Eddy Cue, Tim Cook and Adobe Discuss iPad Pro Ahead of November 11 Launch

[MacRumors]

Following today's announcement that iPad Pro online orders begin November 11, with in-store availability later this week, CNNMoney and The Independent have published interviews with Apple executives Eddy Cue and Tim Cook respectively about the new 12.9-inch tablet.

Cue described the iPad Pro as great for consuming content, such as emails, news and websites, and spoke in general terms about how Apple pushes itself to "create tools that let people solve incredible problems." He also praised the tablet's new four-speaker design that delivers stereo sound.

"One of the things with the iPad Pro that's amazing is the sound -- it's got four speakers on it," said Cue. "And so the first time -- even myself as we were developing it -- I got my hands on it and I heard it, it changed the way I thought of the product even. I didn't realize how much of a difference it was going to make that you have stereo sound coming out of a device like this."

Cook also said the iPad Pro delivers a "first-class audio experience," and called the tablet a capable "laptop replacement" when used with a Smart Keyboard. The chief executive further emphasized that the Apple Pencil is not a stylus, but rather a sketching tool that complements the iPad Pro's traditional multi-touch input.

"Well, we didn't really do a stylus, we did a Pencil. The traditional stylus is fat, it has really bad latency so you're sketching here and it's filling the line in somewhere behind. You can't sketch with something like that, you need something that mimics the look and feel of the pencil itself or you're not going to replace it. We're not trying to replace finger touch, we're complementing it with the Pencil."

Cook believes the iPad Pro's target market will consist of a lot of PC users, customers without Apple products and existing iPad users looking to upgrade to a "very different" device. The tablet also has value for creative companies like Touchpress, the makers of several interactive musical apps for Apple devices.

Where the iPad Pro is concerned, Alex Johnston, Chief Marketing Officer, told me: "For a business like Touchpress with the kind of content we like to produce, we value the more beautiful screen, the better audio. We re-imagine familiar music or text in a way to give you fresh perspectives on it. So having more screen real estate allows us to do that a lot.

"The thing that struck me the most," Johnston went on, "is that it completely transformed the iPad experience when you use the Pencil or the Keyboard with it. It's not just that I want it because it's the best iPad, it's that the tools that go with it allow me to do things that my finger won't allow me to do."

Adobe has also shared a video where visual designers, illustrators, educators and other creative professionals offer positive first impressions of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, with a focus on Creative Cloud apps including Illustrator Draw, Photoshop Mix, Photoshop Sketch and Photoshop Fix.

iPad Pro pricing starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The 12.9-inch tablet is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Article Link: Eddy Cue, Tim Cook and Adobe Discuss iPad Pro Ahead of November 11 Launch

 

[Alex Moran]

The number of people not resting their palm on the screen concerns me. I know there is palm rejection that has been confirmed multiple times but it would suck if some developers implement it "better" than others

 

[Yoshi Yogurt]

The iPad needs a file management system or else it will forever be a giant iPod touch.

 

[nylon]

Looking forward to checking this out in store.

 

[apolloa]

The usual clap trap marketing BS from them then. And Eddy Cue needs to get out more if all he can come up with is what a revelation 'stereo sound' is! I mean seriously? The guy behind Apple music 'changed the way he thought about the iPad Pro' because it has stereo speakers!

Note how they are going to some length to 'distance' themselves from this by claiming they made a 'pencil' or 'sketching tool'

And yes Apple zealots, Jobs IS talking about tablet stylus.

It's all just marketing folks.

 

[oneMadRssn]

My main concern is price. It's just so easy to get into the $1000+ territory with cellular, more storage, or pencil. That is a whole different tier of device in that price range. User expectations go way way up when you step into the $1000+ category.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

It worries me that Eddy Cue's biggest praise of the iPad Pro is its speakers.

Then we have Cook calling it a "first class audio experience." Such hyperbole from Cook only serves to cast doubt on the whole device. I don't think anyone is going to buy an iPad Pro for its speakers, and I think it unlikely that it will outperform my B&O speakers.

If only Steve Jobs was here to spellbind us with his enthusiasm. I'm quite sure that he would have tantalised us with a compelling case for it, just as he did when he introduced the iPad and iPhone.

I think there is a market for the iPad Pro, but let's chop the iPad line. All we need is one iPad mini, one iPad Air and one iPad Pro. Anything more is unfocused fluff.

Here's to the crazy ones.

 

[Imory]

It looks ridiculously big when holding it in portrait for just browsing and using a news app. I understand the size of it for professional use, but it doesn't look very handy for consuming the things you usually do with an Air or Mini.

 

[hovscorpion12]

The iPad needs a file management system or else it will forever be a giant iPod touch.

Technically iCloud Drive can be seen as a file system, but it can also been seen as not. For me since it has all of my documents & files from iWorks and pixalmator.

 

[MikhailT]

It would be nice if Apple would let the press release the reviews today instead of waiting until Wed.

 

[NickD73]

What a joke. How can he say he was surprised at the audio improvement with stereo speakers? Do these people use other products, or are they trapped in their own Apple bubble where everything is perfect until they change it. I think everyone for years now has wanted better iPad speakers.

