Has the iPad Pro been a success?

[Adelphos33]

Both 12.9" and 9.7"

I am an avid user of a 12.9" and use it for most of my computing. I've only seen three or four of them around. It's obviously harder to sell an iPad Pro 9.7" in the wild, but I don't know of anyone that bought one personally. When I am in the Apple store, I see at least as many iPad Air 2 models sold. iPad sales continue to decline overall.

To me, this implies that the iPad Pro may have been one of the least successful iPad launches ever (both sizes). Is this fair? Does anyone have any real iPad Pro sales numbers?

 

[spriter]

Both 12.9" and 9.7"

I am an avid user of a 12.9" and use it for most of my computing. I've only seen three or four of them around. It's obviously harder to sell an iPad Pro 9.7" in the wild, but I don't know of anyone that bought one personally. When I am in the Apple store, I see at least as many iPad Air 2 models sold. iPad sales continue to decline overall.

To me, this implies that the iPad Pro may have been one of the least successful iPad launches ever (both sizes). Is this fair? Does anyone have any real iPad Pro sales numbers?

I doubt we'd get numbers and with the 9.7 from lowing the 12.9, that hints at the lack of demand for the 12.9. However, it was also first-gen with not so much software support out of the gate.

I also don't know anyone else with a Pro, let alone Pro 12.9. Most friends and family either don't have one at all or still have 3rd and 4th gen pads for browsing on the couch.

We've used our 12.9 daily. I have the Pencil and keyboard. It's predominantly a learning tool for my kids where it's great for things like learning to write cursive, learning to type and keyboard layout, as well as the large screen for reading books as a 2-page spread rather than constant panning and zooming. The edu app support is excellent.

Outside of that, I use it for Office (jailbroken 9.3.3 with a Magic Mouse) and Remote Desktop. Split screen and PIP is genuinely usable, too.

Not a massive market but I don't think tablets were ever going to be. That said, they dominate and compare well to Android tablets.

 

[joeblow7777]

It don't know if I'd say that the recent iPads are unsuccessful, but how often do people really need to replace their tablet given that most are still used for basic web surfing and consumption? Traditional tablet sales are plateauing, with the only category showing growth being those that run full Windows and/or convert into laptops.

 

[Greenmeenie]

I wouldn't say that iPads arent selling well. Many people seem to confuse ipad sales with iphone sales just because they're both iOS devices. They forget that people don't upgrade their ipads every year like many do with their iphones. In that regard, ipads are indeed more like laptops. iPads are mainly media consumption devices for most...but more and more people are using them as laptop replacements. Yet, they aren't laptop replacements for all.

Here in NYC I see lots of ipad pros. Lots of smart covers & apple pencils give them away. I don't have the numbers, but here at least, people seem to want the ability to use both those accessories and the pros are selling well compared to the iPad air.

Should be interesting to see if the rumored 10.5" bezel-less iPad pro is announced along side the iPad pro updates in March. I could see that selling even better than both current iPad pros. We'll see.

 

[M. Gustave]

Both 12.9" and 9.7"

I am an avid user of a 12.9" and use it for most of my computing. I've only seen three or four of them around. It's obviously harder to sell an iPad Pro 9.7" in the wild, but I don't know of anyone that bought one personally. When I am in the Apple store, I see at least as many iPad Air 2 models sold. iPad sales continue to decline overall.

To me, this implies that the iPad Pro may have been one of the least successful iPad launches ever (both sizes). Is this fair? Does anyone have any real iPad Pro sales numbers?

The iPad, all iterations, has been a total success. It has dominated the tablet market since introduction, and continues to challenge and refine what people call a "computer".

A large 12.9" model, being more niche, is not going to sell as well as a still fast, still powerful, much cheaper option (Air 2). Why be surprised or worried about that?

 

[Newtons Apple]

The iPad Pro 9.7 has been a success for me. I bought the 12.9 and 9.7 but returned the 12.9 and got another 9.7.

The 12.9 is just too big to deal with for me.

 

[The Game 161]

I'm sure sales are higher with the 9.7 compared to 12.9 where the 12.9 costs a lot more when it basically does the same things. While the 12.9 doesn't even have true tone display like the 9.7 pro does.

 

[Math889]

I'm sure sales are higher with the 9.7 compared to 12.9 where the 12.9 costs a lot more when it basically does the same things. While the 12.9 doesn't even have true tone display like the 9.7 pro does.

