New iPad Pro With Faster Display and Wider Support for Apple Pencil to Launch Next Year

[tw1ll]

"....this time next year......" Apple are becoming the Trotters of the IT industry (UK readers will get it)

 

[b656]

If it can't run MacOS not interested. Talk to artist. what they want is ipad+macbook pro hybrid.

 

[rGiskard]

This might not go down well on here but all my Apple and colleagues are getting Microsoft Surface Books. Seriously IT geeks who have been championing Apple in meetings for years (i work in the NHS in the UK) are now turning up with Surface pro 4's.

Personally i love my iPad Pro large - i previously had a pre touch id model that i dropped! however - it needs a USB and SD slot and possibly a HMDI. The number of times I've been to a conference to give a talk and had to transfer the talk to the conference computer - of course - with no way of doing it without email.

I've also seen the usual has anyone got the right adapter chaos. I get that Apple might want to make more money from selling adapters. I get that they might want as few parts as possible so nothing goes wrong - however in a PRO model - look at what PROs do. We interact with the real world its VGA and HDMI out there not AirPlay. We need to use memory sticks occasionally - if only when other people give them me. I recently attended a whole day conference - you got all the slides for the day on a USB stick. Everyone with a laptop loaded it up and read along. I sat there asking someone to email me them! ARGGHH! Being a PRO isn't just using a pencil (though i do like it!)

Most Android tablets are compatible with USB OTG adapters so they can also read USB flash drives. Combined with their accessable file systems, a weird thing happens: they work like computers!
[doublepost=1472571650][/doublepost]

Quote;

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said Apple will release a 10.5-inch iPad Pro model next year alongside a 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2 and a "low-cost" 9.7-inch iPad model. The fate of the iPad mini remains uncertain, but it is presumable that Apple could discontinue the 7.9-inch tablet due to its lack of Apple Pencil support and relatively close proximity in size to 5.5-inch Plus-sized iPhones.

10.5-inch to 12.9-inch = 2.4" bigger
5.5-inch to 7.9-inch = 2.4" bigger.

Actually you want to compare display area.

10.5" 341.4 cm2
12.9" 515.3 cm2

12.9" is 1.5x larger area than 10.5".

5.5" 83.4 cm2
7.9" 193.3 cm2

7.9" is 2.3x larger area than 5.5".

As you can see, the difference between a 6 Plus and an iPad mini is vast.

 

[garylapointe]

Got it, totally missed the point about the processor being behind...

 

[MacBH928]

the iPad is an awesome device hardware wise. I hold my Air 2 and cant believe this product, the problem is the software. iOS has outlived ts purpose- it started as a cellphone OS in 2007 it was not built to be a Post-PC era tablet operating system.

 

[robwmc]

Apple has got to allow access to peripherals in order to take this to the next level. I love the convenience of a tablet and this would be a network engineer's dream to be able to use an iPad to make a serial connection to my routers and switches instead of having to carry a laptop around.

 

[wolfshades]

Well, thats too bad, I was hoping the iPad Pro 2 12.9 would be out by the end of November. Will save the cash and maybe get an Apple Watch 2 instead.

I was hoping to get both an iPad Pro 2 12.9 and the Apple Watch 2nd gen. Damn. May have to make do with 1st gen iPad Pro as my old iPad is starting to feel its age, complete with "I'm on my last breath" flickering display.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Give it a pencil and a larger screen and now its a "Pro"? Am I missing something? Drop the Pro name unless it can run Pro apps like Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, etc. iPad Pro, haha! Get outta here with that BS

Xcode. It must run Xcode too. I fully expect Xcode will come with the iOS 11 though.

 

[NT1440]

Xcode. It must run Xcode too. I fully expect Xcode will come with the iOS 11 though.

With the Swift Playground this year, I think you're 100% correct, though an overhaul to a touch based UI will be required (and opens up several great functions as demonstrated in the Playground).

 

[chappel]

Apple has got to allow access to peripherals in order to take this to the next level. I love the convenience of a tablet and this would be a network engineer's dream to be able to use an iPad to make a serial connection to my routers and switches instead of having to carry a laptop around.

