Apple iPad Pro will enter production this fall, but it won't be a MacBook Killer
The fabled iPad Pro, the 12.9 inch, MacBook-sized, and much talked about tablet aimed at business customers, will finally have its debut into production this fall. According to a note to investors from KGI Securities top analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, originally intercepted by MacRumors, the oversized iPad will begin production as early as September/October, and it will run, not-surprisingly, iOS 9. Kuo is confident that the iPad Pro will include a stylus, which will be manufactured by Taiwan-based Cheng Uei Precision Industry, and will also be Force Touch enabled.
Past speculations hinted to the possibility that the iPad Pro could match the resolution of the iPad Air 2, with a 2732 x 2048 pixels Retina Display. Battery life and processing power are still far from being narrowed down to anything more than pure wishful thinking, although it is likely that the new iPad will outrun and outlast processors and battery from previous models.
The iPad Pro won’t kill the MacBook
Will the iPad Pro deliver performance and user experience unlike any other iPad? Probably. Will it be a great asset to businesses? Most definitely. Will it kill the MacBook? Absolutely... not.
Apple is likely to take much of what it learned from creating the 12 inch MacBook Retina, and put it towards constructing the iPad Pro. Battery life is a big selling point for a tablet of such size, and a viable way to power a larger Retina display, is a requirement for this type of product to happen.
The introduction of a stylus might perhaps be a shocker for some users, however, the general consensus, based on the information available, is that an “Apple Stylus” will happen, however it won’t be an accessory tied to any particular iOS device, but rather its own product, which may, or may not be included with the iPad Pro, and any number of iOS devices.
While iOS 9 and a stylus will most definitely render this device very attractive to consumers and businesses, this device is unlikely to affect sales of any MacBook line, from the 11 inch MacBook Air, to the MacBook Pro. It has been theorized that iOS 9 could result in business customers doing away with MacBooks, once given a version of the iPad powerful enough, however, performance is not always a deciding factor, and while the iPad Pro will likely bring a productivity boost to the workplace, the Mac OS X is a necessary environment for production and administration tasks.
By the same token, the iPad Pro will definitely represent a giant leap for the iPad product line, which could lead, perhaps a few years from now, to that iOS/Mac OS X convergence hypothesis that is still making the rounds.