The 9.7" has been a success for me. I've owned apple products since 2005, but this was the first iPad I ever bought. I'm having an absolute blast with it!
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Has the iPad Pro been a success?
- Thread starter Adelphos33
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I live in San Jose, California. One could argue it's the tech capital of the world. I bought my 12.9 on launch day and I can still honestly say that I've only seen two other 12.9 pros "in the wild". i bought the pencil when it came available and I've never seen one of them "in the wild".
I see tons of iPad Airs and Macs tho.
By the way.. I love my 12.9 so I'm not in any way speaking against it. I just don't think it's been hugely successful compared to other models.
I see tons of iPad Airs and Macs tho.
By the way.. I love my 12.9 so I'm not in any way speaking against it. I just don't think it's been hugely successful compared to other models.
I think today's news suggests the Pro line isn't doing that well. iPad chose to innovate on the lower cost iPad and drop the price. The iPad Pros (either size) are popular with certain professionals but don't seem to have been bought by a broader audience to replace their older iPads or to replace laptops.
Depending on what happens with the iPad Pro update later this year, I may end up selling both my 2015 Macbook Pro and my iPad Pro and just buying a souped up Retina Macbook
Depending on what happens with the iPad Pro update later this year, I may end up selling both my 2015 Macbook Pro and my iPad Pro and just buying a souped up Retina Macbook
Sales are slumping because a) people don't replace iPads like they do phones; b) software support is still excellent; c) performance on older models is still there; d) despite Apple's (terrible, IMO) marketing campaign, these things won't be a true desktop replacement until they give us some damn trackpad support.
Seriously, if I could use a mouse or a trackpad, I probably would have sold my Macbook Pro a long time ago. No matter how much Jobs/Cook want us to think otherwise, using your finger to choose a cell when using Excel or trying to place a cursor in a pinpoint spot of a Word document is NOT ergonomically optimized. It just isn't. And no, the Pencil isn't a substitute for this sort of thing because I still have to move my arm.
I love my iPad Pro but Tim Cook and Phil Schiller are kidding themselves if they think I can actually do "real" work on it for long periods of time. The fact that it has a processor that's faster than most of the Intel processors and a big gorgeous screen is great, and I truly believe the iPad Pro has all the horsepower required to to big-time work, but they need to do some serious interface work w/iOS in order to make it a workhorse, including but not limited to adding freaking trackpad support.
Seriously, if I could use a mouse or a trackpad, I probably would have sold my Macbook Pro a long time ago. No matter how much Jobs/Cook want us to think otherwise, using your finger to choose a cell when using Excel or trying to place a cursor in a pinpoint spot of a Word document is NOT ergonomically optimized. It just isn't. And no, the Pencil isn't a substitute for this sort of thing because I still have to move my arm.
I love my iPad Pro but Tim Cook and Phil Schiller are kidding themselves if they think I can actually do "real" work on it for long periods of time. The fact that it has a processor that's faster than most of the Intel processors and a big gorgeous screen is great, and I truly believe the iPad Pro has all the horsepower required to to big-time work, but they need to do some serious interface work w/iOS in order to make it a workhorse, including but not limited to adding freaking trackpad support.
That's a real stretch of a conclusion to make: "Gee, Apple's trying to sell iPads at a lower price to broaden it's customer base - that means the Pro is a failure!'
You are completely right about track pad support. It's such a crucial part of a normal computer and the finger just can't compare for a lot of the smaller fiddly tasks.
I would say that the 9.7 inch iPad Pro has been a failure, not as a product (it's a nice upgrade over the Air 2), but it failed to offer sufficient advantages over the Air 2 to justify its cost and I doubt it has sold particularly well as a result.
I suspect this is becasue it was designed to have simply replaced the Air 2, but Apple wanted to raise the price so kept the Air 2 around to give it some cover against criticism and lost sales from raising the price.
It might have worked if the differences between the Pro and Air 2 were a bit more meaningful, but the Apple pencil is a somewhat niche item (although also great!) and the Apple keyboard is no better than many aftermarket solutions compatible with both the Pro and Air 2. Software still runs fine on the Air 2 and I cannot think of anything which really benefits from the Pro's faster processor.
The new iPad (with the A9 processor) is a slight downgrade in terms of thickness and display, which I suspect is to try and avoid this problem when they release the 9.7 Pro refresh next month (hopefully).
By contrast, I think the 12 inch Pro was a success on launch, but has since suffered from inattention (like pretty much every product in Apple's line-up at the moment). With some nurturing I could see it giving Surface Pros and the like some really strong competition. But right now I think Apple might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory unless they get iOS to be as 'Pro' as the hardware.
I suspect this is becasue it was designed to have simply replaced the Air 2, but Apple wanted to raise the price so kept the Air 2 around to give it some cover against criticism and lost sales from raising the price.
It might have worked if the differences between the Pro and Air 2 were a bit more meaningful, but the Apple pencil is a somewhat niche item (although also great!) and the Apple keyboard is no better than many aftermarket solutions compatible with both the Pro and Air 2. Software still runs fine on the Air 2 and I cannot think of anything which really benefits from the Pro's faster processor.
The new iPad (with the A9 processor) is a slight downgrade in terms of thickness and display, which I suspect is to try and avoid this problem when they release the 9.7 Pro refresh next month (hopefully).
By contrast, I think the 12 inch Pro was a success on launch, but has since suffered from inattention (like pretty much every product in Apple's line-up at the moment). With some nurturing I could see it giving Surface Pros and the like some really strong competition. But right now I think Apple might snatch defeat from the jaws of victory unless they get iOS to be as 'Pro' as the hardware.
Amen and hallelujah. The 12.9 Pro was more unique than the 9.7, so it did better...but I agree 100% with the inattention problem. Not even from Apple, but from developers. Facebook is one of the most used apps on the globe, yet their engineers STILL, a year and a half later, haven't updated the app to be compatible with the resolution of the 12.9. The app is still only fully compatible with the 9.7 and it's monstrously annoying.
One of the reasons you rarely see the 12.9 in the wild is due to it not being as portable. I have both Pros and the 12.9 never leaves the house. It is a great device and my go to in the house for watching content and for productivity tasks. I stick with the 9.7 for room to room tasks and surfing etc. as it just feels better in the hand and if I'm taking one out of the house, it will be the 9.7.
I manage the mobile devices for my company. Since I do, I have access to all of the latest toys. I personally have an Air 2, Mini 4, and Pro 12.9. The device I love the most is the Pro 12.9. Love the Keyboard and Apple Pencil Integration, and the screen real estate. But, even though I love the Pro 12.9 the most, I use my Mini 4 more. Just so much easier to carry around with me every where I go. But, the Pro is in the laptop bag everywhere I go too.
To make mine business friendly, I use VDI to give me a full blown Windows experience. That is the primary way it has allowed me to almost never fire up my company laptop anymore.
To make mine business friendly, I use VDI to give me a full blown Windows experience. That is the primary way it has allowed me to almost never fire up my company laptop anymore.