There’re have been a lot of rumors around the Internet lately…
about a new “big” Apple tablet, which is due to be released in the second half of 2014. Some insiders state that the production of 13” screens for iPad Pro (a codename for a new Apple device) has already started. If this is true, then we can conclude that Apple indeed has something in mind.
Some people already start thinking about the technical characteristics a new device will have. But in my opinion, even more important question is who needs iPad Pro and why. Here’re some thought on these questions.
Many people may think that Apple has become some sort of altruist recently. The decision to make a lot of App Store apps free for users may seem to be a big step towards customers. But I think that the situation is not that simple.
I think that by making these apps free Apple indirectly indicates that they are ready to release a series of new “professional” apps for iOS which, of course, will be paid. They will be the additional feature of a new iPad Pro. Just imagine such apps as Aperture, Logic or Final Cut under your fingers on the tablet’s screen! Another possibility is that Apple will release special “made for iPad Pro” apps which won’t be available on Mac OS X. And to my mind, the codename Pro should also underline the fact that new iPad Pro is for professionals and not for those who use it only for watching movies and listening to music.
The whole time iPad has been at the market it has been a multimedia device. The device is designed for regular customers, while professionals prefer to work on desktop OS. Surely, you can edit pics and photos, create music and do other activities with iPad, it’s not the best choice. Potential iPad Pro users are the very professionals who prefer MacBook Pro to MacBook Air: designers, artists, musicians, etc. New device will hardly replace the desktop Pros completely, but 64-bit processor and 13” screen provide much more working space, which, in its turn, will allow dealing with more serious problems.
To tell the truth, there’s one drawback that should be mentioned. This drawback is the absence of physical keyboard. It goes without saying that a lot of users have already got used to the virtual keyboard. But in the process of working on some project working with keyboard shortcuts can seriously simplify the process.
It’s possible that the bigger size of a new iPad will allow Apple to create a new model of physical keyboard, which will also be used as a doc-station (the idea realized in Asus Transformer).
In general, such an idea is not new and there’re already some Android devices with similar concept at the market. But it should be mentioned, that they have worse hardware specifications. And there’s Windows 8 but the problem with such tablets is that apart from built-in apps, other apps perform poorly. If Apple releases professional software for iPad Pro it will the company a serious competitive edge over its rivals, because today even not all regular programs we use on desktop computers are not adapted for Android OS, let alone some professional programs. So this can be a killer feature of iPad Pro.
To put the project described in the article into life is not the easiest task. The apps should be optimized not only for iPad Pro, but also for iPad Mini and iPad Air (to say the least). But I think Apple has sufficient experience in solving difficult problems if they can be useful. So may be very soon iPad Pro will be able to replace a laptop.
Author’s bio: Eugene is a senior online marketing manager for Apptraction (visit their site), New York based mobile app development company. We create enterprise level apps! Follow them on Twitter @Apptraction.
