TRAVEL TECH | With the overnight launch of the iPad Pro, Apple is hoping that the next big thing in tablets will be – well, big. 12.9 inches big, to be precise.
That's only slightly less than the screen size of the 13 inch MacBook Air (which is in fact 13.3 inches measured on the diagonal, as these things are), so we already know the iPad Pro will slip effortlessly into almost any carry-on bag.
The real question is how successful this upsized tablet will be in winning over that real estate, especially if sales of the iPad Pro – which lands in Australia in November, exact date and pricing TBA – can avoid cannibalising sales of its smaller sibling as well as the MacBook Air line.
Apple's carefully-calculated positioning of the iPad Pro is partly against thin and light notebooks, with the tablet thinner (6.9mm) and lighter (713g) than any laptop on the market while boasting a ten-hour battery life.
Optional extras will include a Smart Keyboard cover, which is a full-size 'woven fabric' keypad-case combo strikingly similar to that of the Microsoft Surface...
... and the Apple Pencil, a digital stylus which like the keyboard case will be exclusive (for now) to the iPad Pro.
Squeezed into the iPad Pro's Twiggy-esque profile is Apple's fastest-ever processor, dubbed the A9X, to ensure prompt pixel-pushing onto that large lush Retina display.
So exactly who is in Apple's crosshairs for the sumo slate?
Business travellers and road warriors, of course, to the point where Apple made a rare shout-out to Microsoft by highlighting the Office 365 for iPad suite during last night's San Francisco lovefest of a launch.
Beyond the predictable stables of productivity, entertainment and big-screen gaming on the go come design, illustration, engineering and even medical applications.
Apple is pitching the entry-level iPad Pro at US$799 for the 32GB model (which will probably end up sitting around the A$1299 mark) and $949 for 128GB, both of which are WiFi-only.
4G connectivity will be restricted to the top-line 128GB iPad Pro and its US$1,079 sticker.
Want to option up? The Apple Pencil costs an extra US$99 and the Smart Keyboard cover at US$169.
Are you a likely buyer for the iPad Pro? Would you lean towards an Android or Windows tablet of similar size and features, or is a 10 inch tablet large enough for the traveller?
Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter – we're @AusBT
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles
06 May 2015
Total posts 54
The current size of iPad Air is ideal, any larger and it would be too cumbersome for seat tray-tables.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 732
Yes, I see this as more attractive for other applications, it's a bit unwieldy to be properly portable.
But for instance, the iPad-as-cash-register concept will probably work a bit better now.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2014
Total posts 131
the surface pro 3 is perfect :)
26 May 2012
Total posts 149
Mmm it is a compelling product. I think though that a Surface Pro 3 but Apple version would be ideal.
I'd love to have a big iPad that could run everything... However then you just get to MacBook Air really... The MBA would be made great with some form of touch screen IMHO.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Apr 2014
Total posts 47
Agreed, I use a Surface Pro 3 all the time when travelling and it's brilliant. I take one device with me, as opposed to iPad + Laptop etc.
Qantas
13 Dec 2012
Total posts 21
+1 SP3 FTW!
American Airlines - AAdvantage
13 Jul 2015
Total posts 276
If Microsoft release a thinner Surface Pro 4, I'm sold. This is a sexy device, as anything from Apple usually is, but I want an actual computer capable of installing any program from the internet - not just a large iPad which isn't aimed at that.
However if they added OSX onto this thing.. that would be a game changer...
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 Jun 2012
Total posts 54
Use it with the iPhone 6 Plus and this ticks every box for me. Definite yes for me
04 Nov 2012
Total posts 212
Have both iPad and Macbook Air the latter wins as Safari and Mac mail work much better on it, plus USB port very handy.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
27 Jan 2015
Total posts 29
It would be fantastic if it ran OSx instead of iOS. That would eliminate the need to carry a laptop.
iOS is fantastic, but the limitations in the Mail app and other watered down features mean you will almost always need your laptop at one point
21 Dec 2012
Total posts 62
A restricted operating system tablet is not a general use busines tool, an is why ipad sales have slumped as this is not attractive to corporate IT departments, so Apple were unable tap this market. The ipad pro you describe would be a dead on arrival product. Take up of surface pro 3 like products will grow dramatically over the next years, and I would expect to see an Apple take on that genre to appear. If not, then the yet to be released surface pro 4 with windows 10 will become the tool of choice for corporates to supply their road warriors.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
12 Jan 2015
Total posts 9
I business travel with my Yoga 3 Pro, which is an 13.3" device, and the size is perfectly acceptable. The main thing I've noticed going from my old Thinkpad X201 to this is the huge reduction in weight and thickness, which made taking out and putting back my laptop at the airport security lines a breeze. Even though the XY dimensions are larger than my Thinkpad, it didn't really matter in the end, so I'd say the new iPad Air wouldn't be too big to carry on travels.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
11 Mar 2015
Total posts 191
get a life and ditch the stupid apple for the samsung galaxy note pro already knows all the things the 'would be 'ipad do plus android which beats crap macs any day! was a fan of apple ipad but since I got my galaxy -will never look back for an inferior product!
