Small was the new big at Apple’s “Let us loop you in” keynote today. And while some felt the 64-minute unveiling was the most snooze-worthy event ever, Apple used it to unleash the most important iPad its made since the original tablet launched in 2010.
The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is much more than just a smaller variant of the 12.9-inch super slate Apple came out with last year. It’s a machine built to target Apple’s next big customer pool: the 600 million people still using 5-year-old PCs.
“That’s just sad,” Apple VP Phil Schiller said onstage, describing the unfortunate souls toiling with aging Windows machines. And the new, right-sized iPad Pro is exactly what those people need.
The previous three generations of iPads did little to stem slumping sales for Apple’s tablet line. Lighter is nice. A little bit faster is good. And a slightly thinner design is cool. But none of those tweaks make people want to upgrade their iPads, or even buy their first. So Apple packed in a bunch of amazing new hardware to push the iPad to new heights.
The 9.7-inch iPad Pro packs all the superfluous design simplifications Apple adds every year, but it also brings new hardware that makes it more of a computer than ever. It packs an A9x chip that’s faster than most modern laptop processors. The new Smart Connector port enables better connected accessories than ever — like the Smart Keyboard — while the Apple Pencil adds a new input paradigm that bridges the digital and natural worlds.
Yes, the big iPad Pro packs all those features, but it comes with a huge price tag to match its gigantic screen. The truth is, most of those 600 million people using old PCs can’t afford to spend $1,200 on a new MacBook every two years.
9.7-inch iPad Pro: The PC replacement?
Most people haven’t even considered replacing their dusty PC with a tablet yet because it would be a waste of precious dollars. They buy the cheapest laptop available and know they can get by with it. The new iPad Pro is Apple’s first tablet to strike the perfect balance between affordability and features that will make it a true computer replacement for normals.
The sheer size of the big iPad Pro was also a big turnoff for many potential buyers. Who wants to lug around a tablet that’s just as big as a MacBook? Packing all the Pro’s power into a 9.7-inch size will make for a much more attractive package.
By scaling down the iPad Pro and dropping the price, Apple has made the most attractive mass-market tablet ever. It’s even better than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, thanks to its True Tone display, 12-megapixel iSight camera, anti-reflective screen, and advanced LTE speeds. Plus its smaller, more portable size makes it the perfect machine to carry with you everywhere.
The new iPad Pro isn’t the perfect PC or MacBook replacement, but it’s the closest the iPad lineup has ever come to offering a viable alternative. The iPad Pro’s biggest weakness isn’t hardware, it’s the software.
iOS still feels like a play toy compared to OS X, and the odds of Apple making a hybrid are pretty much zero. Killer features like Split View multitasking, picture-in-picture, better keyboard support, and Slide Over have improved productivity on iOS, but it’s still a far cry from working on a Mac, and that may keep people from scooping up the gorgeous new iPad.
Some professionals — like iOS developers who can’t build apps without an iPad version of Xcode — can only dream of ditching their Macs for iPad thanks to the software limitations. The hardware is all there for it, Apple just needs to catch up with the user experience.
In many ways, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is Apple’s much-needed answer to Microsoft’s Surface tablets, which start at $899 for the latest !28GB model. With a better keyboard, super-sensitive stylus and improved apps, Apple’s case that the iPad can handle basic work — for everyone from college students and numbers crunchers to musicians and design professionals — has never been stronger.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
10 responses to “Why the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is Apple’s most important iPad since the original”
but when you add in the cost of the keyboard and the cost of the pencil…it adds up. I find it hard to believe that I could be as productive on this iPad as I could be on a mac. I am really bummed thy didn’t announce new MacBooks today.
MacBooks usually shine during WWDC which is the next Apple event.
Actually…last year that was not the case:
PRO – The 13-inch model received an update featuring a Force Touch trackpad on March 9, 2015, while the 15-inch model followed suit on May 19.
AIR – Apple’s 11- and 13-inch ultra-portable notebook computers received an update on March 9, 2015 with new Intel Broadwell processors, improved graphics, and Thunderbolt 2 connectivity.
MACBOOK – The MacBook launched on April 10.
Interesting to see how this effects the Macbook Air as the 128gb model with keyboard is more or less the same price. Of course they can’t cannibalise their own market by telling existing customers to choose between a iPad or Macbook air so they have to go after another market share, being the zillion other PC/ android users. The iPad pro with keyboard still fails for me as you have to be sat at a table to use it, remember when we all laughed at the Microsoft surface about this very issue.
It’s a strange leap for me to mentioned this area of the PC market they are trying to capture, it feels almost lazy. Old PC users will likely already have more screen real estate which the pro simply doesn’t, even an old PC laptop will likely have more SRE and they’ll more likely not be PRO users, which this device simply is by it’s name, not my mum and dad. Would I be pushing a pro device on my parents no I’d be pushing a mac mini with a big screen or a cheaper iPad air.
I like the device, it’s leap on the existing iPad range, the pen I can live without, the keyboard is a fail and for the similar kind of money you can get more real estate and usability with a Macbook Air. A choice we made with our daughter a few years back when she needed a device for school, the MBA just goes in her backpack every day and uses her phone unlimited data plan to connect. So as a laptop replacement I’m not so sure.
Funny, how Apple pokes at 5 year old PCs. If I take a look at the Mac Pro; it was released with one year old hardware in 2013, and hasn’t been updated to let’s say DDR4 ECC memory yet. And even if it were. Due to Apples support policy, old hardware won’t run the latest OS X, whereas a 5 year old laptop/notebook is in most cases able to run Windows 10 64bit just fine, which will get security updates up until 2025. So the whole argument is just sad if you take in account that Apple is king in planed obsolescence by releasing iOS updates that will slow your device down in a manner, you automaticly will consider getting a new device to get the new smooth experience. Somehow funny, don’t you think? Then after all that. Their devices are plain beautiful and so well made. They should set their focus once more on things like usability and thoughtful user guidance. Basicaly everything that made them big with OS X 10.3 and 10.4 and iOS, up until iOS 7.
yes, fuck our wallets
My workhorse iPad4 finally kicked the bucked (ribbon cable connector FUBAR after I tried installing its third or fourth screen) so I’ve been pricing used iPad Airs. When I realized Apple was announcing a new iPad, I decided to wait a few days and see if the refurbbed units would price drop on the Apple storefront. Sure enough, a $50 price drop to $419 almost found me pushing the buy button but a $600 entry point for a new iPad Pro (I don’t need more memory) has me reconsidering.
And are they not differentiating the name from its larger sibling? Its not called an iPad Pro Jr.? Maybe the next rumored iPhone will be called the iPad Pro Nano. Lol.
The camera bump is very unfortunate. I may have considered upgrading my IPad Air 2, not that I need to, and giving it to a family member, if not for that ugly camera bump. I think I’ll wait a year now.
There going no where unless the fix the iOS 9.3 f***k up
I canceled my next IPad Pro order today