Previously, this blog featured the raw numbers that should be expected from the Apple iPad Pro. This article will now discuss how it works, how it stacks up against devices in its class and how it’s meant to be used by its target consumers.
According to cheatsheet.com, the iPad Pro is new for Apple not just because of its sheer size and power, but also because of the addition of the new stylus and keyboard. The new accessories make the iPad Pro more like the hybrid tablet PCs that are growing more numerous — but also highlights how the iPad Pro is still an iPad, and isn’t really a replacement for computers.
Linus Sebastian and Luke Lafreniere of the LinusTechTips team explain that the Smart Keyboard is “straight out of Microsoft’s playbook,” and point out that while Microsoft was criticized for introducing a removable keyboard accessory with the Surface, three years later, Apple fans are much more receptive to Apple’s implementation with the iPad Pro. (Notably, Microsoft doesn’t seem to mind and is bringing full support for an iOS version of Office to the iPad Pro.)
While Sebastian notes that Apple Pencil has “all the usual stylus stuff,” he says that Cupertino’s first stylus manages to feel like “Apple in a nutshell.” While many commentators have argued that the Apple Pencil turns the iPad Pro into a machine for professionals and for productivity, Sebastian posits that it doesn’t represent such a pivot at all. In fact, he thinks that the Apple Pencil furthers “Apple’s M.O.” of “convincing casuals that they’re professionals.”
He continues, “The iPad Pro could have been a cool product, but it is running iOS. So ultimately, it’s a doodle pad for cool kids.” Sebastian and Lafreniere are skeptical of the iPad’s professional applications given that it won’t run the full version of professional software, but will instead run modified versions of the software that you could run on hybrid tablets like Microsoft’s Surface.
In comparing the iPad Pro to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 — which has since gained a successor in the just-unveiled Surface Pro 4 — Apple Insider’s Daniel Eran Dilger reported that the Surface is more of a small laptop, while the iPad Pro is a large, slim tablet. That makes sense, given that Microsoft has positioned the Surface as a hybrid device — “with all the legacy of a desktop PC and all the novelty of a tablet” — while Apple positions the iPad Pro “as a mobile screen, with no trappings of a conventional desktop computer.”
While Microsoft is unifying all of its devices, regardless of form factor, with the single Windows 10 operating system, Apple’s iPad Pro runs iOS 9, not OS X, which runs on the company’s Macs. iOS 9 brings an updated virtual keyboard, new multitasking views (Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture), a new shortcut bar, and enhancements to the built-in apps that users depend on. While features like Handoff enable you to move tasks between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it’s worth noting that you can’t use the same third-party software on the iPad Pro as you do on the Mac.
As Mikey Campbell reports for Apple Insider, current rumors indicate that Apple is planning to start sales of the iPad Pro in the first week of November. That’s also when the company is expected to debut the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. The iPad Pro starts at US$ 799 for a 32GB WiFi-only model, and a version with 128GB of storage costs US$ 949. The top-of-the-line model includes 128GB of storage, plus support for WiFi and cellular connectivity, and carries the hefty price tag of US$ 1079. The Apple Pencil will cost US$ 99, and the Smart Keyboard will cost US$ 169.
According to cheatsheet.com, the iPad Pro is new for Apple not just because of its sheer size and power, but also because of the addition of the new stylus and keyboard. The new accessories make the iPad Pro more like the hybrid tablet PCs that are growing more numerous — but also highlights how the iPad Pro is still an iPad, and isn’t really a replacement for computers.
Linus Sebastian and Luke Lafreniere of the LinusTechTips team explain that the Smart Keyboard is “straight out of Microsoft’s playbook,” and point out that while Microsoft was criticized for introducing a removable keyboard accessory with the Surface, three years later, Apple fans are much more receptive to Apple’s implementation with the iPad Pro. (Notably, Microsoft doesn’t seem to mind and is bringing full support for an iOS version of Office to the iPad Pro.)
While Sebastian notes that Apple Pencil has “all the usual stylus stuff,” he says that Cupertino’s first stylus manages to feel like “Apple in a nutshell.” While many commentators have argued that the Apple Pencil turns the iPad Pro into a machine for professionals and for productivity, Sebastian posits that it doesn’t represent such a pivot at all. In fact, he thinks that the Apple Pencil furthers “Apple’s M.O.” of “convincing casuals that they’re professionals.”
He continues, “The iPad Pro could have been a cool product, but it is running iOS. So ultimately, it’s a doodle pad for cool kids.” Sebastian and Lafreniere are skeptical of the iPad’s professional applications given that it won’t run the full version of professional software, but will instead run modified versions of the software that you could run on hybrid tablets like Microsoft’s Surface.
In comparing the iPad Pro to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 — which has since gained a successor in the just-unveiled Surface Pro 4 — Apple Insider’s Daniel Eran Dilger reported that the Surface is more of a small laptop, while the iPad Pro is a large, slim tablet. That makes sense, given that Microsoft has positioned the Surface as a hybrid device — “with all the legacy of a desktop PC and all the novelty of a tablet” — while Apple positions the iPad Pro “as a mobile screen, with no trappings of a conventional desktop computer.”
While Microsoft is unifying all of its devices, regardless of form factor, with the single Windows 10 operating system, Apple’s iPad Pro runs iOS 9, not OS X, which runs on the company’s Macs. iOS 9 brings an updated virtual keyboard, new multitasking views (Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture), a new shortcut bar, and enhancements to the built-in apps that users depend on. While features like Handoff enable you to move tasks between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it’s worth noting that you can’t use the same third-party software on the iPad Pro as you do on the Mac.
As Mikey Campbell reports for Apple Insider, current rumors indicate that Apple is planning to start sales of the iPad Pro in the first week of November. That’s also when the company is expected to debut the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard. The iPad Pro starts at US$ 799 for a 32GB WiFi-only model, and a version with 128GB of storage costs US$ 949. The top-of-the-line model includes 128GB of storage, plus support for WiFi and cellular connectivity, and carries the hefty price tag of US$ 1079. The Apple Pencil will cost US$ 99, and the Smart Keyboard will cost US$ 169.
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