Well , the 12.9 has 4GB of RAM .that alone makes the 12.9 more expensive

 

[The Game 161]

Well , the 12.9 has 4GB of RAM .that alone makes the 12.9 more expensive

The extra ram is nice but hardly a deal breaker. You're basically paying for a bigger screen.

 

[bensisko]

The extra ram is nice but hardly a deal breaker. You're basically paying for a bigger screen.

Heh... tell that to those people on these boards who think they are "future-proofing" their devices by buying the 12.9 Pro because it has 4 GB RAM vs. the 9.7" Pro 2 GB.
[doublepost=1484158977][/doublepost]

Both 12.9" and 9.7"

I am an avid user of a 12.9" and use it for most of my computing. I've only seen three or four of them around. It's obviously harder to sell an iPad Pro 9.7" in the wild, but I don't know of anyone that bought one personally. When I am in the Apple store, I see at least as many iPad Air 2 models sold. iPad sales continue to decline overall.

To me, this implies that the iPad Pro may have been one of the least successful iPad launches ever (both sizes). Is this fair? Does anyone have any real iPad Pro sales numbers?

By what measure?

In a lot of ways, only Apple can tell us if it's been a success or not (Not that they would ever say it's been a failure...). Apple has their own success metrics and we can only judge success by our own metrics.

In terms of personally, it's a success - I absolutely LOVE it!
I don't see as many 12.9s "in the wild" as other size iPads, but I do see them. I have seen a bunch at Starbucks, I saw one at the museum (being used for drawing), and saw at least a dozen at a recent instructional design conference.

I will say this - I've seen slightly more Surface devices than 12.9s "in the wild". Not by a huge margin (and they're various models). Having said that, I can't include the 9.7 in that count because you can only really tell if it's a pro by the use of the Pencil (most have cases, so I can't look for the camera or extra speaker grills).

I have also noticed the number of laptops "in the wild" drop drastically - I see far more tablets than laptops.

 

[44267547]

The extra ram is nice but hardly a deal breaker. You're basically paying for a bigger screen.

That and he 12.9 Pro has a higher pixel density. It doesn't have Tru-Tone, but that's a feature I could certainly live without. I think the large screen and battery life are the real sellers. Especially if your into the Apple Pencil.

 

[masotime]

That and he 12.9 Pro has a higher pixel density.

No... they have the same pixel density. If you really want to split hairs, the 9.7 has a PPI of 263.92, the 12.9 has a PPI of 264.68. You can use https://www.sven.de/dpi/ to check.
[doublepost=1484181910][/doublepost]I personally think the iPad in general is stagnating. The Pro could really shine, but the (Pro) software ecosystem isn't there yet, and I feel this is largely because iOS users are conditioned to expect really cheap or free apps on the App Store.

Subscriptions might be a way for Pro app developers to make sustainable amounts of money, but what I'd really like to see is a new store icon / app, "Pro App Store". This would make it easier to distinguish and find Pro apps - another incentive for iOS developers to make more Pro apps.

Such an App Store would be able to hold apps to a higher standard (Pro apps should be harder to develop but more stable with more features as a result).

 

[44267547]

No... they have the same pixel density. If you really want to split hairs, the 9.7 has a PPI of 263.92, the 12.9 has a PPI of 264.68. You can use https://www.sven.de/dpi/ to check.
[doublepost=1484181910][/doublepost]I personally think the iPad in general is stagnating. The Pro could really shine, but the (Pro) software ecosystem isn't there yet, and I feel this is largely because iOS users are conditioned to expect really cheap or free apps on the App Store.

Subscriptions might be a way for Pro app developers to make sustainable amounts of money, but what I'd really like to see is a new store icon / app, "Pro App Store". This would make it easier to distinguish and find Pro apps - another incentive for iOS developers to make more Pro apps.

Such an App Store would be able to hold apps to a higher standard (Pro apps should be harder to develop but more stable with more features as a result).

So 12.9 Pro only has .73 higher pixel density than the 9.7 Pro. Technically......I was correct. Joking aside, I like the larger variant for media and the speakers are excellent. From a professional standpoint, it seems fitting for those who appreciate the Pencil support.

 

[Andres Cantu]

It all depends on who you ask. Personally, I don't mind if they don't sell as well as Apple would want, because that means they will be forced to give attention to their Macs.