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2432
Interesting points bl812, but telling other readers to 'get a life' isn't necessary.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Mar 2014
Total posts 567
Pro android people are always trying to convert apple people. Reminds me of the old adage....
People least assured of their own persuasions are most likely to ridicule others for theirs.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 732
I can't see why anybody would be so emotionally attached to their choice of tablet that they'd feel the need to prosletyse it like a religion.
Buy either, or both, or neither, who the hell cares?
Qantas
13 Jun 2015
Total posts 139
To get a life is to live full or more interesting existence.
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 997
I've tried replacing my laptop (Mac Book Pro) with an iPad and it just doesn't do the Microsoft Office stuff I need to do. Writing proposals with jpeg's in the proposal and then PDFing the material just doesn't do it.
09 Sep 2015
Total posts 21
Looks very appealing. Software chip runs quite fast which is good. Just don't think it will be able to live up to standards? I prefer surface pro and Lenovo yoga, although I haven't used this device yet.
Can't wait for release.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3006
an iPad is not a productivity device. If that is the intention of this new release, then Apple needs to let go and allow the iPad to be a tablet computer. At present the iPad is not a laptop replacement.
Consequently I fail to see the benefits of an increased size. Who's going to lug around a large device to watch films, read periodical etc?
I'm purchasing an iPad Air 2. Been holding back to wait for the new iPad release. Thank you Apple for making my decision a lot easier to make :)
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Apr 2013
Total posts 1
But there is still the Sony Xperia z4 tablet which is probably better than this
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Nov 2014
Total posts 8
Extremely underwhelming device..Should've just been called the iPad XL, as there's nothing "Pro" about it at all. What kind of "Pro" is editing 4K video on a device with 32GB of storage (and probably ~22GB remaining after you take the OS into account)??
No OSX and no I/O ports are the most critical failures. iOS is for consumers and actual professional applications don't exist in the walled garden of the app store and the associated lack of access to a file system for file manipulation/transfers/etc that comes with using iOS. Lack of I/O ports follows on from this. The fact you can sync your iPad pro with iTunes on a Surface Pro speaks volumes about its position as a slave device, not a master device for other devices to be connected to. You can't connect pro video equipment from companies like RED, or even a compact flash card from any "pro" DSLR.
I use a MacBook Pro at home and Surface Pro 3 travelling and was desperately holding out for a true "Pro" Apple hybrid with an x84-64 platform running OSX. Give it at least 8-12GB of RAM, 128GB min of storage and Intels Skylake Core M fanelss processors. Replace the lightning conenctor with USB 3 Type-C for driving an external display and connecting peripherals and you're actually looking at a device that's usable for working professionals.
In the end, it's a massively disappointing device for me, and further evidence Apple don't have a clear direction outside the consumer space.
11 Nov 2012
Total posts 2
Well you can't connect a compact flash card to a MacBook Pro either. Both devices require a USB card reader. Get the iPad camera connection kit. It gives you both a conventional USB and SD card port. Connect what you like to the USB port - external keyboard, USB powered hard drive, card reader. I use the card reader and use the compact flash card from my Nikon D800, a pro DSLR if there ever was one. The images import directly into the iPad. The camera's SD Card of course goes straight into the iPad camera connection kit.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Nov 2014
Total posts 8
Oh, you can't directly plug in a CF card to an iPad or MBP?? I'd never noticed...
I have an old 30 pin CCK for my D700 and my 3rd gen iPad, but didn't know they'd released one for the "lightning" connector. Still, nothing but gravy on top for Apple to flog you an unnecessary adaptor kit for $50 to make their proprietary port actually usable instead of just using USB to let you directly connect card readers or other devices...
Lufthansa - Miles & More
29 Jul 2014
Total posts 181
I was at the launch event and it is very nice.
However it shpould have OS X at least as it should do computer stuff. That aside for the user it is better than a surface pro 3 very thin and light weight in comparison. I have a Macbook Air for work and a 15 inch Pro for personal use and I have to agree for work I can use that with ease and the Pro for anything else I think it is meant to more to Complement the macbook pro than anythin else.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on iPad Pro: Apple supersizes the tablet