'iPad Pro' Production Reaffirmed for September-October Ahead of Rumored Late 2015 Launch

[jdiamond]

This is exactly the kind of innovation that Apple needs! Oh, wait...

I completely disagree. For an iPad, it's all about its weight. If a 13" iPad weighed the same as a 10" iPad, it would completely replace it, because a bigger screen is simply better, and there's no loss in portability between something the size of a half sheet of paper and a full sheet of paper. (If you can carry one, you can carry the other.)

But the weight is critical, because if you have to sit it on a desk because you can't hold it long term, then the extra screen size it totally wasted.

When SJ made the iPad, he felt it was the SMALLEST that was practical. Could he have made the original larger and kept it light weight and affordable, he would have. It was also under SJ that we had 3 sizes of Macbook Pro, and I feel the same about those - bigger is better if you can make it light.

 

[Monique1]

I do love that all of the displays of this still show 4 icons at the bottom.

For me, a tablet must:
1. Have a stylus. I haven't used my fingers to draw stuff since I lived in a cave, back around 200,000 years ago. The pen/stylus is one of those inventions that has stood the test of time. Even those "sign with your finger as a pen" POS terminals are obtuse.
2. Have a better OS, like OS X. I don't want to be playing around with a 12" iPhone.
3. Allow a mouse/trackpad. When drawing with a CAD program, that whole "hand" thing gets in the way while I am drawing.
4. Allow windows. To me, a single/dual app model is like working in a book, where only one/two pages can be displayed. Having multiple windows is the way to do it, so I can collect ideas from all over, and arrange them my way. Not that my way is the best for you, but it is the best for me.

Microsoft should get on this right away.

 

[corky5678]

will definitely be purchasing one if and only if it comes with a pen with at least as good precision as those of Wacom.

If it doesn't come with a pen, just buy a pen.

 

[Mums]

Is apple basically doing what it did last time without Steve Jobs? Where they just kept adding models of computers?

Steve Jobs was Apple's BALLS. Also their brains. Now what are they but a bunch of bean counters and yes men.

 

[Mums]

This is exactly the kind of innovation that Apple needs! Oh, wait...
View attachment 576272

Can't innovate.

 

[smulji]

Completely agree.

This will give users that are considering other tablets a reason to look at the iPad Pro. IMHO, I don't believe that this should simply be a larger iPad running iOS.

I don't know why every one, tech press included, keeps calling this the iPad Pro. Everything so far leads me to believe this will be a bigger iPad, with USB-C, built-in stylus capability, and running iOS 9.1, in other words, an iPad Plus. Just like the iPhone 6 Plus is to the 6. This will not run OSX. I'll bet on it. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Don't be surprised, around this time next year, the iPad Air getting USB-C and built-in stylus capability as well.

 

[smulji]

Lots of ignorance in this thread. It's simply a larger ipad. There's no OS X here. This will flop.

Ios for the iPad just stinks. How people can compare this with a surface is just bizarre.

The only thing "great" about the Surface Pro is that it runs Desktop Win32 apps but then if that's what you're buying it for then it defeats the purpose of buying a tablet. It becomes a glorified ultrabook. If you compare the quality of tablet, touch-based apps between the two devices, then the iPad has a much richer app ecosystem, not only in terms of quantity of apps but quality of apps as well. Will that change with Windows 10? We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Dave245]

I don't know why every one, tech press included, keeps calling this the iPad Pro. Everything so far leads me to believe this will be a bigger iPad, with USB-C, built-in stylus capability, and running iOS 9.1, in other words, an iPad Plus. Just like the iPhone 6 Plus is to the 6. This will not run OSX. I'll bet on it. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Don't be surprised, around this time next year, the iPad Air getting USB-C and built-in stylus capability as well.

This is a good point, i think the iPad Pro name was given out by the tech press and it seems to have stuck. I also don't know why people are complaining already, the iPad Pro/Plus hasn't even been announced by Apple yet and people are already saying Apple has run out of innovation and that Steve Jobs was against the stylus, apple is doomed. At least give them a chance to announce it, you never know you may end up being surprised and wanting one.