 

[Septembersrain]

I have the 9.7. If they'd made the Air 2 with decent speakers that didn't vibrate the whole device and have to be turned up loudly for us hard of hearing, I would have kept it.

The 12.9 was just entirely too big for me. The extra RAM would have been wasted as I don't use it with the pencil or on any high load programs.

It's literally my bonefied YouTube, Netflix, etc player.

 

[44267547]

I have the 9.7. If they'd made the Air 2 with decent speakers that didn't vibrate the whole device and have to be turned up loudly for us hard of hearing, I would have kept it.

The 12.9 was just entirely too big for me. The extra RAM would have been wasted as I don't use it with the pencil or on any high load programs.

It's literally my bonefied YouTube, Netflix, etc player.

True. The Air 2 does vibrate. But I never really turned up the speakers all that much. But it certainly does vibrate in hand when playing media.

 

[GoldfishRT]

If by success you mean a sales success I have no idea.

But as far as being a totally awesome product, I think it is.

They're close to having perfected the tablet (which is incredible because even laptops feel so far away from being perfected).

If only they could resolve the whole software not being as robust as it needs to be thing they've got going on...

 

[Coolpher]

Both 12.9" and 9.7"

I am an avid user of a 12.9" and use it for most of my computing. I've only seen three or four of them around. It's obviously harder to sell an iPad Pro 9.7" in the wild, but I don't know of anyone that bought one personally. When I am in the Apple store, I see at least as many iPad Air 2 models sold. iPad sales continue to decline overall.

To me, this implies that the iPad Pro may have been one of the least successful iPad launches ever (both sizes). Is this fair? Does anyone have any real iPad Pro sales numbers?

To be honest with the iPad sales declining over the last two years or so I don't think it would've mattered if it was a pro line or just another iPod line update it wouldn't of been as hot as it used to be because the hardware is not what is outdated it's the software not catching up To the hardware to get it's fully use my personal opinion

 

[Makayla]

Interesting enough it is partly because earlier iPads as old as iPad 3 and 4 still work very well and software support still very much intact.

 

[Seed101]

Personally, it's been a success , in that I've earned back through using it, what i spent on it.

 

[Mildredop]

Personally, it's been a success , in that I've earned back through using it, what i spent on it.

You're saying you wouldn't have earned that money had you used any other tool (an iPad/MacBook Pro/iMac/Surface Book etc.)?

 

[Seed101]

You're saying you wouldn't have earned that money had you used any other tool (an iPad/MacBook Pro/iMac/Surface Book etc.)?

No, I'm not saying that, it's a fairly regular client.
I could have done it on a Wacom-iMac/MBP (as I previously would have done) or a Surface Book (if I had one)

I chose to use the iPad Pro/Pencil and was happy with the results/process. I'd like to use the iPad Pro more for illustration work, as I'd like to move around more, travel, whilst working...to pay for the travel...

It's nice to be happy

 

[tisOllie]

I absolutely adore my iPad Pro, I use it both as a consumption device and a add on to my day to day work tasks - don't think I could be without it.

 

[bensisko]

To be honest with the iPad sales declining over the last two years or so I don't think it would've mattered if it was a pro line or just another iPod line update it wouldn't of been as hot as it used to be because the hardware is not what is outdated it's the software not catching up To the hardware to get it's fully use my personal opinion

Let's not forget something - iPad sales as they were at the height were entirely unsustainable. IPad 2 had this huge spike in sales because everyone was curious about the iPad. "How can these make us more productive at work?" "I bet this would be easy for Grandma to use!" "This is perfect for surfing the web and watching videos!" What's happening now is that the people who found them useful are staying, while people who bought one for trendy reasons and found they didn't use it aren't buying new ones. The same thing happened with the Wii.

I'd say the market is normalizing.

 

[The Game 161]

problem for me with the 12.9 is the extra screen size from the 9.7 is simply not taken advantage of. apps for one don't take advantage. in safari? yeah thats great as is the spilt screen on the 12.9 but apart from that there's no one thing that makes it stand out from 9.7

it's great don't get me wrong but for me the size felt too big and i simply didn't use my MacBook enough with my 12.9 but with 9.7 i have a good balance.

a 10.5 inch iPad pro would really interest me as it would be the perfect in between size.