The iPad Pro is likely a reaction to the success of the Microsoft Surface-- but the reaction is not much more than a name change and split screen. The Surface on the other hand actually is a productivity machine. Why isn't Apple diving fully into this area?
Even the iPad Pro alone outsold all MS Surface products despite only being introduced midway through the holiday quarter.
The question is why is Apple not diving into a "productivity machine" like the Surface. The answer is that the iPad Pro is selling better than the Surface. That is: Apple isn't building the Surface because they built something that sells better.
Think about what you're saying, why would replacing laptops be a priority for Apple if they can outsell hybrids 10 to 1 by focusing on making a great consumption device?
Apple and Google are focused on the mobile computing platform of the future which already outsells pcs with the gap widening every year.
Instead Apple uses their OSX product lines to compete in the pc market.
> We believe Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros while Microsoft sold around 1.6 million Surface devices
So 2m Vs. 1.6m, the remaining 14.1m devices are an entirely different class at an entirely different price-point.
The iPad Pro did outsell the Surface line in one quarter, but it is worth noting that the Surface Pro 4 was a minor upgrade, whereas the iPad Pro was a brand new class of device for Apple.
Where Microsoft has been making in-roads with the Surface Pro line in particular is corporate/enterprise ultrabooks. The iPad, even the "Pro" doesn't have an answer to that.
Apparently iPad Pro and iPads are in a different price point but the current Surface product lines: Surface 3, Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book which are nearly doubled in cost respectively, are not. Then apparently an iPad with a larger screen is a brand new "entirely different" class, but Surface Tablet and Surface Books are not.
Then you go on about the launch quarter like it's the only reason why iPad Pro outsold all Surfaces, but both iPhone and iPads go on to outsell their launch quarters in the next year - this is what you get when you grow sales.
I'm surprised you didn't top it off by saying that Apple deliberately withheld introducing the iPad Pro to midway through the quarter so they could sell more units in that quarter.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/28/10858474/microsoft-earning... http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/22/9599674/microsoft-q1-2016...
Apple fundamentally doesn't believe in a hybrid laptop/tablet "productivity" machine (for good reason, debatably). The iPad Pro is an attempt to bring iOS into the realm of productivity, rather than merging the experiences of iOS and Mac OS X.
The Surface series, meanwhile, creates a new platform; new apps (or at least new major versions of apps) have to be written to truly take advantage of it.
The iPad has potential, but Lightroom for the iPad is crap. You can connect an SD card with RAW files on it to the iPad... but Lightroom can't read them. Won't even show you a preview (even though Apple's built-in app can). Not good.
The iPad Pro is a way better device on paper than the Surface. But being able to run every Windows program ever is better than being able to maybe get a stripped-down version of the software you're used to.
I imagine sales numbers between iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 are orders of magnitude in favor of the iPad for two reasons. One, the Surface Pro 4 competes with every Windows laptop ever -- there are many cheaper ways to get all your favorite Windows programs "on the go". Two, I bet a lot of people bought the iPad Pro imagining things like Lightroom would be useful, discovered they aren't, and put the iPad in the drawer two weeks after buying it. I loved my iPad for the first two weeks after I bought it. Now I don't know where it is. Dead in a drawer somewhere, no doubt.
Apple is making the bet that people want to use apps that are all designed with touch interfaces in mind and that people prefer a simpler computing model. Microsoft is betting that backwards compatibility is more important.
And as for making an iOS tablet that's more suitable for productivity, the iPad Pro is that device, and basically as good as it gets.
Am I missing your point or is there more nuance to your particular situation?
They tend to apply dynamic subsets of this power tool to "projects", kept in "project folders", containing images downloaded with one tool, edited with another, graphics generated in a third, code edited in another, marketing docs written in yet another, data fetched by a script to be opened by a spreadsheet app, turned into a chart and combined with the marketing doc into a PDF-based presentation....
And Apple builds some hardware that would be great for adding powers to the metatool (quick, finger-drawn sketches turn into useful charts to be merged into some other doc with layout manipulated by hand...) but Apple's position is that their target customers are really far too...limited to be able to understand hard stuff like "folders" or how to even find their files after plugging a thumb drive into a USB port, so no folders, no USB, no confusing "orchestra", just sit back, poke an app button and buy something from one of our nice stores (you understand shopping, don't you? Poke the button), notice how thin it is, poke an app button and watch a nice video, notice what a nice shade of pink, uh, "rose gold" it is, poke an app button and distract yourself with FaceBook, express and opinion about a celebrity and, since we're always adding new ways to buy things, maybe treat yourself and buy something extra....
