A large genre-defining tablet from Apple is on the horizon in 2015
Apple has long been expected to expand its range of tablets by releasing a larger iPad which is often dubbed the iPad Pro. This would seem to be a logical move for the corporation in many ways, not least because it has promised the city that it will explore new product niches over the next couple of years. Of course, this occurred in early 2014, and since then Apple has experienced a raft of outstanding successes, rather reducing the need for the corporation to panic about its portfolio of products.
But Apple is still expected to release a large and super-powerful tablet at some point in the near future, so what can we expect from the iPad Pro when it is released?
iPad Pro – Release Date
Well, the first question to answer is when it will be released. Apple has naturally not confirmed this yet, but numerous sources have suggested that it will hit the market at some point during 2015. Although the iPad is still very much the genre-defining tablet, the market has receded a little in the last year or so, and the perception is that an iPad Pro could reignite an iPad range which is faltering slightly.
Bloomberg has claimed that work on initial components is already underway, and that full-scale production will actually begin during the first quarter of 2015. This is a bold prediction considering that the Apple Watch is also due to go into production at a similar point in time. But Apple certainly has the resources to cope with this should it choose to do so.
iPad Pro – specs
One of the selling points of the iPad Pro will be to deliver a device which is state of the art in tablet terms. With this in mind, some pretty impressive specifications have been mooted for this forthcoming tablet. Possibly the most notable of these is the notion that the iPad Pro will incorporate Apple’s forthcoming A9 chipset, truly making it a revolutionary tablet.
There has been some debate about the size of the iPad Pro’s screen. Some sources have claimed that the display will be 12.9-inches, while others state that it will be no larger than 12-inches. There is no concrete information from Apple regarding the display size, so it is difficult to deduce which one of these decisions will turn out to be correct. But something around 12.2-inches in size would seem to be likely.
What can be said with more certainty is that the iPad Pro is likely to be built around 2K display technology. Apple has recently released the first 5K desktop computer with its new iMac Retina, and it is clear that the corporation is putting more effort into producing outstanding screen technology at present. The iPhone has perhaps paled next to the Samsung Galaxy range in this department, and Apple clearly want to right this wrong as quickly as possible.
Possible stylus
The S-Pen device included with high-end Samsung Galaxy phablets and tablets has been an extremely popular part of the range, and it is already speculated that Apple may include a similar stylus with the iPad Pro. Some reports have indicated that this will be an optional part of the package, and may feature as part of an iPad Pro Premium device. Thus, this may not be the integral part of the package which it is with the Samsung Galaxy range, but it would seem to make sense for Apple to offer similar functionality with the industry-leading iPad Pro.
iPad Pro – 64-Bit
Another major element of the iPad Pro is that it is highly likely to be built around 64-bit architecture. The A7 Processor which Apple has unveiled recently includes such 64-bit infrastructure, and some analysts believe that this will be a major game changer for this top of the range tablet.
iPad Pro – Design
Apple has yet to confirm the existence of the iPad Pro, let alone releasing any details about the appearance of the device. But the iPad is such a classic in the consumer electronics market that attempting to develop it for a radical new design will be extremely difficult. There is a fundamental assumption that Apple will simply produce a larger version of the existing iPad with the iPad Pro, and perhaps tweak the design very slightly.
iPad Pro – Price
While Apple is in the privileged position of pretty much every device it releases selling like hotcakes, the corporation still needs to be wary of pricing for the iPad Pro. As discussed previously, the tablet market has not been on fire recently, and overpricing the device could alienate people that are interested in purchasing the iPad Pro. Consequently, this could be very much a value-for-money tablet, and it could even be priced competitively next to previous iterations of the iPad range.
