Alleged 'iPad Pro' Model Shows What the Giant Tablet Might Look Like In-Hand

[MyopicPaideia]

Lot of people making very good use cases for a larger tablet as well as advantages over the traditional laptop form factor.

The thing is that if this is a real product, then iOS 8 is going to be a much bigger upgrade than we expected. WWDC may be very interesting. It would need to adopt proper desktop style multitasking as well as a rudimentary windows manager (simple split screen apps would do fine) and finally, an app independent file system accessible to the user. Probably also need to include multiple user accounts, if only for this larger tablet, in order for it to appeal.

If it got all of that, and had support for pointing devices, even if only Apple's own, then it could be a massively successful device.

Would need to come with desktop class storage options as well, starting at 128GB with BTO options up to 512GB.

Been thinking about these 3rd party wireless media hard drives out for the iPad now - those that hold and stream media so you can have a large audio and video libraries with you and not have to fill up your iDevice? Seems like you could have one of these and a bluetooth keyboard and magic trackpad at home and another set at work, just bring the screen with you.

However, it just seems like too much too soon. This is something I would expect in 3-5 years. Not in 2014. It seems like they would have to make iOS too powerful in order for it to address a broad enough market. Powerful to the point of a convergence of OSX and iOS.

I guess we'll all see in a few month's time, but I am skeptical that this is something that has made the cut to being a real product for release.

By the way, when we say a mock-up, are we actually just referring to the physical equivalent of a designer's rendering? I mean this is a mock up based off of nothing, right? No prior leaked specifications, etc? It is basically as credible as all those concept renderings of the iPhone 6 by a multitude of talented but obviously under-employed graphics designers out there using nothing but their imaginations, right?

 

[fmaxwell]

(Read: a, say, 32GB 12" iPad Pro for $1100 is no match for, say, the 256GB/8GB Surface Pro 2 offered at $1200. No sane person would pay that much for a device only running mobile apps

No poor person would pay that much for a device only running mobile apps.

There. Fixed it for you.

A few points:

• People in the market for something like this are probably not so cash-strapped that they have to choose between a tablet and a notebook computer. They can afford both.
• Tablets should run optimized mobile operating systems and apps. Fingers and touch-screens aren't mice. Your arm, where the tablet often resides while in use, is not a desk. Because the Surface Pro 2 can run non-mobile Windows applications, many software vendors have deemed their desktop products 'good enough', even though the experience on a touch-screen device is dismal.
• A Surface Pro 2 is a non-starter for many on-the-go professionals due to its lack of built-in 3G/4G LTE. I don't want to carry a hotspot or burn through my phone battery while using the phone as a hotspot for my tablet.

As to cost, $1100 (to use your estimate) is not a lot of money for something that powerful. Some context is in order: Radio Shack sold 5MB (not GB or TB) external hard drives for $2500 in 1983 (about $5,900 in 2014 dollars). Back then, a good home computer with printer, hard drive, color display, and modem was more expensive than many new cars.

Are we ever going to get to low enough price points for computers that people stop complaining about the costs? Probably not. If Apple computers came down to the cost of a Big Mac, someone would be saying that you'd need to be crazy to spend that much when you could get a competing device for the price of a Taco Bell chalupa.

 

[fmaxwell]

Lot of people making very good use cases for a larger tablet as well as advantages over the traditional laptop form factor.

It's all about choice. I have no use case for an iPad Mini, but that doesn't mean that no one does. Maybe the iPad Mini buyer has no use case for a Max-iPad (okay, that name probably won't stick, but I had to try). And the guy who wants an 11" MacBook Air might not have any use case that requires 3G/4G LTE.

Can't we all stop thread-crapping in every discussion about an Apple product that doesn't perfectly suit our use case?

 

[Hammie]

This is fake... There have been no cases leaked.

 

[zipa]

No poor person would pay that much for a device only running mobile apps.

There. Fixed it for you.

A few points:

• People in the market for something like this are probably not so cash-strapped that they have to choose between a tablet and a notebook computer. They can afford both.
• Tablets should run optimized mobile operating systems and apps. Fingers and touch-screens aren't mice. Your arm, where the tablet often resides while in use, is not a desk. Because the Surface Pro 2 can run non-mobile Windows applications, many software vendors have deemed their desktop products 'good enough', even though the experience on a touch-screen device is dismal.
• A Surface Pro 2 is a non-starter for many on-the-go professionals due to its lack of built-in 3G/4G LTE. I don't want to carry a hotspot or burn through my phone battery while using the phone as a hotspot for my tablet.

As to cost, $1100 (to use your estimate) is not a lot of money for something that powerful. Some context is in order: Radio Shack sold 5MB (not GB or TB) external hard drives for $2500 in 1983 (about $5,900 in 2014 dollars). Back then, a good home computer with printer, hard drive, color display, and modem was more expensive than many new cars.