Check out the 'Redpark console cable'. I got one - it works awesome; really handy when you need to enter something into a cisco device but don't have three hands to hold your laptop as you type. You'll need a console app - 'Get Console' and 'SecureCRT' (for iPad) work.
[doublepost=1472578209][/doublepost]Oh - and for what it's worth, I really love my Retina iPad mini, and am hoping for a future 'Pro' version with 3d touch and stylus support, and just can't see myself doing my reading on an iPhone Plus.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Meanwhile, the Mac line is kept really simple

Not really.

MacBook: 4 Different Colors, 2 Different Hard Drives, 3 Different CPUs = 24 different MacBooks.
MacBook Air: 2 Different Screen Sizes, 3 Different Hard Drives, 2 Different CPUs, 2 Different RAMs = 24 different MacBook Airs.
MacBook Pro: 3 Different Screen options, 3 Different CPUs, 3 Different RAM, 5 Different Hard Drives = 135 different MacBook Pros.

So simple. Only 183 different laptops to pick from. (This is a little bit more than what's really possible - some options are mutually exclusive. It's probably closer to 100 different valid laptops you can get. Far more than the number of iPads or iPhones you can get.)

 

[bullamakanka]

Give it a pencil and a larger screen and now its a "Pro"? Am I missing something? Drop the Pro name unless it can run Pro apps like Final Cut Pro X, Logic Pro X, etc. iPad Pro, haha! Get outta here with that BS

If you use AstroPad (app on the iPad + app on desktop running together), you can. AstroPad turns the iPad into a second monitor, more or less like a Wacom Cintiq but with a brain of its own. AstroPad also works with the iPhone... drawing on the iPhone 6Plus is doable albeit small, best suited to the larger screens.

 

[daveathall]

Most Android tablets are compatible with USB OTG adapters so they can also read USB flash drives. Combined with their accessable file systems, a weird thing happens: they work like computers!
[doublepost=1472571650][/doublepost]

Actually you want to compare display area.

10.5" 341.4 cm2
12.9" 515.3 cm2

12.9" is 1.5x larger area than 10.5".

5.5" 83.4 cm2
7.9" 193.3 cm2

7.9" is 2.3x larger area than 5.5".

As you can see, the difference between a 6 Plus and an iPad mini is vast.

Yes, that is an excellent point, thank you. I didn't realise. It would further strengthen keeping the mini.

 

[Sefstah]

If you use AstroPad (app on the iPad + app on desktop running together), you can. AstroPad turns the iPad into a second monitor, more or less like a Wacom Cintiq but with a brain of its own. AstroPad also works with the iPhone... drawing on the iPhone 6Plus is doable albeit small, best suited to the larger screens.

But the iPad still can't run pro apps on its own. So no, this is not a solution.

 

[Keirasplace]

To those analysts who keep saying a 5.5" iPhone can substitute for an 8" Mini? Please just shut up, you don't know what you're talking about. A hatchback isn't a substitute for a pickup.

I also question their prediction that if Apple offer a 10.5" iPad they will EOL the 7.9" Mini, which would leave a gaping hole in their mobile device lineup from 5.5" to 10.5" while introducing a clusterfck from 9.7" to 12.9".

The more sensible and likely course is for Apple to EOL the 9.7" iPad Pro. But that's the most popular one, you say? Indeed, but it must go to make way for progress! Consider the current lineup (area and ppi calculated with this groovy website):

View attachment 647413

First, appreciate the vast increase in display area of the iPad Mini over the iPhones; at over twice the display area of a 6+ the iPad Mini's web browsing and photo/video experience is in another class.

Next, consider the next logical upgrade to the 9.7" Pro: pixel density. All of Apple's devices below it exceed 300 ppi, so it's the next economically feasible tablet to boost to a glorious 325 ppi. Fanboys argue that if you hold the 9.7" Pro at arm's length like some old geezer in need of new reading glasses then a higher pixel density doesn't matter. They're full of bullpuckey. When viewing an image or graph it's natural to lean in to scrutinize detail so according to experts there are benefits up to around 500 ppi. Compare the detail on the 5.5" iPhone to the 4.7" iPhone and ppi difference is rather obvious under close but not abnormally close viewing.