It has worked wonders for them financially, so I can't fault their logic (bemoan it, yes, but not fault it), but this is no equivalent of a power user OS with a real file system.
If you need to do some heavy work, do it on a laptop. You can buy tons of different laptops now that are very thin and don't take up much more room in your backpack than a tablet would. If you need any more power, then rent a compile server. There is always going to be a cost for having a portable device, it's that you won't be able to get all of your work done on it.
The real issue is when OS developers try to push this simple, tablet environment to devices that shouldn't need it.
Personally, I have two touch-enabled laptops and the only time I interact with the touch screen is when I try to point at something in conversation and am unpleasantly surprised when it moves the cursor.
The idea of sand boxing is a good one, but there needs to be an option for those of us who know what they are doing, or are willing to take a risk. I shouldn't have to rely on cloud availability constantly.
I don't understand what you're trying to say. There's no failure of the device here that requires a third party app.
Sure, if you want to exchange with another device - but not an app.
The Microsoft solution was painful because it was based on the insane premise that all software could run on all devices - as if anyone really needs the full version of Adobe CS or Visual Studio on a mobile, or wants Candy Crush taking up all the available pixels on a 30" monitor.
Apple will do something less insane. There's already overlap between the OS X and iOS touch classes.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a future iPad sold as the next Mac keyboard/remote display a few generations from now, when the tactility is a little better.
It's the same situation when people pretend like the Play App Store is better than Apple's App Stores because anyone can put anything on there without having to go through Apple first. In theory, yes, it's great that you have the freedom to do that and that Google doesn't act as the arbiter of your precious apps. In reality, though, the Play Store is a cesspool of crappy apps. When I got my Nexus 7, I tried to install the Netflix app from the Play Store. There's multiple Netflix apps (all called "Netflix") that claim to be from Netflix, Inc. I don't know if they've fixed that now, but just the fact that something like that can happen is crazy.
Everyone's so caught up on whether or not they could [do something] that they never stopped to think about whether they should [be able to].
Because it is very hard? It cost Microsoft a disastrous version of Windows and lots of pushback by customers before they got their productivity OS working both on a tablet and desktop.
I would suggesting trying a "fiddly add-on keyboard" first before saying that :). Maybe the iPad Pro's keyboard is like that and I certainly thought that about the surface pro 4 until I decided to spend some time playing with it. Coming from only Macs for the past 6 years I gave in and bought a surface pro 4. Then I did the launch hackathon with it where I coded for 48 straight hours.
It's a FANTASTIC productivity device. Granted it may not be the best fit for everyone but I wouldn't cast absolute doubt on it without spending some time playing with it.
> What's the point of making an OS X machine in tablet form factor
I don't think anyone specifically said it had to be OS X but it would be nice to have a touch screen and have access to iOS apps at the same time at you have access to "real" apps to get work done. I had an iPad before giving it to one of my kids because I couldn't do very much on it productivity wise. As a programmer who doesn't work on games: 99% of my code could run, without issue, on an iPhone 4's processor. I wanted something portable that I could read with, play casual games on but also get real work done. iOS just can't do that for many professions.
It's a pretty good compromise, in my opinion, for someone looking for a full fledge computer that can also have the portability and usability of a tablet.
[1] http://support.logitech.com/en_ca/product/keys-to-go-ipad
The other thing with these keyboards is that when the tablet is held in table mode, you have your fingers on the keys, which is a pain.
I tend to agree with the post above. Good for reading, not the right tool for editing.
This is the same as, say, people who prefer to use laptops docked to a large screen with an external keyboard and mouse. Most of the time, they can get away without needing all that, which is why they have a laptop instead of a desktop PC plugged into the same peripherals. But sometimes, for an especially heavy-duty task, it's good to be able to temporarily assume the next form-factor up.
Works well for me (fiction writer), but might not work for people whose workflows involve constant distraction.
(There are USB docks but they cannot really compete with real docks as they are available for PC notebooks. And Apple does not sell an external Retina screen either.)
If you prefer something exactly like a dock where no cables are involved being plugged in manually, there are several solutions available. Henge Docks, Landing Zone, and BookEndz are some examples.
I think it's because it's in their best interests to not have that form factor be a 'thing'. Apple wants to sell you a macbook and an iPad, not a single Padbook. If they don't enter that arena, then they force Microsoft to do all the work to get the market there (if at all), when they can come up with a me-too form factor device without any real lost headway.
Considering that a Surface can replace a desktop PC, it should sell in the tens of millions annually. It might take another revision or two but this will soon happen.