Are we ever going to get to low enough price points for computers that people stop complaining about the costs? Probably not. If Apple computers came down to the cost of a Big Mac, someone would be saying that you'd need to be crazy to spend that much when you could get a competing device for the price of a Taco Bell chalupa.

First off, having money in the bank does not mean that one is willing to overpay fo things. If I can get a better product for less money somewhere else, that's where I'm going.

Also, one of the first things that an average on-the-go professional notices is that everywhere he goes has a wifi available for guests or collaborators to use. Sure, 4Gwould be really nice and it is strange that MSFT didn't make a version with a cellular modem, but the Surface is a proper computer. You can stick any old 3G/4G modem in the USB port and you're done.

I really don't get your "context" example from 30 years ago, but whatever.

 

[Cole Carrera]

Add a keyboard to that, and what's the advantage of a MacBook Air? USB?

Cannot run local server on ipad

 

[rp2011]

Many people have tried to use the current larger size iPad as a laptop replacement. It's OK for some uses, but not as a replacement.

Apple has said that the aim of their 64 bit chips are for desktop-class applications. The only way to really take advantage of desktop-class application is on a larger iOS device. As I have said, I have mocked the idea myself until I used a 14" laptop on a daily basis. Even at 14", you can clearly see it is NOT that big in real use.

For people who need both a laptop and a tablet, as with the larger smartphones, there will be a huge market for this. Some people cannot afford both and this will be a great trade-off for many, the same exact way larger smartphones offer tablet and phone capabilities for those who cannot financial justify both.

Will it cannibalize the Macbook Air? Of Course. No doubt about it. Will it sell? If it can truly offer desktop-class applications and for less than a macbook air, hell yes it will sell. it will sell in larger numbers than the Macbook air certainly.

 

[fmaxwell]

First off, having money in the bank does not mean that one is willing to overpay fo things. If I can get a better product for less money somewhere else, that's where I'm going.

Assuming that the iPad Pro would basically be a larger version of the iPad Air, there is not an existing better product at the price. Certainly the smaller-screen, lower-resolution Surface Pro 2 is not it and the $1100 price is certainly not overpaying for something like an iPad Pro.

Also, one of the first things that an average on-the-go professional notices is that everywhere he goes has a wifi available for guests or collaborators to use.

Try getting WiFi at a launch pad at a satellite launch facility. Or try getting it at a rest stop off of the highway. Or try to get it in a cab. There are plenty of places where you can't get WiFi. In other places, they charge for it. I just stayed at a Westin, not a cheap hotel, and they charged for WiFi.

You can stick any old 3G/4G modem in the USB port and you're done.

No, because you had to plug in a GPS receiver into that. So now you have to get a hub and plug the hub into the Surface Pro 2. And then plug the GPS receiver and 3G/4G modem into the hub. And then pray that you don't need a powered hub. And now you're carrying around a bag to put it all in. If I want that, I just carry my MacBook Pro.

I really don't get your "context" example from 30 years ago, but whatever.

It shows the absurdity of asserting that an iPad Pro at $1100-1200 dollars would be "expensive." For the (inflation-adjusted) amount one paid for a 5MB hard drive alone in 1983, you could buy a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro, a Mac Mini with a 27" monitor, and an iPhone 5S and still have money left over.

At some point, it's just worth it to pay for nice things tailored to specific uses. That's why I bought an iPad Air (128GB + 4G LTE) instead of a Surface Pro 2; it weighs half as much, is less than half of the size (L x W x D), has 50% more pixels on the display, has a 4:3 screen aspect ratio which better matches a printed page, has a battery run time that approaches double that of the Surface Pro 2, has a far better camera, and includes 3G/4G LTE and GPS.

 

[rp2011]

An iPad Pro would have to start at 700ish. It would have to be a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than an MacBook Air. Anything more is a non starter, and the thing would never sell.

It would have to have great support for not just office productivity, but also music and the arts, digitizer and full midi support built in. Starting at 700ish, it would be a steal and people in corporate and the arts would be fools not to own one. Teens and college kids would die to own one. It would be the true laptop replacement for many.

 

[I WAS the one]

it's not going to happen.

 

[Felasco]

Where exactly are you expecting this so called innovation to appear

A device smaller than a phone that projects a large screen in to the air or on to a wall. Users can have the benefits of both big and small. Super portable and huge screen.

Yes, challenging, that's why it doesn't exist yet (as far as I know). But, imho, that's where all this is heading.

 

[fmaxwell]

An iPad Pro would have to start at 700ish. It would have to be a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than an MacBook Air. Anything more is a non starter, and the thing would never sell.

I'm looking for a bigger tablet, not another notebook computer. A tablet serves a different purpose in my life, so I don't compare the price of the two things. If it just does the same thing as my existing iPad but gives me a lot more screen real-estate, I'm interested.