 

[neutralguy]

When you've run out of new products - resize the old one ... at least 'til the public start realising that's all you're doing :-( Until then hello super sized iPhone (iPad Pro)/really big iPhone (iPad)/big iPhone (iPad Mini) /iPhone/tiny iPhone (Apple Watch)c...do you see the pattern here?

I wish I could like this a million times!

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Normally I'd question a Mid-November launch which is too late for a holiday launch for a product this expensive. It's Digitimes, but it's also Tim Cook's Apple so I'm deeply conflicted. Digitimes frequently print fables but Tim Cook frequently botches product launches.

 

[Col4bin]

Haha true. I did have a iPad 2 but upgraded to Air 2 last week. It was a huge step forward and I'm now using it more than my Mac right now for certain simple tasks. Still keeping the iPad 2 around until stops getting iOS updates.

Agreed. Keeping my iPad 2 around as my infant daughter loves the YouTube Kids app—haha.

 

[Mactendo]

If this turns out to just be a ≈13" ipod touch, then bring back the 17" MBP instead.
There are a lot more PROs who need a new one of those.

Oh, how true. 17" was a real MacBook Pro.

 

[Michael Scrip]

First you totally kill off the Mac Mini for any real usage, then you redesign the Macbook line to be more like the Macbook Air, without redesigning the Air line (making both of them redundant), and now this. Terrible. Just terrible.

Exactly.

Too many Macs... so many missteps.

Oh wait... isn't Apple selling more Macs than they ever have in history? Maybe all those additional models aren't a bad thing.

 

[sw1tcher]

But the difference was that those products were failing,

iPad sales have been on the decline for a while now. For 13 quarters straight, iPad revenue had surpassed Mac revenue. Now they generate less revenue than Macs. Failing?

and John Scully was not the right person to lead Apple. Tim Cook is the right man for the job and since Job's died,

John Sculley was Apple CEO for 10 years. Tim Cook hasn't even been CEO for 4 yrs. He'll hit the 4 yr mark in 4 days (Aug. 24, 2015).

Under Sculley, Apple sales were very strong into the early '90s. Apple sales jumped from $800 million to $8 billion while he was CEO. Some say he was riding on the coattails of Steve Jobs' ideas before ideas dried up and products became stale. Some have said the same thing about Tim Cook and all the new product "innovation" coming out of Apple nowadays.

I think it's still too early to tell how successful Cook will be as CEO. All I know is that Apple relies too much on iPhones sales for the bulk of their profits. Not sure if larger iPads will help reverse declining iPad sales.

Re-issue, re-package, re-package
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track and a tacky badge​

the iPhone has become more popular and Apples stock and profits have grown.

Yes, iPhone sales have grown. But relying on 1 product to generate the bulk of your sales and profit isn't necessarily a good thing. It almost feels like how Apple relied on the Mac to generate the bulk of their sales and profits under Sculley. Just like then, Apple needs to diversify and come up with new hit products.

They may be adding more products to the line up, but it's all about choice, nobody is saying you have to go out and buy the iPad Pro, but for those of us who want one it will be welcomed.

Apple gave us a bunch of product choices while under the leadership of Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio.... product choices which not many people went out to buy. But for those who wanted one of their many many product offerings, you had that choice.

 

[ilovemyibook]

There are a couple reasons my work place won't buy the current iPad to give to scientists / workers in the field. They could be convinced to go with an iPad in line of business with...

• Higher nit (light intensity units) for viewing in bright light
• Sapphire screen for durability (is that possible?)
• Loooong battery -- a 12.9 inch screen should have a 12.9 inch batter so that's solved
• USB-c to hook up tons of peripherals and write to flash drive
• Multitasking (solved)
• Built in NFC RF maybe barcode reader

So what tablet could they buy??

