“Apple’s new iPad Pro finally has an official launch date,” Lance Whitney reports for CNET. “The tablet will go on sale Wednesday on Apple’s website and will hit the shelves at Apple stores, authorized retailers and some wireless carriers later in the week in more than 40 countries, Apple said Monday.”
“Tablet sales have been in the doldrums for months on end as consumers have turned their attention and dollars toward large-screened smartphones. At the same time, Apple’s share of the tablet market has been dwindling,” Whitney reports. “Last quarter, iPad sales fell 20 percent from the same period a year earlier to 9.9 million units, the seventh quarter in a row that sales have fallen from the prior year and have failed to meet analyst estimates.”
“The iPad Pro is the company’s attempt to try something new and appeal to an audience that wants to do more than watch videos and play games. Apple wants consumers and business users to see the iPad Pro, which features a A9X 64-bit processor, as an alternative to a high-powered laptop,” Whitney reports. “Apple also offers an Apple Pencil pressure-sensitive stylus, an accessory clearly geared toward artists and graphic designers who need to deftly control the images they draw on the screen. A new Smart Keyboard specifically made for the iPad Pro acts as both a cover and full-sized physical keyboard, transforming the tablet into a laptop.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: When people can use iPads to do what they currently do with their MacBooks at least as efficiently, that’s when iPad sales will increase. Perhaps the iPad Pro with iOS 9 and/or the Apple Keyboard will finally achieve that inflection point. We’d hoped to see it before now, but regardless, we’ll soon see how iPad Pro performs. We can’t wait to try it out! Otherwise, Apple’s next-gen MacBook will replace the 11-inch MacBook Air units in our Crumplers.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro: Order online November 11th; arrives in stores later this week – November 9, 2015
You know MDN’s take is right, Apple had been predictably slow in trying to make the iPad a true later native to a laptop and is probably only doing so belatedly now because Microsoft has been so intent on taking advantage of that gap.
There are lots of little things that act as a barrier along with the bigger ones like a proper file system or true bridge or alternative (offline) with interacting with one seemlessly which they have been reluctant to introduce. The small one that most annoys me is one that few seem to mention and that is lack of a forward and back key when typing. Insertion with stubby fingers, especially with the regular spell checking anomalies or keying errors is so often a letter or two out and having to keep trying to re select is extremely annoying to me which a simple move left or right would instantly solve. The latest iOS is a big improvement in usability generally but still a way to go.
Ummm, try landscape mode, you’ll find left/right control on the upper right side of the keyboard.
At least it is on my iPhone 6 Plus w. iOS 9.
To be quite honest I wish they would just fix all the things on the Mac to bring it Mac to the standard required to use it for work.
I can’t see this iPad as anything other than a testbed for an Apple-chipped Mac in the near future.
In the meantime any serious Mac user has had to go out and buy Office. Work, for me, means a lot of typing. To win business I have to write proposals. Typing on a tablet, without a trackpad or mouse is just too bloody painful. My finger is not a good text selector!
So other than “reports”, where did apple “officially” announce the release date? It’s not on their website…
It’s pretty much there under Apple announcements:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/11/09Epic-12-9-inch-iPad-Pro-Available-to-Order-Online-Wednesday-Arrives-in-Stores-Later-This-Week.html
The iPad is in a weird place. Sales have been trending down but usage seems very high. iPads last a long time and since at least the iPad Air or earlier there has not been a reason to upgrade. Maybe that will change now. I suspect Apple is bringing out new technology in the iPP and later this will be used in a new Air and Mini. (Apple Pen, A9X, etc.)
I don’t think the intent is that someone should just have an iPad. The iPad seems to be an accessory to a MacBook or iMac.
I write iBooks on my rMBP but I expect people to view them on an iPad.
After all the early reviews for the TV failing to mention any of the shortcomings I’m waiting for the ‘a week with iPad Pro’ reviews to hit MDN
I’ve been dying for a larger iPad for years but now that it’s coming out a time when there’s a 30+% markup in canada thanks to weak dollar, I can’t do it. It’s almost $1500 with tax for 128GB wifi only. Yikes! What a burn.
Enjoy your big iPads everyone,