 

[rp2011]

I'm looking for a bigger tablet, not another notebook computer. A tablet serves a different purpose in my life, so I don't compare the price of the two things. If it just does the same thing as my existing iPad but gives me a lot more screen real-estate, I'm interested.

Good to know about YOUR preferences, I'm talking about the consumer at large.

 

[VMMan]

Good to know about YOUR preferences, I'm talking about the consumer at large.

I think the market is or will shortly be large enough for companies, like Apple, to benefit (or at least not be financially penalized) for supporting those who need more screen on their tablets.

Some posters made remarks that made it seem as if a larger screened tablet was absolutely ridiculous.

I think about the late 1980's and wonder how many of the Mac 128K, 512K, Plus, and SE users with their monochrome 512×342 pixel displays would have criticized Apple if it were suspected that they would one day make 30" 2560 x 1600 pixel displays.

I remember how so many of my colleagues argued AGAINST color displays back then, boasting about their awesome monochrome Mac screens.

 

[pcote]

Why would anyone want to carry that slab when there is the similar sized, but much more capable Macbook Air available.

I would buy that instead of a Wacom Cintiq Hybrid. There are a lot of good stylus nowadays, which would make this a very good electronic sketchbook. Procreate is the App which makes this very tempting...

 

[emulator]

it's not going to happen.

Thanks for weighing in.

 

[zipa]

Assuming that the iPad Pro would basically be a larger version of the iPad Air, there is not an existing better product at the price. Certainly the smaller-screen, lower-resolution Surface Pro 2 is not it and the $1100 price is certainly not overpaying for something like an iPad Pro.

The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is 799 euros, pretty much on par with the 64 GB iPad Air Cellular. The MaxiPad needs to be rather spectacular to command a 50% premium over that.

Try getting WiFi at a launch pad at a satellite launch facility. Or try getting it at a rest stop off of the highway. Or try to get it in a cab. There are plenty of places where you can't get WiFi. In other places, they charge for it. I just stayed at a Westin, not a cheap hotel, and they charged for WiFi.

Sure. Like said, 4G would be nice (and I'm not getting a tablet without it) but you can live without it, and on something like the Surface Pro, there are lots of ways around that.

 

[JGRE]

I hope it will come with a 15 inch screen too, and a keyboard, a trackpad and the ability to install OS X. Ohh wait..

Yeah, or a 17 inch with a refrigerator attached to it..........

 

[rowspaxe]

I would buy that instead of a Wacom Cintiq Hybrid. There are a lot of good stylus nowadays, which would make this a very good electronic sketchbook. Procreate is the App which makes this very tempting...

I have disagree. Capacitative pen technology is vastly inferior to wacom and ntrig active technologies. The best feature on the cintique is toggle cacitative
on-off for the most robust pen experience possible. Ipad pro without pen tech is huge fail

 

[Rad99004]

Why doesn't Apple buy Wacom?

Because a purchase like that would make too much sense for a business, artist product. Were stuck using the useless capacitive stylus or our fingers.

Just don't get the headphone company purchase.

Seems like wasted money.

If Apple wants to throw away money how about investing in rural America and providing internet where no one will.

----------

I don't think anyone commented. The pictures of the tablet look like a 16:9 screen format not 4:3, yuk.

 

[rowspaxe]

Because a purchase like that would make too much sense for a business, artist product. Were stuck using the useless capacitive stylus or our fingers.

MS will push "ink" in their surface presentation tomorrow. They finally figured out this is a major reason alot of people embrace surface pro. But i dont think the market in general is ready to embrace pen tech. It seems like students should be flocking to this--but i dont see it. Oh well, i guess i am an outlier.

 

[tigres]

I have a cookie sheet that size.

 

[loon3y]

Why would anyone want to carry that slab when there is the similar sized, but much more capable Macbook Air available.

business, real estate matters.

especially if you're presenting tons of products, trying to get reports, hell anything. (well obviously you're gonna need an app and a backend along with the device)

its just more sufficient, professional, and just shows your company is investing in itself to be more efficient and shows that you're keeping up with new technology.

its a totally different impression and experience handing them an iPad with all your products in there, showing reports or inventory, etc etc, compared to just handing them an laptop for letting them set in a computer and look through.


if you think differently, you obviously never been in business

 

[tdale]

How do you use a MBA with one hand while walking about at an office, factory floor, medical ward or whatnot? Or perch it on a sheet music stand? Take pictures for reference or scan documents and whiteboards on the go?

Not everyone is using their iPads for Candy Crush and as a snack tray while slouching on the couch.

My post of
Originally Posted by tdale
Why? MBA take up similar room, and has full OS. Much better and more capable than a big iPad.

Was a poster who merely said "I'll Buy"

In the absence of what his uses are, I replied with a general comment, your coming up with specific reasons why the big iPad is better, which it is. Just like other specific uses give the opposite answer. Candy Crush? Snack Tray?

 

[smoledman]

Interesting thread in light of the Surface Pro 3 unveil.