
Related articles:
Apple files another patent application for sensor-laden active stylus – April 16, 2015
Analyst: Apple likely to launch simple stylus with 12.9-inch iPad Pro; advanced 3D stylus due later – January 18, 2015
Apple granted another smart pen patent for capturing digital copies of notes and drawings – December 30, 2014
Apple files their 10th ‘Smart Pen’ patent of the year – December 6, 2014
iPen: Apple patent applications reveal advanced modular smart-pen – February 2, 2014
iPen? Apple secretly files three dynamic smart-pen patents in Europe – February 28, 2013
Apple patent application reveals advanced ‘active stylus’ for iOS devices – December 31, 2012
Apple patent application reveals more about their optical iPen and graphics program – May 24, 2012
Apple patent app details smart, heated ‘iPen’ stylus for iPad and iPhone – July 7, 2011
Apple patent application details new type of stylus for iPad – February 3, 2011