So why not just bump the 9.7" Pro to ~326 ppi and call it good enough? Because Apple like to keep it simple for developers. The Apple way is to borrow a pre-existing screen resolution for the pixel density upgrade as they did when the Mini was jacked to the same resolution as the iPad Air. Thus the prediction writes itself: the upcoming iPad will feature the Pro's 2048 x 2732 resolution with ~326 ppi, which results in a display size of 10.5", exactly the size reported by those analysts with supply chain sources. The new lineup is thus:

View attachment 647414

A nice separation of iDevice sizes with consistently high pixel density on all but the top end. All with a bigger iPad but no new resolution to which developers must adapt their apps. The only remaining question is whether Apple also jack the price of this 9.7" Pro replacement. No, wait, the question is how much do Apple jack the price of this Air 2 replacement? If the 9.7" Pro takes the current place of the Air 2 then figure the 10.5" Pro will start at $700 or even $750 for the first year or two, then drop to $700 for a sneaky permanent increase of $100 on the midrange iPad. If Apple sell a 10.5" 325 ppi iPad for $600 I'd question who kidnapped Tim Cook and replaced him with a clone.

About that iPad Mini - do Apple continue to use it as a dumping ground for obsolete SOC inventory and give it the runt of their litter of iPad displays? Or do they finally take it seriously by dropping in a current SOC and the same display tech as the larger iPads, all at a more serious price?

"According to some expert" (sic)... You do know that to get these benefits you need nearly infinite contrast in good light (that's high quality ink on high quality paper). No screen is close to that, not even a bit.
For anything moving, our ability to resolve is even worse.

But, they could go slightly higher to eliminate a few remaining artifacts.

Higher resolution than 260 is useful mostly to prevent aliasing in lines going sideways in very small text or in the UI. In that case, going slightly higher, say to 325-350 could eliminate those very slight artifacts. All this would be at the cost of battery life of course unless the tablet is significantly heavier (the 12.9 is already pretty heavy so that doesn't work there and the GPU wouldn't be able to push that many pixels anyway).

People would probably complain about battery life right now if they decided to push resolution without being able to keep the same battery life.

 

[Spendlove]

Strangely the most important thing for me to switch from iPad 3 to a iPad Pro is a software issue - I need it to be able to handle multiple Apple accounts. If you sign out of one you can sign into another with the right person unlocking it with a fingerprint and it loads up to their home screen and apps.

I just simply cannot see why this isn't possible? There is no way I am buying an iPad pro at that price for it to only handle one pro user.

Until then... keep on chugging along my beautiful iPad 3

 

[jigzaw]

I have an Air 2 and was thinking about trading it in for a new 12.9 Pro whenever that happens, but I can't ignore the enthusiasm that seems to be greeting the Surface Pro, being that it is a true full computer capable of running actual pro apps. I don't see myself switching back to Windows (ugh), but the fact that nothing innovative has happened to the iPad other than a stylus (!!!) in the past few years is going to probably lead to me just holding on to my Air 2 for the foreseeable future.

I think Apple should create an iPad OS that is independent of the phone iOS, but more tablet-friendly than the OSX. Come on, guys! It's like they're trying to preserve some sort of legacy by maintaining that same old cell phone home screen on a big beautiful tablet that could be a much more dynamic experience with all that screen real estate. You gotta admit, the live tiles on Windows is pretty cool and there's no reason an iPad OS couldn't be a little more alive and a little less 2009.

 

[s1m]

I can't believe that we could have two very similar sized iPad Pros. It seems unnecessary. Personally I am thinking of going down from the 12.9 to a 9.7 pro. I use the Pro constantly at work for making notes, reviewing reports/board papers and then use it in my down time for personal stuff. However it is just a bit too bulky to cart around all the time. My old iPad Air was great for that but I missed the ability to take hand written notes - something the pencil gives me.

 

[SBlue1]

Why to waste this beautiful device by putting the terrible phone OS on it???

People wanted the iPad to run Mac Os and support a full size keyboard and a mouse. Apple listened and released the MacBook. People still complained.

 

[teejaysplace24]

In what way is EOL'ing the just released, most widely-selling unit in their product lineup, then devoting the resources to the oldest, poorest selling unit in their lineup, either probable or sensible? It's neither.

 

[Michael Goff]

In what way is EOL'ing the just released, most widely-selling unit in their product lineup, then devoting the resources to the oldest, poorest selling unit in their lineup, either probable or sensible? It's neither.

What are you talking about?