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There are those who say the tablet market has already reached saturation – that with sales beginning to fall the public are losing interest.
And even Apple, whose iPad essentially created the modern tablet computer era, has seen numbers steadily decline in recent years.
The iPad Pro then, makes for an intriguing and important product launch not just because of the new ground it breaks on the size and power front, but also for what it could mean for the tablet market.
The very first time you encounter the iPad Pro, you can’t help but think it’s slightly ridiculous. The sheer size of it is extremely alien given what you’ve become used to in the last five years. Picking it up feels genuinely unusual. The price too – which depending on memory size and accessories could rise over £1,000 – could also make you consider stepping back.
But begin to spend some time with the Pro and things become a lot clearer. As a tool for organising, writing and general creativity this is very powerful. On the lighter side; streaming and gaming are fantastic to do on the iPad Pro as well. It rivals any laptop.
What the iPad Pro actually is then, is a levelling up of tablets – the power and ability the Pro has means there are few times you have to consider putting it down to continue on your laptop instead. Does the iPad Pro replace your laptop? No, but it does an awful lot of things right.
Naturally the screen is the most noticeable thing about the iPad Pro. The 12.9-inch display is a figure normally associated with MacBooks, and the 5.6 million pixels it houses are the most of any iOS device Apple has ever created.
What this means in use is that any high-resolution images you have are fantastic to work with here. Several high profile creativity and photo editing apps – namely Adobe’s creative suite – has worked closely with Apple to be completely ready for the Pro.
The result though, regardless of how you choose to use the screen is very impressive. The new Apple News app finally comes good after a somewhat underwhelming launch; the predominantly white screen seen on the iPhone explodes into life on the Pro, looking much more like the magazine format Apple debuted at the September announcement of the tablet.
What the size of this screen also means is that for the first time on a mobile device, full size websites, and not mobile version, are displayed; something that couldn’t come soon enough.
Underneath the obvious looks though, there is a level of performance that makes anything creative you want to do a joy, and at least on par with a laptop. The Photoshop Mix app is seamless, as are the drawing tool in apps like Paper by FiftyThree and uMake when using the Apple Pencil (more on that later).
The latency is almost non existent; from pen movements to sketches and other gestures, they’re sharp across apps and the interface, and the whole experience again feels like that of a laptop or desktop. Editing two streams of 4K video for example feels the same as on a MacBook Pro.
The A9X chip that Apple built especially for the Pro is the reason for this. In short, in both graphics and power it is twice as powerful as the iPad Air 2 – a device that is streets ahead of most tablets. The iPad Pro actually offers up more power than most laptops launched in the last year, and you can actually see it.
This feels so impressive because this device is not much thicker than an iPad Air, and given it’s size doesn’t actually feel much heavier. It’s actually the same weight as the original generation Apple tablet. Something that sounds bad (read as heavy) but isn’t in reality. It is a fully portable powerhouse.
Perhaps the biggest area of interest is the fact that Apple has introduced a native attachable keyboard and stylus for the iPad Pro.
The amount of publicity this has received has given the impression Apple has pioneered this idea. Of course they haven’t. The Microsoft Surface has been doing it very well for years – and no matter how good the iPad Pro is it still has to outdo the Surface.
In design terms it can be argued it does. The Apple Pencil is simple and stylish, and a comfortable weight in the hand. It has a Lightning connection hidden beneath the top for charging – not that you need to use it often beyond the initial sync.
When using it for drawing the Pencil is also fantastic. It has sensors built in for both pressure and tilt angle. This means the Pencil knows when you’re pressing harder for thicker, darker lines, and also when you’re tipping the Pencil for shading. Combined with a screen that refreshes at more than double previous iPad screens, it means an experience that is the closest to pen and paper as we’ve seen so far on tablet.
However, Surface users shouldn’t have buyer’s remorse just yet – right now, the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro’s use is limited compared to the Surface when it comes to some aspects of productivity. Windows 10 users can annotate and note-make on any screen; be it web page or elsewhere. Pro users can’t.
Also, there is no sleeve or holder for the Pencil, which greatly increases your chances of losing it. Something you won’t want to do considering it cost £79.
As for the Smart Keyboard, this comes with a hefty price tag – £139 – for a range of features that won’t constantly dazzle you.
The automatic Bluetooth sync thanks to the new Smart Connector is a great piece of convenience, and eradicates a nagging problem with Bluetooth keyboards. The keys too feel great, and not uncomfortable like others can. The keyboard itself is also reassuring as it is water and stain resistant.
As soon as the iPad is clicked into place too, the on-screen keyboard vanishes, creating that laptop set-up you want. There are also built-in shortcuts that mimic MacBook use. Hold Command and Shift and a guide to them appears on-screen. The reason there is a guide is that they are contextual – changing depending on the app you’re in; altering from Mail to Notes.
But there is an issue with this whole set-up. iOS isn’t desktop software, and so just adding a physical keyboard doesn’t automatically make it more convenient than a desktop. It’s unavoidable that some things require you to touch the screen again, and so you’re never quite either in tablet or desktop mode.
But you can still use the iPad Pro just as well without the keyboard – the smart covers and cases are available in Pro size too. The price could mean many go with this option.
The most striking thing about spending time with the iPad Pro is that the experience feels just like the first time you used an iPad – you went in sceptical towards this new product in front of you, but leave with more than a pang of desiring one.
The power of the Pro is that even if you’re not in a creative profession – no doubt the target market for this product – you will become more creative just by using it. You’ll sketch more, you’ll draw up more lists and charts (literally) and generally want to turn to it in times of productivity and organisation.
Crucially, on occasions this might even be at the expense of your laptop. But the question remains whether this is a good enough reason to buy one.
Has the iPad Pro killed the laptop? No, but that might only be because old habits die hard; and parting with them won’t happen overnight.