 

[smulji]

iPad sales have been on the decline for a while now. For 13 quarters straight, iPad revenue had surpassed Mac revenue. Now they generate less revenue than Macs. Failing?

John Sculley was Apple CEO for 10 years. Tim Cook hasn't even been CEO for 4 yrs. He'll hit the 4 yr mark in 4 days (Aug. 24, 2015).

Under Sculley, Apple sales were very strong into the early '90s. Apple sales jumped from $800 million to $8 billion while he was CEO. Some say he was riding on the coattails of Steve Jobs' ideas before ideas dried up and products became stale. Some have said the same thing about Tim Cook and all the new product "innovation" coming out of Apple nowadays.

I think it's still too early to tell how successful Cook will be as CEO. All I know is that Apple relies too much on iPhones sales for the bulk of their profits. Not sure if larger iPads will help reverse declining iPad sales.

Re-issue, re-package, re-package
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track and a tacky badge​

Yes, iPhone sales have grown. But relying on 1 product to generate the bulk of your sales and profit isn't necessarily a good thing. It almost feels like how Apple relied on the Mac to generate the bulk of their sales and profits under Sculley. Just like then, Apple needs to diversify and come up with new hit products.

Apple gave us a bunch of product choices while under the leadership of Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio.... product choices which not many people went out to buy. But for those who wanted one of their many many product offerings, you had that choice.

I understand why people think it's risky that Apple relies too much on one product for the bulk of their revenues / profits but you have to put that in context as well. The smartphone, and more specifically, large-screen smartphones, are rapidly becoming the primary computing device for the majority of consumers. Outside of work, not every one needs a PC / Mac or a tablet but every one needs a phone.

So it makes sense, when the smartphone becomes the "Hub" of one's digital life, that the iPhone will be the largest revenue driver for Apple, and possibly other companies as well. It is the go-to device. There's definitely a lot of room to grow the Mac / iPad side of the business but I don't expect it to reach anywhere near the size of the iPhone business.

 

[Dave245]

iPad sales have been on the decline for a while now. For 13 quarters straight, iPad revenue had surpassed Mac revenue. Now they generate less revenue than Macs. Failing?


Apple gave us a bunch of product choices while under the leadership of Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio.... product choices which not many people went out to buy. But for those who wanted one of their many many product offerings, you had that choice.

While i understand what your saying, i don't think that Apple is doomed, i think that it's far too early to tell. It's not just the iPad that is in decline it is the whole of the tablet market. Apple will working to do something about it, maybe the iPad Pro? my overall point is that it's early to be saying "The iPad Pro is doomed, it won't sell" and so on, Apple introduced the bigger iPhone last year and they had massive sales. At least give them the chance to announce the product first. If there is one thing to remember it's that you can never count Apple out, they have proven this in the past and personally i wouldn't like to bet against them.

I like the fact that Apple are offering more products. I stand by what i said in that i think Tim Cook is the right man for the job where as Sculley i don't think was and i think Steve Job's learned his lesson from that and i doubt he would of selected Tim for CEO if he wasn't sure he could do the job. Also product wise Steve Jobs might of known about all of these products before his death, companies often work on products long before they are announced, 5 year plans, 10 year plans even.

 

[jedifaka]

I think you just invented the MS Surface Pro

I do love that all of the displays of this still show 4 icons at the bottom.

For me, a tablet must:
1. Have a stylus. I haven't used my fingers to draw stuff since I lived in a cave, back around 200,000 years ago. The pen/stylus is one of those inventions that has stood the test of time. Even those "sign with your finger as a pen" POS terminals are obtuse.
2. Have a better OS, like OS X. I don't want to be playing around with a 12" iPhone.
3. Allow a mouse/trackpad. When drawing with a CAD program, that whole "hand" thing gets in the way while I am drawing.
4. Allow windows. To me, a single/dual app model is like working in a book, where only one/two pages can be displayed. Having multiple windows is the way to do it, so I can collect ideas from all over, and arrange them my way. Not that my way is the best for you, but it is the best for me.

 

[RipsMctits]

Exactly.