 

[LordQ]

I'd consider it when a decent 3D modeling and rendering app is available. Something like Solid Edge or 3DS Max Design. Procreate already seems like the best drawing app and looking forward to iDraw (the best illustrator-ish ap for iOS) to implement the Pencil. Oh, and a real Photoshop port, too.

 

[hovscorpion12]

It would be nice if Apple would let the press release the reviews today instead of waiting until Wed.

I'd say tomorrow we'll see some reviews

 

[MikhailT]

It looks ridiculously big when holding it in portrait for just browsing and using a news app. I understand the size of it for professional use, but it doesn't look very handy for consuming the things you usually do with an Air or Mini.

Well, that's because the CNN News app sucks IMO but if an app is designed properly, it may be very useful to see multiple sources at the same time. However, it's most useful in the landscape mode where you can easily set up two full screen iPad apps. Some of the hands on were talking about using two Adobe apps to work on the same project at the same time.

Also, "pro" is a marketing term for Apple, it means nothing for the rest of us, just a way to set two devices apart. Macbook Pro isn't any more professional than Macbook or Macbook Air when used for a specific use case. For many creative pros, MBA is more of a fit than MBP due to the portability/weight.

 

[OS X Dude]

I'm a longtime Mac fan, but I'd pick a Surface Pro 4 up over the current iPad Pro. There's a price difference if you go for the crazy-high spec models, but I really like where MS are headed at the moment too.

Apart from the recent OneDrive storage reduction...

 

[Soccertess]

The iPad needs a file management system or else it will forever be a giant iPod touch.

Too true, for productivity it is a must. I can't believe Apple has Cue promoting that product. He says its good for email, reading news, reading more email...

I also can't believe he talked about innovation and looking around the corner. He could have just said no one ever has created a sketching tool and keyboard cover like Apple. Let's be honest, he looked around the corner and checked out Nadella.

 

[srminton]

Hopefully the product is better than the marketing.

 

[Soccertess]

I'm a longtime Mac fan, but I'd pick a Surface Pro 4 up over the current iPad Pro. There's a price difference if you go for the crazy-high spec models, but I really like where MS are headed at the moment too.

Apart from the recent OneDrive storage reduction...

OMG, you are not the only one! This would have sounded preposterous 3 years ago, but I have an older aunt that went down a similar route (4 doesn't have LTE version yet though, so we went with the 3 LTE) once we did all the comparisons. Just doesn't make sense.


Tim = The Ballmer of Apple

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

Im buying the unit, simply because ive been waiting years for a ipad that i can draw on that acutally works well and after the past 3 years using ipad mini's im sick and tired of the small form factor... That, and i just simply cant afford a wacom cintiq 27inch.

THAT SAID...That video was just outright pathetic. Im an apple fan, but the way eddie cue was hyping this dam thing up, i mean common eddie. Its a bigger Ipad you can draw on. its not this breakthrough advice. Honestly! Microsoft has had stuff like this out for 3 years now! I hate to break it to you pal, but its true!

 

[Lexdexia]

iPad Pro's A9X processor is rumoured to deliver 'console-class' quality graphics. I just hope it can run at least two future generations of iOS smoothly. Currently my iPad Air runs like crap on iOS 9.1.

 

[mroffbeat]

i love all the major iOS products but this one??? You still have to touch the screen to switch apps while holding the pencil. Using the iPad with an attached keyboard is annoying. I can't think of why the experience with the pro is any different.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Note how they are going to some length to 'distance' themselves from this by claiming they made a 'pencil' or 'sketching tool'

And yes Apple zealots, Jobs IS talking about tablet stylus.

It's all just marketing folks.

Steve was talking about if you needed a stylus to use the tablet, it wouldn't work. Apple Pencil is optional and purely for drawing, not needed for everyday use by an average consumer.

 

[keysofanxiety]

iPad Pro's A9X processor is rumoured to deliver 'console-class' quality graphics. I just hope it can run at least two future generations of iOS smoothly. Currently my iPad Air runs like crap on iOS 9.1.

Yep, console-class quality graphics. Candy Crush and the other billion freemium shovelware iAd-plagued pay-to-play games on the App Store will never look better!

 

[Rogifan]

Seriously Eddy Cue should not be out there pitching this product. He uses it to read email and go to websites? #facepalm

 

[RMo]

My main concern is price. It's just so easy to get into the $1000+ territory with cellular, more storage, or pencil. That is a whole different tier of device in that price range. User expectations go way way up when you step into the $1000+ category.

Unlike the "regular" iPads, you can only get cellular on the highest-storage tier--and that does drive the price up to >$1000. I really wish they wouldn't do that because I think this screen size would be very useful for me (I never thought I'd be able to use Word on the iPad, but that day has come), but I prefer cellular iPads so I can take them with me when I'm traveling. Not only that, but having a data connection means I could probably get by with less storage. I hope they don't continue this trend of only offering additional features with higher storage tiers like they have with some other products...