Too many Macs... so many missteps.

Oh wait... isn't Apple selling more Macs than they ever have in history? Maybe all those additional models aren't a bad thing.

Exactly.

Too many Macs... so many missteps.

Oh wait... isn't Apple selling more Macs than they ever have in history? Maybe all those additional models aren't a bad thing.

I didn't say anything about sales. It's not that they have "too many Macs". Their ****ing product lines are starting to make no sense. The Mac Mini line is now a shell of its former glory without a quad-core option. Worthless. I don't care about sales. Do we need the Macbook (2015) and the Macbook Air? Isn't the new Macbook just a better version of what the Air line was supposed to represent? Yes, it is, so what the hell is the point? Do we really need an iPad Air and an iPad "Plus"? What the hell is the point? Here's an idea...

Kill the Macbook Air, keep the iPad Mini/Air, and make the iPad "Plus/Pro" something NEW and worth using (i.e. a tablet/laptop hybrid) instead of just a BIGGER iPad with a few model-specific features. THAT would make a lot of sense. It's the only thing that does make sense. And I expect them to do the exact opposite of that.

Their product roadmap/planning is pure garbage right now. Are we going to have an iPhone Pro that's a 6-7in phablet now, alongside the iPhone and iPhone Plus? How about an iPhone mini to satiate all of the 4in screen lovers?

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I think you just invented the MS Surface Pro

It's not what I had in mind, but as I said before, "Just because it's Apple doesn't mean it's all good, and just because it's Microsoft doesn't mean it's all bad."

 

[iSee]

...I'm not sure what Apple expected to accomplish by putting a crippled blown-up phone OS onto a tablet...

Make $100 billion?

 

[BriSpe]

Waiting for tomorrow for an affirmation of the reaffirmation.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I didn't say anything about sales. It's not that they have "too many Macs". Their ****ing product lines are starting to make no sense. The Mac Mini line is now a shell of its former glory without a quad-core option. Worthless. I don't care about sales. Do we need the Macbook (2015) and the Macbook Air? Isn't the new Macbook just a better version of what the Air line was supposed to represent? Yes, it is, so what the hell is the point? Do we really need an iPad Air and an iPad "Plus"? What the hell is the point? Here's an idea...

Kill the Macbook Air, keep the iPad Mini/Air, and make the iPad "Plus/Pro" something NEW and worth using (i.e. a tablet/laptop hybrid) instead of just a BIGGER iPad with a few model-specific features. THAT would make a lot of sense. It's the only thing that does make sense. And I expect them to do the exact opposite of that.

Their product roadmap/planning is pure garbage right now. Are we going to have an iPhone Pro that's a 6-7in phablet now, alongside the iPhone and iPhone Plus? How about an iPhone mini to satiate all of the 4in screen lovers?

I only mentioned sales because it shows that all those Mac models aren't preventing people from buying Macs.

If Mac sales were dropping because the product lineup was too confusing... then it would be a cause for concern. But they're not.

You don't have to care about sales... but sales indicate that Apple is doing fairly well with Macs.

Why keep the Macbook Air? Because it's $900 and people are buying it. Apple isn't ready to put the brand new Macbook at that price point. I expect the Macbook Air to disappear and the Macbook Retina take its place. But not now. The Macbook just came out 4 months ago.

The original 13" Macbook Air was $1800 and it had a spinning hard drive.

Now a 13" Macbook Air with far-superior flash storage is $1000. Price drops do happen. It just takes time.

I don't think Apple cares about the Mac Mini. They may surprise us with a new update... or they may cancel it altogether. Anything can happen. I just don't think Apple's heart is in the Mac Mini. Apple is really into laptops and iMacs these days.

 

[Mr Fusion]

Make $100 billion?

Off the iPad? Thanks for playing, try again.

 

[WordsmithMR]

So what is going to make it a "Pro"? Just better specs? It still has iOS so this is just a new model with a new name...? A bit disappointing... We need an OS X iPad. Come on Apple.